Living with a disability
- Thread starter Bat Vader
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Ooh, I have something unique (so far); a clotting disorder!
The symptom is called thrombocytopathy, but there is no established cause yet. What it means is that it takes a considerably longer time for my blood to clot, because my platelets don't glue together as effectively as they should. What this means in practice is that I am not hindered at all in day-to-day life, but injuries can be considerably more dangerous because I lose more blood than I should. So, not really noticable until it is potentially fatal.
The symptom is called thrombocytopathy, but there is no established cause yet. What it means is that it takes a considerably longer time for my blood to clot, because my platelets don't glue together as effectively as they should. What this means in practice is that I am not hindered at all in day-to-day life, but injuries can be considerably more dangerous because I lose more blood than I should. So, not really noticable until it is potentially fatal.
Epilepsy. I don't care if you call it a disability or not, but it sucks when you're dazed and confused for the next two days and can't really do anything, and have piercing headaches for at least 6 hours after a seizure not mentioning any injuries that are sustained. Pills are unfortunately the only relief, and they completely drain you of your personality and will. Trying to find and experiment with alternative treatments at the moment - some are looking hopeful.
I have OCD and ADD. The ADD I can control, so long as I take my meds. The OCD on the other hand...
OCD manifests itself in a bunch of different ways. Each person's is unique. So while one person might feel the need to keep everything clean, another might need to do something a certain number of times. For me, it manifests as movements. Sometimes, when I move (Get into bed, drink water, close a door, write, etc.) it wont feel right. I'll want to do it again so I can fix it, but most of the time THAT motion doesn't feel right either, so I'll do it again. And again. And again.
It's always there. I can't get away from it. When I read, I'll feel the need to move my eyes back over the words and reread them. When I play games, sometimes when I select something I'll feel like I have to reselect it. And even when I'm just watching a video online, if I hear an odd sound coming from the video I'll go back a few seconds and see if it pops up again. Then I'll go back again. And again. And again...
It's really distressing, because I KNOW that there's no reason for me to feel like I need to repeat actions. I KNOW that nothing bad will happen if I don't go back and get another drink of water. But it feels like I HAVE to. It's like having a mosquito bite, and trying not to scratch at it, only worse.
OCD manifests itself in a bunch of different ways. Each person's is unique. So while one person might feel the need to keep everything clean, another might need to do something a certain number of times. For me, it manifests as movements. Sometimes, when I move (Get into bed, drink water, close a door, write, etc.) it wont feel right. I'll want to do it again so I can fix it, but most of the time THAT motion doesn't feel right either, so I'll do it again. And again. And again.
It's always there. I can't get away from it. When I read, I'll feel the need to move my eyes back over the words and reread them. When I play games, sometimes when I select something I'll feel like I have to reselect it. And even when I'm just watching a video online, if I hear an odd sound coming from the video I'll go back a few seconds and see if it pops up again. Then I'll go back again. And again. And again...
It's really distressing, because I KNOW that there's no reason for me to feel like I need to repeat actions. I KNOW that nothing bad will happen if I don't go back and get another drink of water. But it feels like I HAVE to. It's like having a mosquito bite, and trying not to scratch at it, only worse.
I have somwhat severe Dyspraxia, i cant structure writing too save my life and my handwriting is god awfull, i get bad grades but it kind of encourages me to pursue my dream of becoming a professional musician.
You were trying to undermine my point by implying my logic was flawed, by twisting the meaning of what I said SO MUCH it has left me astounded.Palademon said:
I hope you bought Credibility dinner at least before doing what you did to it.
Well, I've got less hearing than most people.
I can function without a hearing aid so I'm not disabled. Just a bit cloth-eared. And I have balance problems cause of the ear thing.
My mother, me and my nan all have hearing problems, but for all different reasons.
I guess ears in this family are just weak.
Also depression runs in my family, but it hasn't gotten me yet.
I can function without a hearing aid so I'm not disabled. Just a bit cloth-eared. And I have balance problems cause of the ear thing.
My mother, me and my nan all have hearing problems, but for all different reasons.
I guess ears in this family are just weak.
Also depression runs in my family, but it hasn't gotten me yet.
ASD, and I got diagnosed really late (21) which threw me massively for a few years.
I've got my head around it now, and generally I have a good feel for my limits and work within that. Occasionally I do have the anxiety/panic attacks and other issues, but I have a decent department here who are willing to give me space or support as needed.
The thing that I really struggle with (to the point I wish the doctor had never picked it up) is trying to find a job; since diagnosis I've applied for 50 or so, all have turned me down specifically because of my disability, I can't even volunteer for a charity. I've pried a bit at careers fairs on campus asking for a "friend" and responses range from not outright hatred to only wanting to employ disabled people in wheelchairs because it's PR then.
