Posted on June 1, 2026
TW: mentions of depression and pet loss/grief.
As I’ve said in previous posts, I love a good photo challenge and I really liked the prompts posted for May: I felt like they allowed for more creativity than some of the previous months have (hence why I didn’t end up doing or finishing them) and, as a result, I enjoyed the challenge a lot more. I started the month in a really deep bit of depression so it wasn’t the worst thing for me to have something to do each day, even if it was as simple as finding something to take a photo off, and then, as I came out of that pit, it served as a good way to remember what a very hectic but also really special month…
Category: animals, anxiety, autism, autism dog, book, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, depression, emotions, event, family, favourites, mental health, music, pots, special interests, therapy, writing Tagged: 2026, 30 day photo challenge, asd, assistance dog, autism, autism assistance dog, autism dog, autism spectrum disorder, autistic, autistic adult, black labrador, cat, cat family, cat grief, cat loss, chronic fatigue, chronic illness, chronic pain, concert, crafting, criminal minds, criminal minds evolution, dentist, depression, dinosaur, dinosaur series 1, disabled, disabled adult, dog, dysregulation, emily prentiss, emotional dysregulation, emotional regulation, erin lecount, family of cats, fan culture, fangirl, fidget toy, friendship bracelets, grief, heatwave, hot weather, inter alia, labrador, leeds, live music, may 2026, may photo challenge, nervous system, pet grief, pet loss, photo a day challenge, photo challenge, poetry, poetry orchard, poetry workshop, red bull, redbull, regulation, service dog, sewing, somatic therapy, specialist dental clinic, specialist dentist, stimming, tangle, temperature dysregulation, temperature regulation, therapy, treatment resistant depression

Hi! I’m Lauren Alex Hooper. Welcome to my little blog! I write about living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, OCD, CPTSD, depression, and anxiety, as well as other health issues including hEDS and POTS.
I’m an alt-pop singer-songwriter (it’s my biggest special interest and I have both a BA and MA in songwriting) and my most recent EP, Too Much And Not Enough, Vol. 1, is available on all music platforms and is the first in the series of works based on my experiences as an autistic person.
Finding Hope