NT people: YOU CANT SAY YOU HAVE A MENTAL DISORDER UNLESS YOU ARE DIAGNOSED BY A DOCTOR

 NT people: THIS BAD PERSON MUST HAVE A MENTAL DISORDER

Stop fucking judging people for medical diets. It’s none of your business why people can’t eat certain things or at certain times. Sigh and point out something simple on a menu to avoid what you perceive to be awkward or overly complicated food orders. If you’re taking an order, don’t ask why someone can’t eat something or try to be glib by saying something like “wow, what can you eat?” or “are you sure? The X is really good”.

Unless someone decides to tell you why they can’t eat certain things, it’s none of your fucking business, and you need to take them at face value. Just stop judging other people’s food choices.

THIS!!!!

Also, stop recommending specific diets to people when you find out they have chronic illnesses/disabilities/mental illness. 

#1. As above, it’s none of your fucking business what we’re eating

#2. Trust.   You do NOT know better than our medical teams.

#3. We don’t want your suggestions or armchair dieticianing (and we’ve probably already tried whatever fad nonsense you’re about to insist will cure us)

Also, if someone with sensory issues tells you they don't eat x or y things, believe them, don't say "but x is so good!" or "you aren't allergic to y, so what's the problem?" just listen to them and don't try to force them to eat it

Disability is not a dirty word

Disability is not a dirty word

Disability is not a dirty word

Disability is not a dirty word

[ID: a tweet from @Imani_Barbarin that says, “You don’t know more about disabled people than disabled people. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.”]

During all this chronic illness stuff, if there is one thing I could tell people going through the same thing, it’s this - TRUST YOURSELF. You know your body. Even if you leave a doctors office in tears, feeling small and stupid, feeling upset - trust your gut instinct. If you KNOW something is wrong, do not let a doctor dismiss you or make you feel like a moron. See a different one, and a different one, and a different one - until one listens. Until one HEARS you. Until one investigates. You are not crazy, you are not a hypochondriac, you are not “asking too much,” you are not being dramatic - you know you. You know your mind. You know your body. Keep fighting. Always fight. I know it’s exhausting, I know it’s frustrating, I know it’s depressing, I know it hurts. KEEP FIGHTING FOR YOU. YOU ARE WORTH THE FIGHT. 

you ever realize how able bodied people just are not expected to do things that cause them excruciating physical pain? like they’re just. not

if i shouldn’t use my cane because i can sometimes technically walk without it, it would just hurt like a motherfucker then abled people should no longer be allowed to use potholders to take things out of the oven because i mean

well they could technically pick up a hot pan with their bare hands. it would just hurt like a motherfucker

*sees an abled person using potholders*

i just think it’s really sad that you’re giving up on yourself like that

if you use potholders how will you ever build up the calluses necessary to pick up scalding hot metal without burning yourself so severely? it’s like you’re not even trying to get better

I mean, my mother uses potholders, but she’s in her 70s. You’re just… too YOUNG to be resorting to potholders at your age.

If you start using potholders, your inability to hold hot metal will only get worse.

As a professional cook I was, and still am, able to pick most stuff up out of an oven without a pot holder. I might get blisters and maybe it will hurt, but usually it won’t

AMAZING! based on this one specific individual’s experiences i will now safely assume that it’s possible for anyone to overcome hand pain & leave potholders behind for good!!! as long as you want it bad enough, anything is possible!! make this story go viral so that all those self pitying losers who still use potholders know that there’s no excuse

☆♡LIKE & SHARE IF YOU WERE INSPIRED!!!♡☆

I was gone 3 hours and came back to 156 messages in my inbox, cause yes I counted them, 156 messages telling me I shouldn’t use straws to drink because it’s bad for the environment and I’m not being very eco-friendly if I don’t consider alternative methods.

Except here’s the thing, folks. I think more about my life than you do.

I think more about what I can and cannot do, than you ever will.

