#Fibromyalgia education

[somethingnubian]

8 Ways to Strengthening Bonds of Love, and Resilience, with Fibromyalgia

Working together on these goals reinforces your sense of unity

By La Trecia Doyle-Thaxton Keywords: Fibromyalgia, Relationship challenges, Empathy in relationships, Fibromyalgia support, Couples and fibromyalgia, Communication in relationships, Fibromyalgia education, Self-care for couples, Quality time for couples, Supportive network, Fibromyalgia support groups, Couples’ intimacy, Common goals for couples, Coping with chronic illness, Relationship…

[crewdlydrawn]

I think medical professionals should have to pay a fine every time they tell a person with fibromyalgia or similar chronic pain issues to “avoid everything but Tylenol” to deal with it.

[anftherapy]

Is hamstring tendonitis affecting your daily life? This condition, caused by inflammation of the tendons at the back of your thigh, can lead to pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.

ANF Therapy®️ offers an advanced, non-invasive solution that targets the root cause of hamstring tendonitis.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Ad-tech targeting is an existential threat

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me TORONTO on SUNDAY (Feb 23) at Another Story Books, and in NYC on WEDNESDAY (26 Feb) with JOHN HODGMAN. More tour dates here.

The commercial surveillance industry is almost totally unregulated. Data brokers, ad-tech, and everyone in between – they harvest, store, analyze, sell and rent every intimate, sensitive, potentially compromising fact about your life.

Late last year, I testified at a Consumer Finance Protection Bureau hearing about a proposed new rule to kill off data brokers, who are the lynchpin of the industry:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

The other witnesses were fascinating – and chilling, There was a lawyer from the AARP who explained how data-brokers would let you target ads to categories like "seniors with dementia." Then there was someone from the Pentagon, discussing how anyone could do an ad-buy targeting "people enlisted in the armed forces who have gambling problems." Sure, I thought, and you don't even need these explicit categories: if you served an ad to "people 25-40 with Ivy League/Big Ten law or political science degrees within 5 miles of Congress," you could serve an ad with a malicious payload to every Congressional staffer.

Now, that's just the data brokers. The real action is in ad-tech, a sector dominated by two giant companies, Meta and Google. These companies claim that they are better than the unregulated data-broker cowboys at the bottom of the food-chain. They say they're responsible wielders of unregulated monopoly surveillance power. Reader, they are not.

Meta has been repeatedly caught offering ad-targeting like "depressed teenagers" (great for your next incel recruiting drive):

https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/05/01/105987/is-facebook-targeting-ads-at-sad-teens/

And Google? They just keep on getting caught with both hands in the creepy commercial surveillance cookie-jar. Today, Wired's Dell Cameron and Dhruv Mehrotra report on a way to use Google to target people with chronic illnesses, people in financial distress, and national security "decision makers":

https://www.wired.com/story/google-dv360-banned-audience-segments-national-security/

Google doesn't offer these categories itself, they just allow data-brokers to assemble them and offer them for sale via Google. Just as it's possible to generate a target of "Congressional staffers" by using location and education data, it's possible to target people with chronic illnesses based on things like whether they regularly travel to clinics that treat HIV, asthma, chronic pain, etc.

Google claims that this violates their policies, and that they have best-of-breed technical measures to prevent this from happening, but when Wired asked how this data-broker was able to sell these audiences – including people in menopause, or with "chronic pain, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, arthritis, high cholesterol, and hypertension" – Google did not reply.

The data broker in the report also sold access to people based on which medications they took (including Ambien), people who abuse opioids or are recovering from opioid addiction, people with endocrine disorders, and "contractors with access to restricted US defense-related technologies."

It's easy to see how these categories could enable blackmail, spear-phishing, scams, malvertising, and many other crimes that threaten individuals, groups, and the nation as a whole. The US Office of Naval Intelligence has already published details of how "anonymous" people targeted by ads can be identified:

https://www.odni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ODNI-Declassified-Report-on-CAI-January2022.pdf

The most amazing part is how the 33,000 targeting segments came to public light: an activist just pretended to be an ad buyer, and the data-broker sent him the whole package, no questions asked. Johnny Ryan is a brilliant Irish privacy activist with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. He created a fake data analytics website for a company that wasn't registered anywhere, then sent out a sales query to a brokerage (the brokerage isn't identified in the piece, to prevent bad actors from using it to attack targeted categories of people).

Foreign states, including China – a favorite boogeyman of the US national security establishment – can buy Google's data and target users based on Google ad-tech stack. In the past, Chinese spies have used malvertising – serving targeted ads loaded with malware – to attack their adversaries. Chinese firms spend billions every year to target ads to Americans:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/business/google-meta-temu-shein.html

Google and Meta have no meaningful checks to prevent anyone from establishing a shell company that buys and targets ads with their services, and the data-brokers that feed into those services are even less well-protected against fraud and other malicious act.

All of this is only possible because Congress has failed to act on privacy since 1988. That's the year that Congress passed the Video Privacy Protection Act, which bans video store clerks from telling the newspapers which VHS cassettes you have at home. That's also the last time Congress passed a federal consumer privacy law:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Privacy_Protection_Act

The legislative history of the VPPA is telling: it was passed after a newspaper published the leaked video-rental history of a far-right judge named Robert Bork, whom Reagan hoped to elevate to the Supreme Court. Bork failed his Senate confirmation hearings, but not because of his video rentals (he actually had pretty good taste in movies). Rather, it was because he was a Nixonite criminal and virulent loudmouth racist whose record was strewn with the most disgusting nonsense imaginable).

But the leak of Bork's video-rental history gave Congress the cold grue. His video rental history wasn't embarrassing, but it sure seemed like Congress had some stuff in its video-rental records that they didn't want voters finding out about. They beat all land-speed records in making it a crime to tell anyone what kind of movies they (and we) were watching.

And that was it. For 37 years, Congress has completely failed to pass another consumer privacy law. Which is how we got here – to this moment where you can target ads to suicidal teens, gambling addicted soldiers in Minuteman silos, grannies with Alzheimer's, and every Congressional staffer on the Hill.

Some people think the problem with mass surveillance is a kind of machine-driven, automated mind-control ray. They believe the self-aggrandizing claims of tech bros to have finally perfected the elusive mind-control ray, using big data and machine learning.

