Chronic Illness Memes

Please Read FAQ before asking questions. If you can't access the FAQ DON'T ASK ON ANON All non-anon asks will be answered privately, unless addressed to our readers, or we are given specific permission to publish.

[crippled-peeper]

if your disability came from something you did voluntarily, like driving a car, or having sex, or doing BMX stunts, then guess what???

you deserve respect. you deserve to have your needs met. you deserve to live

[waytoomuchinformation]

Pssst.

Are you a sub/bottom that has issues kneeling because of the pressure created by sitting on your feet/ankles?

Look into meditation benches.

[dumbdomb]

[various images of people utilizing a meditation bench. different styles of benches shown.]

[waytoomuchinformation]

Thanks for the image addition.

I’ve only ever used one and it was a thrift store purchase so no specific suggestions.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Any advice for someone who's got bursitis in both knees? (I'm not a sub I just miss being able to kneel.)

[misa-chu]

@derinthescarletpescatarian a garden kneeler, maybe. At their most basic they're just a chunk of fairly dense foam, but there are also ones with handles to help you get up and the double as a regular seat

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Oooh thanks

[disabled-dragoon]

[ID: Two images of garden kneeler. The first is of two foam pads, one blue, one green. The second is of a metal frame with a green cushioning. The frame is first posed to look like an upright stool, and then posed like an overturned stool. /end ID]

[covid-safer-hotties]

[etherealspacejelly]

this is your gentle reminder to stop fighting against your adhd and instead structure your life around it

buy a pack of chapsticks and put one in the pocket of all of your coats and jackets because you always forget to bring one and chapped lips is sensory hell

leave important things where you can see them. if they go in a box or a drawer you will forget they exist

put any appointments or deadlines in your phone calendar As Soon As you get them. set a reminder for a week before, a day before, an hour before, as many as you need as often as you need them.

when that little voice in your head says "i dont need to write that down, ill remember it" that is the devil talking!!! write it down anyway!!

plan for down time. have a few hours at the end of every day to just do fun stuff like engage in your hyperfixations. even if you didnt get all of your work done that day, have the rest anyway. you probably spent the whole day beating yourself up for not doing what you Should be doing, so you still need the break.

if you never eat vegetables because its too much effort to chop and cook them, get the frozen or canned shit. it doesnt go off for ages and you just have to microwave it. theres no point buying fresh vegetables if they just keep going off and being left to rot in the bottom of your fridge

if you struggle to decide what to have for dinner every day, take the decision out of it. choose a set of meals and eat those on rotation until you get sick of them, then choose some new ones and do it again.

its not stupid if it works! our brains literally have a chemical deficiency. you are allowed to accommodate yourself. go forth and stop making your life more difficult than it has to be because "this shouldn't be this hard". it is hard, so make it easier.

[should-be-sleeping]

You are allowed to accommodate yourself.

[purple--starrrs]

By the way it's like. Really fucked how society's thoughts on epilepsy is just "get over it." Seizures can cause permanent brain damage. Seizures can kill people. Seizures hurt like hell. Allow me to reiterate that seizures can kill people. And you're just gonna casually put flashing lights, a common trigger for seizures in your advertisement, in your animation meme, in your edit, on your billboards, without even thinking about putting a simple disclaimer? That's unbelievable. Your little anime edit could deadass cost a life and you're not gonna put a warning because it's "inconvenient" or "people like that shouldn't be on the internet" (ableist) (the problem exists outside the internet also). Or you'll give insufficient ones like putting it in the captions or only giving like one second before the flashing lights appear, meaning that the trigger's already in motion before anyone who needs the warning can read it and save themselves from literal physical danger.

We need to start commenting under other people's posts about how to properly warn for flashing lights and eyestrain. We need to be emailing and calling companies about their possibly triggering advertisements that could induce seizures. We need to stop tolerating ableism and start speaking up for the more vulnerable.

Also, stop putting epilepsy warnings. That's like saying "warning: schizophrenia" on a post including unreality or "warning: dyslexia" on a post with a typing quirk. First off, the disability mentioned isn't the only group of people that this could trigger. Second, it doesn't truly get the message across and instead makes it worse for those with the disability-- scrolling through the epilepsy tag on Tumblr should get you to view the content of other epileptic people, but no, you just get a bunch of flashing lights and eyestrain, even though you could instead tag for, oh I dunno, flashing lights and eyestrain.

Anyways this Disability Pride, and for every month that comes after, think about epileptic people and others who are triggered by flashing lights/eyestrain. Happy pride to those who experience seizures too frequently due to the unaccommodating and ableist societies we live in!