And this includes whether those eco-friendly straws are suitable for me or not. And you know what, most of them aren’t. They just aren’t.

And what’s really wild to me is, I can supply links, I can supply posts, I can supply video resources, from other disabled people, all saying the same thing. And then people say things like “okay but what about bamboo, what about glass what about”

“Did you read/watch/listen to any of the things I posted before?”

“No, but—”

And that’s where this conversation ends. Because I’m not here to perform for you. I do not have to justify my individual existence to you. If you cannot be bothered to read the things I post, I cannot be bothered engaging with you.

And that’s the end of that.

Disabled is not a dirty word

Stop referring to me as “differently abled” or “person with a disability” or, God forbid, “handicapable”.

I am disabled. Full stop.

Disabled is not a dirty or derogatory term, it’s what I am.

“Don’t talk about your sickness so much.”

LOL 😂

“Don’t let your disability control you.”

ROFL😂😂

“Don’t think about your chronic pain.”

LMAO😂😂😂

Sickness have to be talked about to raise awareness and get a diagnosis.

Disabilities wouldn’t be disabling if they didn’t control you.

Chronic pain wouldn’t be pain if it didn’t demand your thoughts 100% of the time.

Get over yourself. Your little “words of wisdoms” are shit.

to anyone who thinks those of us with invisible disabilities have “passing privilege”:

being denied access to resources you need is not a privilege.

being refused disability benefits at first glance because you look “healthy” is not a privilege.

getting dirty looks and having insults thrown at you for parking in a disabled space, using a disabled toilet or sitting in disabled seating is not a privilege.

getting accused of faking or exaggerating because “you look fine” is not a privilege.

being made to feel like you shouldn’t sometimes use mobility aids/wheelchairs because you “seem fine without them” is not a privilege.

having doctors not believe you’re sick and even refuse to give you any tests or diagnosis is not a privilege.

being denied treatment and medication because doctors don’t believe you really need it is not a privilege.

constantly being told that “you don't look sick” when you tell someone about your disability is not a privilege. 

being forced to do things that you really struggle to do because “you seem fine” and “you CAN technically do them” is not a privilege.

constantly worrying about how you look and if you should wear certain clothes, make up or do your hair because you’re afraid it might give people another reason to deny your conditions is not a privilege.

being afraid to even tell people about your conditions because you’re worried about how they’ll react and if they’ll believe you is not a privilege.

having your own loved ones question you is not a privilege.

questioning yourself and wondering if it is all in your head is not a privilege.

looking healthy does not mean you get the privilege that comes with a healthy body and mind. having an invisible disability is NOT a privilege and never will be.

Whooo boy let me tell you about having a spine injury at the age of 20.

It means you’re standing by the checkout making awkward small talk while they page a stock boy *your own age* to load your groceries for you.

I used to pretend I was pregnant because even to myself it sounded stupid to claim that I was going to “hurt myself” putting 10 lb bags of groceries into my trunk.

Ableism is a coin toss: either you don’t “look disabled” and therefore you’re treated with extreme suspicion, hostility, and told you don’t “deserve” help or accommodations, you have to do everything, OR you’re seen as disabled and you’re treated like you’re not capable of anything and like you no longer have a say over your own capabilities.

I tried to prove to my ableist supervisor at my last job that I was actually disabled (I had proof that HR believed, she just kept treating me with hostility and suspicion), and when I finally did convince her, suddenly I was no longer human, no longer seen as capable, and no longer the authority over my own abilities.

FUCK ableism.

It’s exactly like the virgin/whore dichotomy. It’s a double bind. Don’t lets fight each other. These ways they treat us are meant to keep us apart. Let’s fight THEM, the fucking ableists and ableist institutions.

If your condition stops you from doing something, then it is a disability. 

If your condition makes it difficult for you to complete a task, then it is a disability.

Dont let others tell you you “arent disabled enough” and invalidate your experience. 

