Girlish-in-pain - Maja

yes, doctors suck, but also "the medical ethics and patient interaction training doctors receive reinforces ableism" and "the hyper competitive medical school application process roots out the poor, the disabled, and those who would diversify the field" and "anti-establishment sentiment gets applications rejected and promotions requests denied, weeding out the doctors on our side" and "the gruesome nature of the job and the complete lack of mental health support for medical practitioners breeds apathy towards patients" and "insurance companies often define treatment solely on a cost-analysis basis" and "doctors take on such overwhelming student loan debt they have no choice but to pursue high paying jobs at the expense of their morals" are all also true

none of this absolves doctors of the truly horrendous things they say and do to patients, but it's important to acknowledge that rather than every doctor being coincidentally a bad person, there is something specific about this field and career path that gives rise to such high prevalence of ableist attitudes

and I WILL elaborate happily

hey if you're not a mobility aid user, and you want a simple way to make public spaces more accessible to those of us who are, i have a tip for you:

push in your chairs when you get up from tables.

when people don't push in their chairs, people with bulky aids like wheelchairs and rollators can't get through. also a lot of people who use canes have wider gaits than able bodied people, and having a chair in the middle of their walking path is a real obstruction. while some of us are able to push chairs out of our way, a lot of us are not, and wind up boxed in/out because somebody didn't push in their chair.

so if you want to do something simple that can make a big difference in terms of like. navigating an outdoor food court or a cafe or what have you. push in your chairs.

Lol true

the disability is disabling today folks

being productive is not about fancy bullet journals or well-thought out plans or meditating every morning!! while they mean well, posts/videos about ‘maximising’ productivity often make us feel inadequate, or like if we’re not doing our best then we’re not doing enough. don’t complicate things. it’s OKAY to just have one or two tasks on your to-do list, to study in your pyjamas, to only feel up to doing a couple hours of work a day. you don’t have to make green smoothies or have neat handwriting or workout every morning. scribble those notes if you need to. it’s okay to just grab some toast when you don’t feel up to much. it’s okay to not do everything you told yourself you would do, like that run you planned or reading that book. life doesn’t have to be this hard. if you get overwhelmed by this, set yourself a small list of achievable goals for the day. it may seem simple. good. that’s what you need. don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect. you are okay.

you are okay.

YAAAY!! FINALLY GOT 12 POINTS!!

Just made an account on Medium so I could read this. Made it about 1/3 through and I'm absolutely hooked and excited to finish it!! But first, time for a nap.

For the longest time, I have had trouble understanding FND - specifically whether it's just a shitty diagnosis made up by the medical system to gaslight people or if it's a genuine medical condition. This essay is rly helpful and has already broadened my understanding. It's incredibly well written, particularly bc of the extremely thorough research it's a result of

Medium

Cadenza for Fractured Consciousness

A Personal History of the World’s Most Misunderstood Illness

I am one of the most medically examined people in North America. For over a decade, no one could explain why I lost my ability to walk, speak, and use my hands. Why the lightning-like headaches? Why the ringing in my ears? Test after test came back negative. Doctors thought I might have a genetic abnormality no one's ever seen before, or a condition so rare that it had previously escaped medical classification. Then I got accepted to the top undiagnosed disease research program in the world, and they told me the only diagnosis I was unprepared to hear: it was Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a much-misunderstood condition which was once known as Conversion Disorder, and before that, as Hysteria. And that was only the beginning of things getting weird. The essay above is the product of three years of research into the history, neuroscience, and politics of FND. It touches on the many medical failures that define the history of the disorder, the pervasive sexism and lazy mind-body dualism that prevented scholars from seeing it clearly, and why - finally - a better understanding may be at hand, with revolutionary implications for how we understand human consciousness and the experience of having a body.

FND fucked my life up. This is my reply. Thanks for reading.

Since it's fibro awareness month, I'd like to give a special shout out to all my fibro friends!

Here's to the people who were diagnosed when they were young, and had to sit out on everything other people their age could freely do

To my older fibro friends, who got diagnosed later in their life and were constantly told it's "all in your head"

To the people who have their diagnoses ignored or belittled

To the people who have no support and feel alone

To the people who have amazing friends, family, and doctors who actually listen

To the people who keep telling themselves, "I just have to make it through this day," every day

To those who lay on the floor with invisible pain, no one else can begin to imagine

To my friends who wildly swing from a 3 to a 10 on the pain scale

To everyone who feels like their skin is burning, just from wearing clothes

To my young and old friends who use mobility aids

To my friends who wear compression supports

To my friends who can't do basic tasks, such as showering, brushing your teeth, or eating because it feels like you've been set on fire

To anyone who hasn't gotten a diagnosis yet, but you just know something isn't right

To everyone who feels as if there is no end in sight

May your pain never be a ten, may you have heating pads, a comfortable bed and a nice cup of tea to help you feel just a tiny bit better. I see you, I hear you, and I am with you through this hell of a journey.

View from the balcony

disabled people are worth whatever cost or resources is needed to keep them alive. disabled people are worth it even if they don't live long. they're worth it even if they will need extra support and resources for every day of their life. they're worth it even if they spend all they life indoors. none of it is wasted. none of it is in vain. time, effort, money, resources spent on a life are not wasted. these things have served their purpose. the joy of someone's existence is not undermined by not lasting forever. there's no meaningful point, some threshold where you can say "okay this is enough. after that it's not worth it." it's always worth it.

{let’s keep trying} {we’ll get through this}