But you don't need to accept these outlandish claims – which come from Big Tech's sales literature, wherein they boast to potential advertisers that surveillance ads are devastatingly effective – to understand how and why this is harmful. If you're struggling with opioid addiction and I target an ad to you for a fake cure or rehab center, I haven't brainwashed you – I've just tricked you. We don't have to believe in mind-control to believe that targeted lies can cause unlimited harms.

And those harms are indeed grave. Stein's Law predicts that "anything that can't go on forever eventually stops." Congress's failure on privacy has put us all at risk – including Congress. It's only a matter of time until the commercial surveillance industry is responsible for a massive leak, targeted phishing campaign, or a ghastly national security incident involving Congress. Perhaps then we will get action.

In the meantime, the coalition of people whose problems can be blamed on the failure to update privacy law continues to grow. That coalition includes protesters whose identities were served up to cops, teenagers who were tracked to out-of-state abortion clinics, people of color who were discriminated against in hiring and lending, and anyone who's been harassed with deepfake porn:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/20/privacy-first-second-third/#malvertising

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[ishimarukiyotaka]

Fyi if you care about disability justice it’s good to take a moment to educate yourself on long covid, MECFS, and other neglected serious medical conditions (autoimmune diseases, dysautonomia, POTs, cyclic vomiting syndrome(cvs), fibromyalgia to name a few)

Even just having a basic understanding of these conditions is huge for people who suffer from them. The medical field has neglected patients for years and the more people are aware and educated the better it is for us trying to exist.

[somethingnubian]

Harnessing Harmony: A Day in Our Afro-Boho Homeschooling Life

Introduction: Greetings, beautiful community! It’s your homegirl, Reiki Ra-ess, here to bring a sprinkle of sunshine and wisdom into your day. As a steadfast advocate for education that resonates with our roots and rhythm, I’m thrilled to unveil a daily tool that’s been a labor of love and learning in our household for over a decade– our Afro-Boho inspired Daily Worksheet. Harmony in…

[aristocratic-otter]

Thank you for tagging me, @monbons, @rimeswithpurple, @nausikaaa, @artsyunderstudy, @prettygoododds,

@ileadacharmedlife, @alexalexinii, @best--dress,  @j-nipper-95, @roomwithanopenfire, 

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe, and @whatevertheweather

It's been another lovely year of getting to know you all and making new friends in this amazing fandom.

Some 2024 stats from AO3:

Number of works posted: 11

Number of events participated in: 6

Number of works completed: 3

Number of words written: 156,000

Seems pretty decent, right? But compare that to 2023:

Number of works posted: 12

Number of events participated in: 7

Number of works completed: 10

Number of words written: 294,445

So, what the fuck happened that cut my productivity literally in half? (Though I worked on nearly the same amount of fics, lol. Methinks my ambition doth outstrip my ability.)

Well, that’s a story, and one that’s unfortunately too common, from what I’ve learned. If you don’t want to listen to me ramble, feel free to jump down to the monthly list, because this is going to be entirely self-indulgent. Story and Fic timeline under the cut:

Part 1: 

Sometime around the beginning of last year, I began suffering a series of muscle and joint injuries…or so I thought. I was diagnosed with so many things. Arthritis. Bursitis. Muscle Strain. I was given physical therapy. I stopped going to physical therapy when the simplest exercise my therapist gave me left me crying in pain. I was given muscle relaxants and pain meds. Nothing had any long term effect. All I knew was, my body was slowly giving up on me. 

It affected my job. I went from being a teacher who was constantly buzzing around the classroom, checking on students and giving assistance, to a teacher who seldom could manage to leave her chair. My students struggled and my classroom grew messier by the day, because I couldn’t check that the students were cleaning up, nor could I clean up after them myself. 

It affected my home life. By the time I’d get home from work, the pain and stiffness were always at a high. I’d end up rotting in a recliner all evening, every evening. My mind grew foggier, my concentration worse, and it started taking me three to four times the usual amount of time to simply prep my lesson for the next day. I had next to nothing left to spare for my family or my hobbies.

So writing? On a work night, I was lucky to write a paragraph. Real progress on my WIPs started only happening on weekends. 

Finally, near the beginning of last summer, I went to my doctor, desperate for something, anything. At that point, I was beginning to believe I’d have to take (very) early retirement and go on disability, because I couldn’t even walk around a grocery store, and I refused to have another year where I didn’t serve my students as they deserved to be served. 

I blurted out all of this to my doctor, and she frowned at me and asked me to describe where my pain was. 

Hips, spine, knees, ankles, elbows, I told her. 

Then she said the words that changed everything. “It sounds like you have Fibromyalgia.”

Part 2

Can you believe, educated as I am, especially in the sciences, I’d never heard of it? I’ve learned a lot since. Fibro mainly afflicts women, mainly affects people in their prime or slightly older. And, until recently, it was considered an unprovable disease, like chronic fatigue syndrome. There were no medical tests for it, and most victims were treated like they were imagining things. There were no medicines for it. No therapies. There was no explanation for the disparate cluster of symptoms associated with it.  As far as the medical profession was concerned, it didn’t exist. 

I’m lucky. Things started changing for Fibro patients just a few years before my diagnosis. Three years ago, two drugs were approved for it. There is now a diagnostic test for it. And there’s plenty of research outlining a causal pathway for the disease. 

Turns out, it’s a brain disease. The brain affects every part of the body, and in the case of fibro, it also affects how we perceive our bodies. Because that’s what happens in fibromyalgia: your brain misreads pain signals from the body. It’s like my pain sensitivities are always dialed up to eleven. Something that causes a twinge for a non-Fibro sufferer can cause a Fibro patient to scream in agony. 

When I went to a specialist, she told me I hit every single diagnostic criteria for Fibromyalgia. So, I got meds. I got referrals to a rheumatologist and physical therapy again. This time, the physical therapist was able to focus my work on things that were within my capabilities and were meant to improve my symptoms. My rheumatologist is testing out different meds and dosages on me to see what gets the most useful result. 

I still have Fibro. Maybe I always will, there’s disagreement on whether a cure is even possible. But the meds and therapy help manage the pain and reverse some of the brain fog. I’m able to circulate and help my students again, though I have to be cautious of overexertion, which can trigger a high-pain episode. I can interact with my family and actually do some chores and work in the evenings, though, again, I have to take it easy (I’m not good at taking it easy, it’s a learning curve). I’m writing more. Usually a page or more a night. 

My journey is hopefully back on track, and I hope to finish all of my current WIPs in the next year. But I figured that this is the one night a year that people use to reflect on the past and look forward to the future, so that’s what I’m doing. And maybe my story will help someone. If you’re struggling with any aspect of your health, I hope you find answers and help in 2025. 