NICE!

you ever realize how able bodied people just are not expected to do things that cause them excruciating physical pain? like they’re just. not

if i shouldn’t use my cane because i can sometimes technically walk without it, it would just hurt like a motherfucker then abled people should no longer be allowed to use potholders to take things out of the oven because i mean

well they could technically pick up a hot pan with their bare hands. it would just hurt like a motherfucker

*sees an abled person using potholders*

i just think it’s really sad that you’re giving up on yourself like that

if you use potholders how will you ever build up the calluses necessary to pick up scalding hot metal without burning yourself so severely? it’s like you’re not even trying to get better

I mean, my mother uses potholders, but she’s in her 70s. You’re just… too YOUNG to be resorting to potholders at your age.

If you start using potholders, your inability to hold hot metal will only get worse.

As a professional cook I was, and still am, able to pick most stuff up out of an oven without a pot holder. I might get blisters and maybe it will hurt, but usually it won’t

AMAZING! based on this one specific individual’s experiences i will now safely assume that it’s possible for anyone to overcome hand pain & leave potholders behind for good!!! as long as you want it bad enough, anything is possible!! make this story go viral so that all those self pitying losers who still use potholders know that there’s no excuse

☆♡LIKE & SHARE IF YOU WERE INSPIRED!!!♡☆

This made me cry. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be potholder-bound like that, and it must have taken such incredible strength to overcome it. If someone like that can hold hot metal, the rest of us have no excuse to give up on anything.

Always reblog.

it’s kind of funny how i… love yoga?  it’s my favorite part of the day?  it’s the only time i’m not 200% dissociated and/or a puddle of anxiety?

but when my doctor asks if i’ve tried yoga, my immediate reaction is FUCK YOU.

because yoga has not magically cured my chronic pain, nor has it magically made me neurotypical.  i think it genuinely has prevented my muscle and joint pain from getting worse.  but, it also makes my chronic fatigue significantly worse - because i really do enjoy yoga, i use up 200% of my spoons, and then i have to go back to bed for the rest of the week.  and that’s my own decision, not something a doctor should be telling me to do.

when i say “i love yoga” i mean that i love doing yoga at home.  with no abled people around to judge me for what my body can or cannot do.  it’s 80% “lying in corpse pose while listening to music and trying to remember to breathe.”

people who say “have you tried yoga?” generally don’t have any background in ayurveda, and usually don’t even “believe” in alternative medicine.  they’re saying it because they assume that your symptoms come from laziness.   it’s a form of what one of my favorite writers (stephen buhner) calls “puritanitis - the involuntary spasm of the puritan reflex”.

yoga is great, when done voluntarily by people who enjoy it, at the level that their bodies are at.  saying “have you tried yoga?” if you yourself don’t have a medical background that includes an understanding of what yoga does and doesn’t do for the body, and/or the person has not specifically asked you for advice, just makes you an asshole.

When I say, “My anxiety is acting up,” I’m really saying, “There’s no reason to be afraid. It’s just my disorder talking, and I can do something to calm down.” It’s positive.

When I say, “My depression is bad today,” I’m really saying, “I’m not worthless and I don’t deserve to die or give up. It’s just my disorder talking, and I should get up and look for what’s good about today.” It’s positive.

When I say, “My ADHD means my brain is wired differently,” I’m really saying, “I’m not a stupid piece of shit who will amount to nothing. It’s just that my brain needs help making certain connections and chemicals, and with certain processes, and there are lots of things I can try to work with it instead of against it.” It’s positive.

Talking about and accepting my disorders is the most radically positive thing I can do. It isn’t pessimism; it’s optimism. It isn’t defeatism; it’s hope. It’s direction, and action, and learning to regain control of my life.

So I don’t give a fuck if it annoys you or makes you uncomfortable. I don’t care if you think I need to think of myself as “more than my disorders”. Because I don’t think that having disorders makes me lesser. And I’m not going to silence myself because you disagree.

You’re fucking wrong, and I won’t let my own silence be the death of me.