I’ve noticed that some people in various disability-related groups put a huge emphasis on their diagnosis as an identity and that many disability groups are siloed based upon diagnosis. I understand it, but it also worries me. I understand the need to belong and be accepted, and that part of that process when it comes…
Doctors can and often do make the wrong diagnosis. There are also people, especially those who spend a long period of time without a diagnosis, who start to see a diagnosis as a holy grail – that one true thing that will make their lives ok again. What a diagnosis is Diagnoses are labels. They…
Once more, I am participating in A Chronic Voice’s monthly linkup. February prompts: ditching, invigorating, playing, joining, looking. This post muses about two major topics: BiRequest and turning my blog into a business. I’m excited about both things, and hoping that the steps I am taking in both spaces will lead to a better future for…
While I’ve written a fair amount about working while disabled, I haven’t more deeply explored other ways to bring in money(or exactly what qualifies as ‘earning’ money), so I thought I would do so today. I also thought it would be good to talk a bit about how you may be able to protect yourself…
Once more, I am participating in A Chronic Voice’s monthly linkup. January prompts: purging, seizing, opening, revamping, and envisioning Since January and the new year are so often used by people for fresh starts, I am doing so as well. Even though I wish I had things going strong in January, I usually have the wind…
Healthier interactions start with the recognition that you are, indeed, human too. Just because you have some form of disabling condition or identity doesn’t make you more(or less) of a person than you were prior to your symptoms or diagnosis. Unfortunately, both you as the person managing your condition, and your family and friends need…
Something both Al and I have had to manage is different responses by different family and friends to our conditions and situations. I think most people with disabling and/or chronic conditions have experienced these stresses: family members or friends who may insist that it’s nothing or that you are making up your health problem, other…
Once more, I am participating in A Chronic Voice’s monthly linkup. December prompts: ending, bonding, coping, traveling, and warming November and December tend to be emotionally challenging months for me. There’s a pressure and expectation for people to be cheerful this time of year, as often there are a lot of festivities about hope, giving, and…
I still remember the moment I had suicidal ideations for the first time. I was deeply depressed, but knew that I wanted to live and that I had my life reasonably together. Despite that, as I cut up some chicken to cook for dinner, something in my brain suggested that I should use that sharp…
I’ve been writing a lot lately about my own struggle to stay balanced while managing a migraine, my Functional Neurological Disorder(FND) symptoms, my cat Rorschach’s health, and my own emotional response to the threat of losing BiRequest, one of my primary social supports and resources. While all of this has been going on, a friend…