Happy New Year!

My Year In Fic

January

Nothing new posted or finished. As I recall, I was mostly working on The Heart in the Well and Cupid's Shield.

February

Posted (republished after release in the Lady Ruth Charity Zine)

The Bother About Brownies (art by @hgari)

4845 Words, Rated T

Baz is tasked with creating a dessert for the triplets' school cake sale. Brownies are such an easy recipe. What could go wrong?

Lemon Blueberry Shortbread, art by @letraspal

2912 Words, Rated G

Two afternoons of learning to cook a family recipe, thirty years apart.

Posted as part of Erotic Gropefest (WIP)

Cupid’s Shield, WIP

Currently 10,122 words, Rated E

I used to think that Valentine’s Day was bollocks invented by greeting card companies.

That was before I started at Watford and learned that it was deadly serious.

March

Nothing posted (possibly some chapters of WIPs, there's no way to check). But I was definitely working on nearly all of my fics that are still WIPs and The Heart in the Well, which is finished.

April

First Posting of:

Stars, Flowers, and Children (WIP)

Currently 20,005 words, Rated E

To Simon, Baz is a stuck up brat he has to put up with in between his duties as Cabin boy on the SS Watford.

To Baz, Simon is the chavvy, illiterate savage of a boy who won't bow and scrape the way he's supposed to.

Marooned together because of a disaster at sea, they'll have to come together as allies in order to survive. But they're destined to become so much more than that.

May

More work on posting chapters of in-progress WIPs.

June

Finished final chapter of:

The Heart In The Well

14326 Words, Rated T

Carry On Reverse Bang 2023 Collaboration with @alexalexinii, 

Simon Snow should have known better than to chase after the Hobgoblin Horde. Now he's trapped at the bottom of a well with no food or water, and a vampire who's only going to get thirstier as time passes.

Baz Pitch doesn't know why the Hobgoblins abducted him from the Wavering wood. He just knows that Snow was stupid enough to get caught too, and now they're trapped together, and Baz hasn't had blood in three days...

July

First chapter posted of Carry On Big Bang Collaboration with @cutestkilla

The Rat and the River, (WIP)

Currently 10550 words, Rated E

Simon Snow is an epidemiologist working for the UKHSA He's a cocky field scientist who goes to hotspots all over the world, helping to track down the causes of the outbreaks and put an end to the cycle of death and disease.

Baz is a microbiologist, who, until now, has never left the UK. He works on Simon’s samples sent from overseas, but that’s the closest he gets to danger and excitement. He’s a reservist, meaning he’s available for deployment in the event of a large-scale event, but he’s never been called up.

Simon does his best to stir him up whenever he’s in town because he believes that Baz's life lacks excitement. One day, Simon is sent into action again, this time to South America. Down a microbiologist, Simon decides to pick Baz. In his mind, it’s to show him “the real world” but he really just wants a chance to work side by side with the reserved scientist.

Of course, in the rainforest tracking a disease of unknown origin and deadliness, that may just be spreading out of control, is maybe not the best place for a flirtation.

But when has Simon ever done things the easy way?

August

Most recent update of: 

Saving Simon Snow (WIP)

Currently 47,078 Words, Rated E

What if Simon had never gone to Baz's gothic manor over the Christmas holidays? What if the war between the old families and the Mage started while Simon confronted the Mage in the White Chapel?

The Mage is dead. The Humdrum defeated. The old families have control of Watford and the Coven. And nobody will tell Baz where Simon Snow is.

September

First month of school. Needless to say, nothing got done.

October

First Posting of

Tiktok Dancer (WIP)

Currently 11,133 words, Rated E

Snow has never known a world outside his father's realm in the ocean. Until he comes across a group of dancers performing on the beach, and finds a dream he'd never thought to have.

November

2024 Carry On Reverse Bang Entries. 

The Stoves Come On At Night, (WIP), collaboration with @ebbpettier:

Currently 4895 words, Rated M

Fresh out of a break-up, Simon is desperate for work. He takes on a caretaking job for the elderly Mordelia Grimm. It's a pretty slick gig: fully-stocked pantry, big beautiful house, nobody to bother him. Nobody around, for miles.

But at night, Simon swears that he hears footsteps in empty rooms.

He starts finding puddles of lake water, footprints, doors open when he knows he left them closed. At night, he hears the sound of wet, rattling breathing from his pitch-black doorway.

Most concerning of all, the stoves keep turning on at night, even if he switches them off and tapes down the dials.

There's something very wrong at Pitch Manor.

Baby Mine (WIP), collaboration with @argumentativeantitheticalg

Currently 3590 words, Rated M

Four years ago, Basilton Pitch teamed up with Simon Snow to solve the mystery of who murdered Baz's mother. Now, they'll need to join forces again, after an unexpected delivery is left on Baz's doorstep.

December

Most recent update of my 2023 fic for COTTA

The Snow Fox (WIP)

Currently 27,344 Words, Rated E

Simon "Snow" Salisbury is the most wanted patriot in the American Revolution. Wanted by the British army, who want to see him hanged. Wanted by the Tories, who'd shoot him on sight, given the chance.

And wanted by Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch.

I also participated in the Secret Snowflake Exchange on the Carry On Discord, but it looks like I'll be finishing that fic after midnight my time, so it'll end up being the first fic of 2025!

I'm probably the last to do this. But in case I'm not, here's tags for anyone on my tag list who didn't tag me, so anyone who wants to has a chance to do this.

@thewholelemon, @bookish-bogwitch, @chen-chen-chen-again-chen, @bazzybelle, @dragoneggos,

@erzbethluna, @palimpsessed,  @frjsti, @fatalfangirl, @melodysmash,

@moments-au-crayon22, @moodandmist,  @mostlymaudlin, @onepintobean, @raenestee,

@tea-brigade, @upuntil6am, @whogaveyoupermission, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @krisrix,

@shemakesmeforget, @confused-bi-queer, @nightimedreamersghost, @mooncello, @shrekgogurt,

@cosmicalart,  @theearlgreymage, @Iamamythologicalcreature, @thehoneyedhufflepuff, @facewithoutheart,

@martsonmars, @skeedelvee, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @messofthejess, @noblecorgi,

@hushed-chorus,  @blackberrysummerblog, @cutestkilla,@letraspal, @ic3-que3n,

@emeryhall, @larkral, @youarenevertooold

[obaewankenope]

Dear Prime Minister, 

I'm going to tell you a story. It is entirely fictitious and not at all inspired by personal experiences or specialised knowledge of disability studies or what it is to be disabled and live today. 

