Oof, this one hit home. I have had an undiagnosed lung condition for over 6 years now, which comes with a chronic, persistent cough that makes SO many people uncomfortable. I work in circles that overlap with lots of new age folks, & in my experience, the ableism & unsolicited advice can be the worst in that world. Because there’s this undercurrent of belief that EVERYTHING is ultimately mind over matter, not only do I get truly wacky (and often prohibitively expensive) suggestions for diets and remedies, I ALSO get a healthy dose of judgement that clearly I just haven’t fully committed to my own healing, because if I had, I’d be fine by now.
I know better now, but I spent several years blaming myself for my illness, because obviously if I believed hard enough, & tried hard enough, & figured out how to manifest more financial abundance to see this specialist or that alternative medicine practitioner, I’d just get better.
Thank you for your unapologetic words and insight into your reality. Everyone wants to make it about them. I was just about to start typing to tell you about how I am both able-bodied and not able-bodied in different ways yadda yadda. Then I said to myself "don't do that, it's not about me!" I'm learning and interested and will keep reading.
Oof, this one hit home. I have had an undiagnosed lung condition for over 6 years now, which comes with a chronic, persistent cough that makes SO many people uncomfortable. I work in circles that overlap with lots of new age folks, & in my experience, the ableism & unsolicited advice can be the worst in that world. Because there’s this undercurrent of belief that EVERYTHING is ultimately mind over matter, not only do I get truly wacky (and often prohibitively expensive) suggestions for diets and remedies, I ALSO get a healthy dose of judgement that clearly I just haven’t fully committed to my own healing, because if I had, I’d be fine by now.
I know better now, but I spent several years blaming myself for my illness, because obviously if I believed hard enough, & tried hard enough, & figured out how to manifest more financial abundance to see this specialist or that alternative medicine practitioner, I’d just get better.
I am so glad that this post resonated with you, and I am also so very sorry. You are not to blame, fuck fault right!? You have a safe space here!
Thank you for your unapologetic words and insight into your reality. Everyone wants to make it about them. I was just about to start typing to tell you about how I am both able-bodied and not able-bodied in different ways yadda yadda. Then I said to myself "don't do that, it's not about me!" I'm learning and interested and will keep reading.