That's why I'm terrified of graduation, to the point where I'll probably kill myself if I can't land a PhD or research project.
I've got my head around it now, and generally I have a good feel for my limits and work within that. Occasionally I do have the anxiety/panic attacks and other issues, but I have a decent department here who are willing to give me space or support as needed.
The thing that I really struggle with (to the point I wish the doctor had never picked it up) is trying to find a job; since diagnosis I've applied for 50 or so, all have turned me down specifically because of my disability, I can't even volunteer for a charity. I've pried a bit at careers fairs on campus asking for a "friend" and responses range from not outright hatred to only wanting to employ disabled people in wheelchairs because it's PR then.
That's why I'm terrified of graduation, to the point where I'll probably kill myself if I can't land a PhD or research project.
I am both dyslexic and dysgraphic meaning my writing is so pour after a few lines even i can not read it. I could never take notes and more ore less never learned to spell very well as spelling tests tend to end in about the 6th grade and if I use a computer it has spell check. This also means a more ore less auto-failed math even with correct answers you MUST show your work it counts as 80% of your grade on average even if you get every answer right you get a 20 yippee!
The only thing that save me was after high school all that changes sadly except for many math classes. But I the real world no one gives a damn how you do your job as long as you get correct results no matter how much your algebra teacher thinks that is a lie.
The only thing that save me was after high school all that changes sadly except for many math classes. But I the real world no one gives a damn how you do your job as long as you get correct results no matter how much your algebra teacher thinks that is a lie.
Well, I don't have any major disabilities, but I am borderline autistic and a manic depressant, but I don't really look at those being very major. They do effect my life in many ways, but once I found a balance in my life, they have really become just a thing.
My brother on the other hand is an amputee, and I've lived with him sense it happened, so you can say I've lived with that disability effecting my life. While it didn't happen to me physically, I've been having to deal with it for years.
My brother on the other hand is an amputee, and I've lived with him sense it happened, so you can say I've lived with that disability effecting my life. While it didn't happen to me physically, I've been having to deal with it for years.
I don't have a disability per se, in that it's more a heavy inconvenience; cholinergic hives. It's a form of physical hives that get triggered by a sufficiently high core body temperature, in my case sufficient apparently means 37 degrees Celsius. I'm essentially allergic (but not limited to) my own body heat. Before I started on my antihistamines I wasn't able to sleep at all because 24/7 my skin was itching all over while I futilely scratched my skin until it bled, and I would spend as much time as I could taking ice cold showers just to numb myself or at least carry some ice cubes on hand. Now that I'm on reactine it's a lot better in that it isn't omnipresent anymore and I can live essentially the same as before, but while infinitely better then without, meds have there limits, and anything that raises my body temperature by just a bit more can trigger stronger outbreaks, instead of simple itching it's real pins and needles. So I have to live with the fact that anything from exercise, someone turning the heater on, strong sunshine, to being angry or stressed can raise by body temp enough to trigger rippling waves of stinging pain across my skin. Needless to say, when your body's reaction to excess emotion is to cover you in fire ants, you develop a much more emotionless disposition.
Ive got a lot of stuff wrong. The root of my disability is diabetes. In and of itself its not completely debilitating, but after being forced to endure it for half a decade with no means to medicate it other than extreme regulation of diet it has progressed to the point where it has adversely effected me internally, physically as well as mentally. Its been made fairly clear to me that the back end of my life has severely been clipped and seeing 60 is essentially impossible and seeing 50 is incredibly unlikely.
HOORAY for living in a leading world superpower that DOESNT have universal health care!/eyeroll.
HOORAY for living in a leading world superpower that DOESNT have universal health care!/eyeroll.
I?ve been diagnosed with OCD, generalized anxiety, and depression. I wouldn?t call them disabilities. More like disorders. All three of them can make me very stressed out over even the smallest things, and ends with me often feeling quite empty and feeling incompetent. I mean, even right now, I?m obsessing over the fact that I?ve wasted, like, 7 fucking hours (probably an addiction, but due to my circumstances, it?s pretty much the only thing that I can do to kill time and keep me from descending into the darkness of boredom) on this laptop just on two forums, YouTube, and Facebook, but I can?t think of anything else worthwhile to do with my time. Oh, and finishing yet another A-Level Politics essay, writing my CV, applying for a job, getting a provisional licence, filling in my driving application. My brother?s told me to stop moving his watch from the table where our TV and everything is on (he used to sleep in my room, and still has a bunch of stuff here), which kind of annoys me, because it?s, like, on the edge of the table, and it doesn?t feel right, it might fall over, yadda yadda?
Nothing bad will happen if I don?t do it?but it?s like an itch that I have to scratch, ?cos if I don?t, then I can?t 100% concentrate on the thing that I?m meant to be doing.