It is just a story.

Once upon a time, there was a person. This person was healthy and as active and energetic as any other person. The world was full of endless possibilities, unfathomable opportunities, and a thousand-and-one chances. This person — let us call them Jane — grew up in an impoverished area but was happy regardless because Jane was loved by her mother. Jane grew up in a single-parent household with two older siblings, one of whom had a diagnosis of an awful disorder: ADHD.

This awful disorder meant that Jane's older sibling — let us call him Jack — was often treated by his teachers as a nuisance, a distraction, and as though he were stupid from the start of his time in academic education. Jane knew this wasn't true, however, because her brother Jack could make things with Lego™ and Meccano™ with ease. He never needed instructions, never needed help, and made the most wonderful, amazing contraptions. Jack and Jane's mum — we shall call her Hannah — worked hard to make sure Jack had access to the same education other children received. Hannah fought with the school to ensure Jack was not ignored in class and had support he was entitled to under government guidelines and law. Hannah succeeded but it was hard. Hannah always had to fight for Jack to receive the same education as everyone else. 

When Jane was old enough to attend school, Hannah expected to have to do the same because she expected the school to believe Jane to be just like her brother, Jack. 

Jane, however, was different to Jack. 

Jane loved to learn. 

Jane enjoyed learning new things and picked up new skills easily and quickly. Jane's teachers loved her. She was the teacher's pet. 

Jane was nothing like her brother Jack. 

Jane was not disabled in any way. 

But Jane often got into fights with other children. Jane would fight with her own best friend. Jane would get bored in class and interrupt or distract the other children at her table. 

Jane was very smart, her teachers all agreed, but she needed to stay focused in the classroom and not disrupt the learning of other children. 

Hannah, Jack and Jane's mum, met a man and fell in love. They got married and Jack and Jane moved to a new school. Jack went to high school, a specialist one designed for children with “learning difficulties” and physical impairments. Jane stayed in mainstream education. 

Jane went to high school and Jack finished his secondary education. While Jane learned and learned and loved every moment of it, Jack became isolated and focused his attention and energy on playing games. He made friends online and played games that rewarded his efforts with little trophies and achievements. No one mocked him for his handwriting. No one belittled him in front of other children. No one ignored him when he played his games with his friends who liked him. 

Jack tried to get employment but he struggled with instructions and routines. He tried to do his best but his best wasn't enough compared to others who could follow instructions and routines with ease. 

Jack had only his video games and his online friends. But Jack could do some physical things. He enjoyed making things. Building things. 

Jack could have become a builder. Jack would have been great at it. 

But one day Jack started feeling pain all over his body. It hurt, hurt, hurt! The pain never stopped and never really went away. Hannah took Jack to the doctor and the doctor ordered tests. 

It took a long time before Jack would get a diagnosis for his pain. Jack had Fibromyalgia. 

No one knows what causes Fibromyalgia. The doctors don't know the reason for it but some research has been done that suggests it might be connected to the immune system. 

Fibromyalgia feels like one big, bad, nasty, never-ending cold. Aches and pains and fatigue. Tiredness and stiff joints. Memory problems and trouble focusing. It never goes away. Never really stops. 

Jack couldn't work at all now. His ADHD made following instructions difficult and his Fibromyalgia made physical tasks painful and exhausting. 

Jack really only had his games and his online friends now. 

Jane, on the other hand, _thrived_ in school. She went to college from high school and was given a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome — a type of Autism  — when someone finally noticed Jane struggled with social skills and understanding social cues. But Jane was smart and it showed regardless of her social skills. 

Jane was gifted.

Jane could achieve amazing things with her mind and education would ensure she would go on to have a brilliant career. 

Jane's disability was a boon to her where Jack's disabilities were a bane to him. 

Jane went to university and decided to study psychology. She was smart. She was brilliant. It would be easy. 

But Jane was smart and this was a problem because Jane had never learnt how to study like other children learnt. Jane's teachers in primary school, in high school, in college, never taught Jane how to learn because she never needed help! 

But university is not primary school, is not high school, is not college. 

University is different. 

Jane had to read research articles, studies, understand complicated methodologies and statistics. Jane had to write essays in structured formats that Jane had never learnt because she'd never needed to before. 

University is a time for young adults to discover themselves. To go out and explore. To have fun while they learn and prepare for a future in the workforce. 

Jane did not have time to discover herself. 

Jane spent almost all her time reading papers that were boring and a struggle. 

Jane would stay in her dorm room or in the library whenever she had free time and try to practice writing essays that followed the rubric. 

Jane only went out with her flatmates a handful of times because Jane had to spend all her time focused on studying and trying to develop studying skills no one had ever thought to teach her. 

Jane's mental health suffered and she had several breakdowns during her time at university. She had some counselling and her tutors were understanding but her attendance was low and it was only her essays that spared her from academic probation. 

Jane spent more time in her room and the library after that. Jane would not fail. Jane could not fail. 

Everyone said Jane was smart. 

Smart people don't fail. 

So Jane could not fail. 

Jane could not ask for help on developing studying skills. She could not ask tutors who expected so much of her for guidance when the rubric didn't make sense to Jane. 

Jane could only rely on researching things herself on the Internet and advice from friends she made online who helped her create a rudimentary set of studying skills and essay structures. 

Because Jane had always been told she was smart and smart people don't ask teachers for help. 

Smart people don't struggle in class. 

Jane's disability meant she was smart. It wasn't a real disability. No one treated her like she was disabled. 

Why would they? 

Jane was smart, after all. 

Eventually, Jane succeeded in completing her undergraduate degree. She succeeded. 

But Jane had never had any time to work because she spent all her time trying to learn things everyone else already knew. Jane had a degree but no work experience. 

And then Jane was encouraged to apply for a masters because the additional support she'd had assigned by the university said she would be great at it. 

Because Jane liked learning and she liked sharing what she learnt, so Jane had been writing a little paper in her spare time about disability in popular media. 

This little paper gained her admittance to the masters course on disability studies at her university. This little paper became her dissertation for that masters course. 

Jane thrived in this course because the material interested her. She travelled from home for the class and enjoyed her time learning. She engaged with the material and understood it. 

The studying skills she'd scrapped together during her undergraduate degree made everything much, much easier. 

