When I Go To The Doctor, They Hand Me Paperwork With A Chart To Locate My Pain. I Can’t Pinpoint It.

Greece by Dimitris Tamvakos

Seeking advice: new wheelchair user

I will be using a wheelchair semi-regularly the next month to see if it will help reduce pain flare-ups / baseline pain and to figure out if it's helpful for me.

Tomorrow is the first day and I am going to uni and therapy. I have only used a wheelchair a couple of times but I'm comfortable with folding it and such as my dad's disabled and it's his wheelchair I'm borrowing. In theory I know how to maneuver around but I'm nervous about it.

Do any wheelchair-users have tips/advice for new wheelchair-users?

Extra info: it's a foldable wheelchair, brand is Quickie. I'm nervous about tipping backwards (no anti-tip), going up and down curbs, taking the metro, painful hands/arms/shoulders.

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.

Hello please reblog this if you’re okay with people sending you random asks to get to know you better

It’s the not knowing when it’ll stop. The unpredictability. Wondering “will this ever get any better?” It’s the people close to you just accepting that this is how you are now. It’s the 24/7 nature of it all. It’s the not having a choice. It’s the not having a break from it. It’s the people around you thinking you chose this. As if you enjoy it. As if you actually chose this life. Nobody would ever choose this. It’s the having to play symptoms down. It’s having to pretend it isn’t as bad as what it is. It’s having people judge you, even the people closest to you. It’s having to live with symptoms that most people wouldn’t know how to even begin to cope with. It’s a lack of self confidence and self purpose. It’s staying hopeful when it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to be hopeful for. It’s a lot of things.

You might not feel it, but you’re one of the strongest people EVER. You put up an invisible fight daily. You do all that you can. You often survive second to second, minute to minute, hour to hour. You get through the day. You do your best no matter what obstacles are in your way. And it’s important to remember that even on the really bad days that you’re amazing. You’re strong. You’re tough. You’re fabulous. Lots of love xxxxxx

🥄Spoon Stop! 🥄

Take a spoon or two to complete any tasks you need to finish soon. Reblog to give your mutuals a spoon

reblog if you think sign language should be taught as a language in schools.

schizophrenia is not just experiencing positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions). a lot of schizophrenics are neurodivergent in other ways. this focus on the positive symptoms is a villainious way to gatekeep us from neurodivergent spaces because our positive symptoms are typically portrayed as "scary".

our negative symptoms (flat effect, being withdrawn, avolition and anhedonia) are skewed to portray us as "evil" because we're not "emotive" or "caring" enough. schizospec disorders make everyday activities so hard. basic hygiene isn't a habit, we have little to no motivation to do basic things, the lack of happiness and pleasure can turn into severe depression for some of us and that's why depressive and bipolar schizoaffectives exist. people don't grasp the fact that schizophrenia is a disability.

i've personally experienced a lot of cruelty from other neurodivergent people because there is little to no education on schizospec disorders even within neurodivergent spaces. we're seen as inherently morally reprehensible for our disorder and people are so casually ableist to us. i'm not able to speak up for myself in these spaces because i feel like there is no where else i can go. neurotypicals are cruel to schizophrenics but so are other neurodivergent people. people need to have more care and love for schizophrenics.

yes that includes schizophrenics with little to no empathy, schizophrenics of color, trans schizophrenics, gay schizophrenics, schizophrenic systems, autistic schizophrenics, schizophrenics with adhd, fat schizophrenics, poor schizophrenics, homeless schizophrenics, schizophrenic sex workers, schizophrenics who've experienced abuse, schizophrenics with ocd, schizophrenics with ptsd/cptsd, schizophrenic children and teens, elderly schizophrenics, schizophrenics who are also physically disabled, all schizophrenics.

all schizophrenics deserve love.

I could not agree more! You get it. Sometimes (often I feel) being disabled does make you a burden and that's okay. There should be nothing wrong or shameful about that - it is simply stating facts and acknowledging reality.

as much as i appreciate the intent of the “being disabled doesn’t make you a burden” type posts, i don’t really agree. a lot of times being disabled DOES make you a burden

& i think that maybe we should try to shift focus to the fact that even if you’re a huge burden on society and can contribute absolutely nothing, you’re still a human being who deserves to exist.

like. there’s nothing morally wrong with being a burden on other people. you aren’t a bad person for needing to rely on others. you’re allowed to be a burden & disabled people who are burdens on others, i love you