No smartphone because I?m antsy about money, no hobbies because I quit kickboxing due to lack of motivation and it was a fucking hassle trying to get there every Thursday with lack of buses at night and all, and only a few friends I can count on to come out to town now and then on the weekends. Of course, those parts aren?t disabilities or anything, but it could count towards my depression and anxiety. To be honest, sometimes I do care, and sometimes I don?t. My mood tends to change a lot. I?m not bipolar; I guess I?m just still a hormonal teenager with problems. I don?t really like my life at the moment.
I thought I had at least a mild form of dyspraxia at one point, but my doctor told me that my lack of coordination and stuff needs to be worse than what it already is to actually have dyspraxia. But I?m still doubting that a little bit, since I heard that it?s a hard thing to diagnose and it?s focused in certain fields. Or maybe it?s just me desperately looking for a ?label? for my general clumsiness and lack of understanding certain things that a ?normal? 16-year-old should or should not know by now (even shit like hanging up my fucking clothes properly on my clothes hangers, or combing my hear properly?a couple of months ago, before I got it cut, shampoo got stuck in it and turned stale because my hair was so goddamn chunky).
I?m on anti-depressants at the moment, and I?m still on the waiting list for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), while a doctor sees me every other week to check up on my progress. Nothing much has changed, really.
*sigh* I guess a couple of good things I have is that I?m quite good at English, and I?ve been told multiple times that I?m a really fast typer. I just know the keys; always have, since I was about 4.
Nothing bad will happen if I don?t do it?but it?s like an itch that I have to scratch, ?cos if I don?t, then I can?t 100% concentrate on the thing that I?m meant to be doing.
No smartphone because I?m antsy about money, no hobbies because I quit kickboxing due to lack of motivation and it was a fucking hassle trying to get there every Thursday with lack of buses at night and all, and only a few friends I can count on to come out to town now and then on the weekends. Of course, those parts aren?t disabilities or anything, but it could count towards my depression and anxiety. To be honest, sometimes I do care, and sometimes I don?t. My mood tends to change a lot. I?m not bipolar; I guess I?m just still a hormonal teenager with problems. I don?t really like my life at the moment.
I thought I had at least a mild form of dyspraxia at one point, but my doctor told me that my lack of coordination and stuff needs to be worse than what it already is to actually have dyspraxia. But I?m still doubting that a little bit, since I heard that it?s a hard thing to diagnose and it?s focused in certain fields. Or maybe it?s just me desperately looking for a ?label? for my general clumsiness and lack of understanding certain things that a ?normal? 16-year-old should or should not know by now (even shit like hanging up my fucking clothes properly on my clothes hangers, or combing my hear properly?a couple of months ago, before I got it cut, shampoo got stuck in it and turned stale because my hair was so goddamn chunky).
I?m on anti-depressants at the moment, and I?m still on the waiting list for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), while a doctor sees me every other week to check up on my progress. Nothing much has changed, really.
*sigh* I guess a couple of good things I have is that I?m quite good at English, and I?ve been told multiple times that I?m a really fast typer. I just know the keys; always have, since I was about 4.
I have some pretty bad fears and OCD to be honest. I have a fear of fire and a big fear of the dark, so being home alone is bad, but being around fire is even worse for me. I also need to unplug everything in my room (set for my alarm clock) before I go to bed and lay out all plugs not touching each other because of my fear, for the idea they might catch on fire when I'm asleep....
Yeah it's kind of hard. I worry alot so that doesn't help.
Yeah it's kind of hard. I worry alot so that doesn't help.
When I was 15 I had Osgood Schlatter Syndrome, which has now left me with early onset arthritis in my knees. As someone who starts work at 5 in the morning, the cold mornings and nights can get pretty god damn painful, and work can become a pain, but luckily it is now summer here so it has eased off a bit.
Also have some recurring tendinitis in my right hand which first happened when I was 17 and doing the HSC. Oh man that was not fun.
Captcha: Have fun.
Fuck you Captcha.....
Also have some recurring tendinitis in my right hand which first happened when I was 17 and doing the HSC. Oh man that was not fun.
Captcha: Have fun.
Fuck you Captcha.....
Same. I've got that and a mild case of Cerebral Palsy. I can walk and run like anyone else, but I'm really easy to cause to tip over and fall. Spatial orientation isn't my thing at all (Myst's Selenetic Age Tramway puzzle, FUUUUUU) and my maths are barely starting to pick up. I'm 29 and still get mildly worried when I have to pay bills on my own. Tax reports? Fuck that, I keep my receipts and pay someone to do 'em for me.purf said:
I basically drag my iPod out to the grocery store so I can calculate my total pre-emptively.
I just hate numbers all around. That's my real disability, as far as I'm concerned.