But Jane lived at home while doing her masters. With her disabled brother and her mum. Her mum, who worried about her disabled brother and asked Jane to look after him for her. 

Jane's mum worried so much that Jane spent what free time she had helping her mum and taking care of the things her mum struggled with. 

Hannah had divorced her husband because he cheated on her. This meant Hannah — Jack and Jane's mum — was again a single parent. Jack lived with Hannah because he couldn't live alone for long. He needed too much help.

Hannah needed help too. Her health was declining, her divorce making her depressed. Jane's mum needed her. 

So Jane split her time between her masters degree and caring for her family. 

Jane had no time to get a job, to have a career. How could she, when there was so much and Jane had too little time because she had to manage so many responsibilities already? 

Jane's disability was easy to miss because she was smart. 

But a disability is still a disability.

Hannah struggled with depression and Jane had to look after her mum too after she graduated with her masters degree. 

Jane had no time at all to look for a job. Jane had no time to do things that made her happy. 

Jane had a mother and brother to look after and care for. 

Jane's disability wasn't really a disability. It didn't stop her cooking or cleaning. She could follow instructions. She could focus on things that were important. 

Sensory overload. Struggling to understand what she felt in the moment. Difficulties understanding paperwork without additional information and context. 

These weren't real disabilities. 

Not compared to ADHD, Fibromyalgia, and Depression. 

Jane was smart. Smart people don't struggle. 

Smart people aren't disabled. 

Not really.

But then… Then Jane started feeling pain. More pain than she was used to. More pain than she'd been accustomed to for years. 

Jane's pain increased and Jane had to go to the doctor. The doctor who spent a little time asking Jane questions before diagnosing her with Fibromyalgia. 

When Jack had gone to the doctor, they'd sent him for scans and done blood tests and examinations before the doctor had declared Jack had Fibromyalgia. 

When Jane went, the doctor checked her joints, asked if she was hypermobile and handed her a diagnosis. 

Jane had more than one disability now. Jane was just like her brother Jack. 

But Jane couldn't stop doing things. Someone had to clean. Someone had to cook. Someone had to do what needed to be done. So Jane kept on going, even with the pain, even with the exhaustion, even with how it caused her to be bed bound sometimes. Because Jane was needed.

Hannah went to the doctor and had some tests done because Hannah was in pain too. The doctor did blood tests and sent her for a scan. The doctor diagnosed Hannah with Fibromyalgia too. 

Then Hannah was diagnosed with COPD. A breathing problem. Her lungs would fill with fluid. Her health was poor. 

Jane couldn't leave her mum because her mum needed someone to care for her. 

Jack and Jane's older sibling — let us call him Jed — was ten years older than Jane and had moved out when Jack was in high school. Jed could not look after Hannah. Jed had his own life, his own family. 

Jane was alone. 

Jane was smart. 

Jane was in pain. 

But Jane was younger. She was the child with the degrees. Hannah had faith in Jane. Jack was used to Jane. 

Jane never applied for disability benefits. She applied for Universal Credit and struggled to follow the expectations she had to agree to in order to have some income. 

Jane spent most of her time looking after her mum, her brother, and cooking and cleaning. Jane's online friends were worried about her. 

Jane was in pain too. 

Jane was disabled too. 

But Jane was the only one there who could do what needed to be done. Jane had all the expectations of a childhood of being called gifted, of being told she was smart and not really disabled. 

Jane forced herself everyday to keep on going no matter how bad the pain got.

Hannah applied for disability benefits. Jane filled out the paperwork. Jane knew that Hannah would receive it for her COPD, her Fibromyalgia, her Depression. Just like Jack received it for his ADHD and Fibromyalgia.

But Jane would be refused, she knew, because the disability assessment was flawed. 

Jane had learnt about it in her masters course. About the biopsychosocial model. 

How the disability assessment didn't really assess those three things and mostly focused on the biological aspect of disability. How it looked at the psychological and social aspects from the perspective of employment and not quality of life. 

Jane knew that the disability assessment asked how long a person could focus on something like a TV show and applied the answer to everything a person might focus on. Like working in an office. 

The disability assessment, Jane knew, did not account for engagement or context. It did not look at the why a person might be able to focus on a TV show easily but struggle with focusing on a work task. 

Jane knew this. 

This was why Jane did not apply for disability benefits herself even though she was entitled to them. 

Because Jane knew. 

Because Jane was smart.

And smart people aren't disabled.

Society believes disabled people are stupid. The disability assessment assumes intellectual incapacity. Any indication that someone isn't “stupid” is taken to mean they can work but just don't want to. 

The disability assessment is flawed because it asks the person answering to respond with how they feel on their worst days. The disability assessment is flawed because when the in-person assessment occurs, they are asked to do things that they may be able to do that day because it's not one of their worst days. 

The disability assessment is flawed because it is designed with the assumption that anyone applying is lying about their disability. 

The disability assessment is flawed because it demands the person applying to prove their disability over and over and doesn't allow for context or account for how people always try to look their best regardless of how they feel in the moment. 

The disability assessment is flawed because it forces people to perform their disabilities during the in-person assessment and it's known that people have to do this so when someone is assessed who isn't performing but is actually that severely affected by their disabilities, that person is still treated like they're exaggerating. 

Jane has had to argue for Jack's disability benefits before. She has had to argue for Hannah’s disability benefits before. Jane has used the knowledge she gained from her masters degree to ensure her mother and brother have the benefits and support they need and deserve. 

But Jane cannot do the same for herself because Jane is smart and the disability assessment does not account for intelligence and disability except by how it assumes disabled equals stupid. 

Jane has accepted this. She has accepted that her only source of income is Universal Credit. Jane has accepted this and she lives every day worrying that she will be forced to try and work in careers she cannot physically manage in order to have some income while she cares for her mother and brother full-time. 

But then Jane hears about the government and possible changes to welfare and that disability benefits are the focus. 

And Jane is angry, Mister Starmer. 

Jane is so, so angry. 

Because Jane is smart and she knows the changes aren't for helping disabled people live better. Jane is smart so she knows the changes are about forcing people to work longer hours, take jobs they cannot physically endure and still manage a household, try and gain employment in a job market that demands excessive experience and eschews untrained applicants. 

Jane is smart and she knows that the government wants to save money by politely killing disabled people. 

Because disabled people are a drain on the welfare system. 

Because disabled people are stupid. 

Stupid people aren't useful.

