The invisible disabilities
As per definition, Disabilities doesn’t need to be physical; opposed to what we might think more often than not. A disability is anything that refrain you of doing anything “like normal” in your daily lives.
As a matter of fact, this also includes Mental Illnesses. The severity of the disability doesnt make you less disable than another individual; you’re struggles aren’t less than anyone elses.
In comparison, it’s easy for me to say my mother is disabled: she can’t work, thus she’s receiving little help from the government (not enough, but I digress..), She had been through years of dialysis & got an organ transplant, which left her multiple scars on her body aswell as a few disfunctions as after tastes of the whole thing. Her fistula on her left wrist make it so she can’t lift heavy or she’d die at the end of her blood, she got fibromyalgia & have the shakes every once in a while.
For me that’s more complicated.. I am still employed and don’t struggle most of the time. However, when I realized I wasn’t as able-bodies as I thought I was at 27years old, I had a shock.
The first time had been for my restless legs; usually happening at night, they suddently decided to spill into daytime too, making my work harder as I do work standing up & walking all day. They pained so much I was on the verge of cries, and attempted to stay standing in one specific spot and not move around.. which made me so upset with my body failing me. In the end, I managed to be able to stay in the back and process to check out our order, abling me to sit down on the boxes to count make sure we got everything.
The second time has been because of my anxiety; we had lost power at our stores, the day before our senior day – the day where our elders can save 15% off everything, so naturally we are so much more busier. We didn’t had it back that morning, so it was told a few of us would be switched to another store to help with the rush as they would need to cover for our store being closed. I had a massive anxiety attack at the thought of not only having a rush of usually pissy seniors that yells at us over anything, but ALSO in a store with items that we don’t have, that I don’t know the backstock nor where things are … and to top it off our code for the cash doesn’t work at the other locations. I couldn’t sleep the night before, which on top with the stress of everything made my restless legs flare up.. (thanksfully in the end we did open at 10am! So I did not had to go elsewhere)
Our society grant able-bodied people so much more.. and it’s a concept that we actually don’t live in that period forever. We get maybe a couple dozen years tops? The many different reasons as of why we might be disabled is so long- age being the most common one. The way they see disabled people as disposable, especially in a pandemic, is straight up infuriating me! We all have the same worth as other people.
I was reading other’s reality talking about their disabilities, or in general, on twitter (This thread particularly) – being in a wheelchair is a very common one that we think about.. but what we don’t always realize, as it’s the norm nowadays, is the fact that glasses are also a mobility aid in the same way as a wheelchair is. If I would’ve been born decades before, I wouldn’t had been able to do anything – hell I would’ve probably got killed in some way, because I can’t see anything.
Another one that shocked me, was this thread that was saying how nobody ever tells you you’re disabled. You don’t get a call one day of your Dr saying “Well okay, here it is! You are now disabled.” It can be momentarily, it can be permanant, but you just… figure it out on your own; it’s a long process of listening to yourself and acknowledgement.
We aren’t a burden; it’s okay to have a disability, we have the same worth ❤️
Though it might be a long road to acceptance and acknowledge on our parts.
I Love you all xx