[quixoticanarchy]

damn people rly hate type 2 diabetics don't they

[quixoticanarchy]

i (type 1 diabetic) was explaining autoimmune diseases to someone and she was like ohh right so yours is the good kind of diabetes where you didn't do it to yourself. to which i objected that's not how type 2 works either. and she said well that's the fat old people disease. and i was like you can't say that, a) not how it works and b) extremely rude. and her defense was her grandparents have type 2 and "did it to themselves" and since they're fat old people she reserves the right to hate on them. i understand hating shitty grandparents but YOU are the shitty one here to hate on them for their medical conditions and weight rather than literally anything else. hello?!

anyway type 2 diabetics i'm sorry about the world. everyone* be kind to type 2s or else

*note to type 1 diabetics especially we need to be better at solidarity and not cling to being the "good ones" at type 2s' expense. what the fuck is a good kind of diabetes anyway

[quixoticanarchy]

also worth saying diabetes is a complex reaction to a not-yet-fully-understood set of factors and environmental pressures and genetics and it's reductive and fatphobic to say fat=diabetes BUT EVEN SO no matter if someone did incontrovertibly "give themself diabetes" that's not a free pass for dehumanization. shut upppp

[kelpforestdwellers]

I agree with you up until your penultimate sentence, because you cannot 'give yourself diabetes.' Nevertheless, thank you for this post.

[flowercrowncrip]

This disability pride month I would like the community to understand that Sometimes wheelchairs aren’t freedom.

Sometimes using a wheelchair means you can no longer get to the places that used to be important to you, and not because of man-made inaccessibility. I have sat with someone as they cried because they could no longer visit the place they had scattered a loved one’s ashes because not even the most expensive wheelchair in the world could handle the terrain. As much as I wanted to, my wheelchair meant that I couldn’t position myself in a way that would allow me to give them a proper hug. In that moment, our wheelchairs felt more like heavy weights than freedom.

And sometimes wheelchairs are like the legs of someone who can walk but would maybe benefit from a wheelchair themselves. Sometimes wheelchairs are exhausting and painful and you’re counting down the time before you’re able to be lifted into bed. Sure, like painful legs, you can do more with them than without, but constantly performing gratitude for something that hurts you is exhausting. And again, not because you need a better wheelchair, but because those are the limits of your body and the technology that exists.

Yes it’s important to challenge the idea that wheelchairs are always a tragedy. And yes, there are lots of people who have a positive relationship with their chair. But for a lot of people, including me, the pressure to love your wheelchair and see it as freedom is painful and feels like it erases huge amounts of my experiences with disability.

[airandangels]

These little-known bank accounts allow Americans with disabilities to save and invest

If you're an American with a disability who receives government assistance, you likely qualify for an ABLE account, or you may starting next

The age of eligibility for an ABLE account, allowing USAmerican disabled people to save up money without losing their government assistance for having “too much,” is going to go up to cover disabilities diagnosed by age 46 (currently it’s age 26), meaning a much larger number of people will be able to access them. As the article notes, many Americans don’t know these accounts exist, let alone whether they or someone they care for could qualify for one, so please share this information around.

It seems to me it would obviously be better if the “no more than $2000 a month” limit were simply removed and disabled people could have whatever savings accounts they chose, but this is heaps better than nothing.

[non-binarypal7]

Effective as of January 1, 2026, eligibility has expanded to folks whose disabled diagnosis was established prior to turning 46 years old

About ABLE Accounts An ABLE account is a savings and / or investment option for people with disabilities who qualify. It falls under Section

[gendernewtral]

i feel like boasting that an event is ‘accessible’ without providing literally ANY information on what that means on both the event and venue website might actually be bullshit

[crybabyangelgirl]

its so hard to take fatphobes seriously when you realize they're living in a fullfledged delusion. Like you could look at a thin person and i buying our groceries one after the other and see them buying nothing but carbs and snacks and soda and frozen processed foods and me buying nothing but locally sourced meats and whole vegetables and water and maintain that i must live a less healthy lifestyle bc of my weight. You can watch me and a thin person walk up the same hill and see them losing their breath and needing to take breaks and see me make it to the top without breaking a sweat and maintain that i must live a less healthy lifestyle bc of my weight. You can watch a thin person eat an entire bucket of fried chicken in one sitting and have nothing to say and then see a fat person eat nothing but salads for a week and tell them "hey you know salad isn't as healthy as you think it is i bet that dressing is full of fats and croutons are just carbs i bet that salad is mostly croutons and disgusting fatty dressing this is why you aren't losing weight". You have to completely divorce yourself from reality to maintain your worldview and its pathetic. 99% of the thin people i know dont go to a gym regularly and dont worry about eating healthily at all. Im simply not going to live in your fantasy world where thin people are allowed to be thin because of their genetics but fat people can never ever be fat because of their genetics and every choice they make is a moral failing.