But Jane isn't stupid. Jane is smart. 

Jane is disabled and smart. 

Jane knows that the best way to help disabled people try and work is to help them live better lives. 

Jane knows the best way to improve the economy isn't to cut welfare and subtly hide the deaths of thousands of disabled people. 

Jane knows that the best way to help an economy is to encourage growth and investment and Jane knows that the easiest way for a government to do that is to cut taxes for the wealthy and let the poorest, most vulnerable suffer quietly for it. 

Because disabled people are vulnerable. 

Disabled people are poor. 

Disabled people can be ignored because their voices are the voices of the stupid.

What worth does a stupid person have compared to a smart person? 

But Jane is smart and knows something that the government doesn't seem to care to. Jane is smart and knows something you should care to, Mister Starmer. 

Jane knows that disabled people are not stupid. 

Jane knows this because Jane is disabled too and Jane has never been stupid. 

Jane knows this because her brother, Jack, is disabled too and Jack is not stupid. 

Being good in school doesn't make someone smart. Being quick and able to follow instructions doesn't make someone smart. 

Those things make people ideal labourers. Those things make people good at working in structured environments, following orders, not arguing back or challenging things. 

Those things make people compliant. 

Those things make people obedient. 

But Jane is smart and Jane is smart because she asks why when told things. 

Jane is smart because she questions. 

Jane knows that a society is truly great when it values its least economically  capable members because that society understands their human value.

Mister Starmer. 

Is our society great? 

Or is it merely one that chooses the easiest solution that turns a profit fastest instead of one that makes the truly hard choice to value its people first? 

What is a society if not its people, Mister Starmer? 

I believe you to be a good man. I believe you to be a strong man. I believe you to be a committed man. 

But I also believe you to be a man who has never struggled to fight to live in the ways Jane has. I believe you to be a man who believes he has but you are a man who has never faced starvation. 

You are not a man who feared fire poured through your letterbox in the night. 

You are not a man who had to defend yourself, alone, outnumbered, because someone took offence to your brothers impulsive words.

You are a good man, Mister Starmer. But can you say you are a man who knows disability and the disability assessment process when you have not had to battle it like Jane just so her mother and brother can live?

Jane has hopes and dreams, Mister Starmer. She wishes to work in a career that she knows she will excel at. She wishes she had not been called gifted all her life. She wishes she had been able to work just like her friends. She wishes she could work now but knows she cannot because her own body is limited in how much it can manage and a mother, a brother, and a home is already overwhelming. 

Jane is not an exception. Jane is not unique. There are many disabled people in our country. Many who need help to live. Many who suffered from covid while working on the front lines. Many who have had their careers stripped from them by circumstance. 

During the pandemic we clapped for our NHS. 

During the pandemic we thanked front-line workers. 

During the pandemic we relied on retail workers and delivery men and labourers. 

These are some of those who are in receipt of disability benefits that have suffered and continue to suffer for the sake of others who benefitted from their sacrifice. 

Are we a great society if the government would punish them for their sacrifice by taking from them what little money the disability assessment gives them each month? At most they receive less than £800. In a single year they receive, at most, £9,000. A newly certified nurse in the NHS would earn just under £30,000 a year, Mister Starmer. The same for a retail worker. 

Why would you take from them what little they receive from the disability benefit to try and save a bit of money? Why would you not tax the richest members of our society? Why would you not enforce payment of taxes owed by corporations? 

Why must the welfare system be the thing that is targeted when the government talks of saving money? 

Have disabled people not suffered enough already? Must disabled people slowly starve and waste away with less and less income each time the government announces a spending review or change in investment? 

A society is measured not by how much power it has, not by how wealth it possesses, not by how much investment it has, but by how it treats the weakest and poorest amongst it.

I would like to call our society ‘great’, Mister Starmer. I believe you wish to do so too. 

Regards,

“Jane”

[luvseraphh]

˚.🎀༘⋆ in pain s. todoroki

bringing back my chronic illness mha self indulgent agenda , here's shoto with a partner with fibromyalgia !!! fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that leads to consistent wide-spread pain

so patient with you when you're in pain

might be a bit ignorant at times because he doesn't have much knowledge on this type of stuff

but he tries his best to educate himself

he can use his hands as either heating pads or ice packs when you need

it's great to help your pain

always FULLY stocked up with painkillers

ALSO HE WOULD GET CERTAIN TEAS TO HELP WITH YOUR FIBROMYALGIA

he's so sweet

"is there anything i could do for you, love?" he patiently asks as you roll over in pain.

"i need a heating pad, my back hurts so bad," you whine softly, tears welling up in your eyes.

"let me help you out," he mutters, putting his hand on your back and heating it up, right where he knew the source of the pain was coming from (he always just knew).

"oh my god, thank you, this is so helpful," you sigh in relief.

"no problem, love," he replies with a gentle smile.

[anftherapy]

Chronic pain holding you back? Fibromyalgia goes deeper. Learn about its causes, the limitations of current treatments, and how ANF Therapy®️ works to heal the source of the pain. 

[cripplecharacters]

I need some advice about how to include magic as an aid. All of my stories are set in a high fantasy type of world with (i think at least) solid worldbuilding where magic is relatively common, especially healing magic and everyday magic (????? like, not highly destructive explosions, more like convenience stuff).

I have a lot of disabled characters who I want to represent authentically & the best way I can, and I reallllllly don’t want to be that author that’s like, oh you have fibromyalgia? Poof healing magic it has no effect on you. Oh you’re an amputee? Poof magical forcefield prosthetic. Yknow

I guess, advice if you have any about how to be respectful about disabilities and magic coexisting

Thank you for your question! I would recommend treating magic like medicine, it can’t fix everything and is always working to be improved. Some issues can be cured with things like surgery or medication, or in your case magic, but sometimes those issues can only be managed and not cured. Sometimes medical help can even make issues worse or cause disability (whether or not the initial problem was solved). Big procedures such as surgeries often have lasting side effects no matter the outcome, and I would imagine so would big magical procedures.

You should also think about how the magic interacts with the world. Is it physically draining to preform? How much does it cost for professional help? Is it accessible to everyone or are there barriers (money, rank/class, education, etc)? Are certain conditions managed with potions that need to be taken over long periods of time, if not forever, and if so how do people get access to it? Is certain magic only practiced in certain places, such as big cities with certified universities/hospitals, and if so how difficult would it be for your character to get to them? What are the side effects of these cures, and how long do they last, if they go away at all?

Also much like every doctor isn’t a good doctor, every healing magician doesn’t care to actually help. There would still be people being misdiagnosed, not being believed, not getting sufficient care, not to mention snake oil salesmen who would sell fake cures for money.

Magic prosthetics also shouldn’t be a cure, they are not in the real world either. They have limited movement, and the more movement a prosthetic has the more expensive it is, the more difficult is is to learn to use, and it’s often heavier. Plus prosthetics can be uncomfortable and difficult to use so not every amputee chooses to wear one.

Just keep these in mind and don’t cure disabilities that are incurable today and you should be good!

Have a lovely day!

Mod Rot

[thekoalapastriesbakery]

Hello 👀

Loving the event so far BTW, and I wanted to ask for Oscar and the older drivers (+Fernando? Idk if you write for him, it's OK if not) with bf reader with chronic joint pain. (Fibromyalgia, EDS, etc.)

Thank youuuuu!

so i don't write for fernando unless it's platonic or familial (manager, brother, father, etc). as someone with chronic joint pain, this is very much something i'm interested in! i'm glad you're enjoying the event!

jenson button:

he's very sympathetic

he has some chronic back pain after a few two many seasons in f1 with a very bouncy car, but he knows it's not even close to the same thing

heat packs, cold packs—whatever you need, jenson's buying it in bulk

adores you beyond belief and will make jokes about the (minimal) positives to try to make you feel better

he doesn't always get the balance right, but he tries

kimi raikkonen:

silently supportive

you never need to ask him to get you more supplies, he just keeps them well-stocked

helps you tape your joints or fit supports if you need them

if heat helps he takes you to traditional finnish saunas

regularly

he's always happy to bail on whatever activity or social thing you're doing

also happy to take the blame for you leaving so you don't have to deal with rude or invasive questions

oscar piastri:

takes such good care of you

regularly conducts masterclasses on shutting down ableist comments/questions

his sisters would totally help you make mobility aids more interesting so you don't have to feel like you're much older than you actually are

he's making sure mclaren is accessible for you

even if it means that you just go from the hotel room to his driver's room every weekend, it means the world to him that you're willing to spend your precious energy on watching him race

so horrendously whipped for you he'd do anything you asked

sebastian vettel:

does so much research and accidentally adds disability rights to his list of activism things

he's finding ways to help you be able to go out and enjoy being outside without being in pain

he's also assuring you that it's okay for you to use single-use things when you need to. he's not gonna force you to give up things that are your only source of independence.

also starts advocating for better education about chronic pain in motorsport

he didn't realize how many drivers had chronic problems until he started dating you and saw both the strong front you put up in public and how much worse you were behind closed doors

if you have them, he helps you do your pt exercises and takes you to your appointments

[cheeseypun]

ABOUT CHEESE !!

last update: April 7th 2025

my (online) name is Cheese, I use it/she, and I am 7teen years old. i am a libra, and my birthday is in October. i live in the United States of America. i am a lesbian and engaged. i am both visibly and invisibly disabled. I fluctuate between no mobility aids, a cane, and a medical wheelchair. i am a therian, a furry, objectum/posic, and an essa handler.

DNI ; basic criteria , radqueer , syscourse , anti mogai , darkship , anti educated self diagnosis , under 14 (both bodily and unbodily. i have nothing against littles or agre /gen) , over 30 bodily

WANT TO SEE MORE ??

like. a lot more?

My Tags and Separate Blogs

As of reading this, I have 2 separate blogs! My ESSA's blog and my Quadrobics/Alterhuman Blog! I will post on those alongside this blog, which is my main blog. (currently neither blog is set up)

#💤 . yapping ; longer posts

#🎭 . repost ; ...reposts

#🖍️ . my art ; all my creations, not just drawings :3

#🌻 . disability ; any type of post pertaining to my disabilities!

#🌈 . trotting ; horseposting on main 💔

#🩹 . trigger warning ; ALL my triggering posts will have this tag

#📩 . asks ; all my asks

About myself

my favorite color is green, and I am scene (i see myself as 2007-2010s era). my favorite videogame and life long special interest is ARK Survival Evolved. I have a fascination with the drums, and own an acoustic guitar named melody.

i am a digital and traditional artist. i enjoy writing and english! i dabble in bone collection and taxidermy. i love everything music and fashion. the only sport I do is quadrobics.

my favorite band is Mother Mother, and my favorite artist is Tyler, The Creator. I like krunk music, old rock and roll, weirdcore, and punk music.

Disability

although almost everything wrong is undiagnosed, I have been through treatments. after a few years of on and off struggling, our guess is fibromyalgia. i will refer to myself as having fibro in my blog.

i have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and sensory processing disorder. i am currently in the process of getting tested for ADHD and Autism. i am medically recognized as a DID system, and have considered seeking diagnosis for OCD, among other things I will not list here 💔

as far as my mobility aids, I own 2 canes and a medical wheelchair. i use a medical chair due to low funds. i am considering forearm crutches.

I am very open to questions about my disabilities ^_^

Therianthropy

i am a polykin and fluctuate between being a physical therian and non physical therian. i am not a p-shifter. i believe that all therians are valid no matter why they chose that label (delusion, neurodivergencey, spirituality, trauma, ect).

My theriotypes are ;

Friesian , Australian Shepherd , Polar bear , Monarch Butterfly , Fennec Fox , and Catshark

I also identify as several dinosaurs for reasons outside of simple therianthropy.

Everything Else

nothing in this section for now. come by later for more awesome content

[image ID in alt text]

[somethingnubian]

Writing Wednesdays ✍🏽

Blog Inspired by Tehuti & the Solar Plexus Hey lovely souls! Welcome to your weekly dose of empowerment and insight. Today, we dive deep into the ancient wisdom of Tehuti and the energizing aura of the solar plexus chakra. Have you ever felt a surge of inspiration that felt almost divine? That’s the energy we’re tapping into today. I was recently reminded of the powerful alignment these…

[awellboiledicicle]

Actual Write Up of Spiders, Mo

Name: Spiders Mok, "Mo"

Age: 31

Height: 5'5"

Sexuality: Panromantic demisexual

Pronouns: they/them

Gender: Genderfluid

Previous Life: Formerly a secretary and financial manager for a rural fire department that did not pay them well enough. College educated, but really only used it to talk about creative writing projects and analyze media. Loved to crochet and garden--specifically tomatoes and whatever peppers they could get to grow. Was very invested in biology and anthropology. Enjoyed making crochet blankets and scarves. Was trying their best to get a job at the local library before it all stops. Suffered from fibromyalgia, had ADHD and is autistic.