[crybabyangelgirl]

No matter how little notes something i post about fat liberation gets some volatile fatphobe always manages to find it and say the stupidest least science informed bullshit ive ever heard in my life, its a true show of dedication from them even i don't think about fat people this much

[so-over-ableism]

the smoke from the canadian wildfires has made my air quality be in the dangerous level for most of the day and i wanted to make a bit of a guide for what to do and make it a bit more applicable to people with disabilities, especially chronic illnesses

if you are in an area impacted by dangerous air quality:

stay hydrated and inside as much as possible. if you struggle staying hydrated, increase your salt or electrolyte intake. you can add electrolytes into your water with brands like liquid iv

if you don’t wear one already, now is a great time to start masking again (and keep it up! the pandemic isn’t over!) as it’ll help filter some of the smoke. specifically use an N-95 or a KN-95 — cloth or surgical masks are not equipped for this

people with asthma, lung disease like COPD, people with cardiovascular conditions, people with diabetes, and other circulatory conditions are at a significantly higher risk due to the nature of it being an air quality issue, but if you’re chronically ill outside of these categories it will still hit harder so be aware of yourself

pregnant people are also at a higher risk than the general public

if you are experiencing trouble breathing, heart palpitations, nausea, or dizziness and it’s not something you regularly do or it’s noticeably worse, please get medical help. i get most of these usually and i know those symptoms can be normal for people who follow me, so just be aware of your normal and judge from there

if you find yourself beginning to feel any of these symptoms but don’t have access to fast medical care or money is an issue, stay alert for the start and immediately take time to rest, put a cool washcloth over your eyes, or even your full face. do as much as you can to avoid any stress to your body from excess movement

for your air conditioning, keep it on a recirculate setting if you have that setting to prevent it from bringing outside air in. you can keep the air conditioning on even if you don’t have this setting though, so if you have poor heat regulation abilities please keep it on to avoid your body going through extra stress

additional air filters in the home are also beneficial. once this has passed, replace the filters so they are clear for any subsequent events

stay in rooms you can insulate from the outside. it can also be helpful to place rolled up towels or blankets along the seams of your doors and windows to prevent outside air from getting in

if you’ve been outside, take a shower to wash yourself off. if you can’t do a shower for whatever reason, try and grab a wet washcloth or some wet wipes and wash your hands and face. those two areas prevent the pollution from entering your eyes, nose, and mouth from either touching with the hand or it migrating on your face. washing your hair is recommended too, but again your mileage may vary on what you are able to do

here’s some extra reading if you want to look more into this:

CBC.ca - “Here's how wildfire smoke exposure can impact your health”

American Lung Association - 10 Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air

National Weather Service - Be Prepared: Poor Air Quality

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Air Quality and Health

PBS - What to Know About Bad Air Caused by Wildfires and How to Protect Yourself

[identitty-dickruption]

deadly seriously. I think it should be more acceptable to bring up your sex life in medical environments without feeling like you’re going to be judged or like you’re stepping out of line. we should be allowed to bring up sex-related goals during physiotherapy. we should be allowed to mention sex in chronic fatigue activity reports. we should be able to mention this stuff because it’s important and it matters. to a lot of people

[identitty-dickruption]

I don’t understand why it’s unacceptable for me to say “hey look my main goal for these muscle strengthening exercises is to be able to hold my favourite sex position for longer”. like that’s crucial information for a medical professional to know. killing and maiming

[identitty-dickruption]

this also applies to jacking it btw

[normal-with-adhd-is-a-joke]

What people don't understand about "no excess physical activity/exercise" is that everything is physical activity.

I told the people at orthopedic urgent care that I can't do physical therapy because my condition doesn't allow for exercise. They gave me a list of things I could do at home. They were exercises. I was frustrated at first, but it made me realize how able bodied people can't conceptualize "no exercise" at all.

Walking down two hallways to get to my college class is exercise. Cooking and baking are exercise. Getting something from downstairs is exercise. Even typing is exercise. Each one of those things chips away at my ability to do simple things, like sit upright or speak or even just stay awake. When someone says they can't exercise for medical reasons, that means they can't, and pushing them to do physical activity because it "doesn't take that much energy" is dangerous. Everything takes energy.

[kleineprinzin]

i dont know how many doctors visits i got left in me

[i-am-a-fish]

whose dumb ass idiot fuck idea was it to make medicine cost money

[i-am-a-fish]

go to triple hell

[ryan-sometimes]

When people justify using gen AI by talking about how it allows them to do (insert creative hobby) it sends me into a blind rage. The whole point of the creative hobby is to use your brain. Having a machine do it for you defeats the purpose. That’s like saying you’re getting into running marathons then just driving the 42km

[rosslynpaladin]

"well what if I was disable-"

Shut up. I am disabled. My brain barely works any more and my hands don't do what I want, and I don't have the strength for singing the way I did,

and I'd rather never paint again, never sew again, never sing again

than have a computer steal other people's work and call it mine.

Keep our disabilities out of your mouth- we're not your PROP for arguments.

[joy-haver]

So many things would be better if doctors could just say “yeah that is a real problem but there isn’t much we can do to treat it so our only real recommendations are other things that raise your general health level to compensate”

instead they just say “thats normal” or “oh theres nothing wrong with you”. Because in their mind “it wont kill you and i cant fix it” means its not worth mentioning.

Affirm the problem doc, it wont kill you. Knowing that something just isnt the kind of thing doctors treat will save your patients so much time, money, and stress, all of which will improve their health.