Current life: One of the many humans from the Phoenix. They meander about, tending their garden and getting by. Their newfound durability makes doing a lot of work a bit easier with their condition, if only because they worry less about their pain meaning actual damage to their body. It's mostly managed with edibles they make from herbs Chayne got ahold of for them to grow in their garden. Is deeply suspicious of the Order for reasons they cannot put a finger on, due to the amnesia. Is prone to popping up at villagers homes at odd hours because something jogged their memory and they needed to tell someone, anyone about it. Gets extremely stressed out if told someone hasn't eaten in a long while, or that there's food insecurity. Has a protective streak for the kids in town. They have an entire room dedicated to treasure chests full of random trinkets, gemstones, and craft projects. Another room is totally dedicated to being a walk in aquarium, with their best catches cared for as needed. Can and will relay random stories they remember to the townsfolk; this includes epic adventures and once a story about a man-eating plant from outer space. Tends to stare at people's noses for long periods of time while they think, before blinking and going about the conversation. Has passed out in the woods from pushing themselves to get things for people before.

Best skills: Foraging and fishing.

Element: Fire

Shepp: They haven't asked one yet, mostly because they're anxious. Something sits in the back of their head that gives them pause about linking reputations with someone else.

Close to: The Daiya family makes them feel a weird homesickness for a place they can't remember, and they spend a lot of time discussing life with them. Feels a kinship with Reth after hearing how people talk about him, and doesn't really understand why until they remember a bit more. They and Tish bond over lingering illnesses, though Tish pointedly doesn't clarify much past that hers started in childhood.

Schedule: Gets up around 10 am, tends to the garden and eats breakfast. Leaves to go fishing and foraging at around 12 pm, and can be found wandering between Kilima and the Lighthouse on the coast until around 8 pm. Then they are either found in the Inn from 9 pm to 12 am, or the underground during the same times. Gets home around 1 am and eats dinner. On bad pain days, they come outside their house long enough to send a letter in to order take out before spending the rest of the day in bed. Spends Sundays and Mondays helping out on the farm--no one involved knows what those days are, but at some point they looked at a calendar and nodded, so no one argues. On these days they leave the house at 5 am and return home around 9 pm.

Close to: No one specifically yet, but Elouisa is probably the closest. Mostly because she'll take and run with any story they tell, coming up with a million theories that they promptly chat about. Jina is a close second, if only because she actually makes them think about details and that gets uncomfortable quickly.

Notes: They are, essentially, on the cryptid end of the 'humans that just showed up' scale. Largely because getting a supply of things that can treat their fibro AND their ADHD is a bitch. Because while the Majiri have stimulants, they need to work really close with Chayne to not overdo it while trying to focus. Which is very difficult with the tools available in Kilima. So instead they end up just spacing out, or jumping topics or being so laser focused on one that others rapidly find them rude for steamrolling the conversation. Tends to get very close to people and loom to illustrate their point/emphasize whatever they're saying. Will only look into people's eyes directly when they're trying to convey that they're not fucking around with what they're saying. Writes down literally everything they remember when something jogs their memory. It tends to look like gibberish to everyone else, because whatever writing system they know is complicated by their poor handwriting and misspellings. A bit too willing to nod along with Reth and Zeki's underground things, so long as no one is physically harmed. Mostly because they're too interested in where it'll end up. Is an unnervingly good shot, provided you do not want the head of something to be in tact. Which is annoying to Hassain, entirely because they have the shakes most other times and can't hit a target if he physically points them at it. They frustrate him a lot expressly because while they listen to him and learn from him, they don't map properly to every other human he has to interact with. Likes to chew on things. A lot. Their wooden spoons often have bite marks on the handles. The only reason anyone gets a gemstone as a present instead of every single one just being in their house is that they have too many. More so because they don't collect them based on value, they work on a purely "i like this one" vibes system. Has purposely touched every single fabric in Jel's shop before ordering anything and then spent fifteen mins trying to articulate their way into getting a tank top and cargo shorts. This was complicated expressly because Jel kept trying to add embellishments to the sketch of the idea and they had to explain that if he put embroidery on their shirt it would touch their stomach and it would kill them, sensory wise. The following order for trying to work out compression garments for their hands/arms and feet/legs felt like they were fucking with him. Randomly vocalizes at other autistic humans as a vocal stim and devolves the whole group into 'awawa's to the bafflement of every majiri and unfamiliar human nearby. Hates dealing with Eshe, but manages a perfect customer service voice when they have to. Kenyatta is told to speak like they do and tries to not laugh. Hates the Palian chocolate because it's texture it off. Reminds them of something called Valentines Day and cheap candy bought after it. Isn't sure what the holiday is for, though, assumes its to do with bees.

Posting this here because the discord server's oc forum confuses me, but i wanted to place them down gently and show them off.

[scleroticstatue]

What do you mean by medical doctors being a net negative? Do you mean the actual doctors, the medical/insurance establishment, or both? I assume it has something to do with what you said about specialization.

A little bit about the specialization, about their God complex due to a lack of well-rounded education that leaves people in worse shape than where they started. But more it's about the fact that the medical system was fundamentally changed from traditional Western medicine to a petroleum-based system funded by the Rockefellers. It focuses almost exclusively on medicating symptoms instead of treating the causes. And I'm not above treating symptoms when the situation calls for it, but it's led to a mindset within the West where actions and consequences are divorced from each other. If you've seen any pro-life commentary, you may notice this is a common theme — you had the sex, now take care of the baby — but, in truth, this dates back well before Row v. Wade, when the medical system started giving people pills to mask the symptoms rather than addressing the diet, toxin exposure, overwork, etc., that are causing those symptoms. Worse, it's led to a sort of learned helplessness in people who feel when they become sick, the only solution is to take something for it rather than making the necessary changes to fix the problem. I'm not referring to short-term illnesses here, though it's amazing to have a "battle plan" of supplements and health-promoting foods to go to, but chronic things like depression or fibromyalgia where people nowadays treat it like a permanent aspect of their life, that they'll just be on medication until they die, rather than doing the hard thing and radically changing their lifestyle to actually get over it. Yes, I'm grateful for the surgeons out there who save lives, but how many more have doctors killed? How many more have they condemned to live empty lives? How many times has their playing god resulted in true evil?

At least furry artists contribute something to society.