this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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Chronic Illness

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A community/support group for chronically ill people. While anyone is welcome, our number one priority is keeping this a safe space for chronically ill people.

This is a support group, not a place for people to spout their opinions on disability.

Rules

  1. Be excellent to each other

  2. Absolutely no ableism. This includes harmful stereotypes: lazy/freeloaders etc

  3. No quackery. Does an up-to date major review in a big journal or a major government guideline come to the conclusion you’re claiming is fact? No? Then don’t claim it’s fact. This applies to potential treatments and disease mechanisms.

  4. No denialism or minimisation This applies challenges faced by chronically ill people.

  5. No psychosomatising psychosomatisation is a tool used by insurance companies and governments to blame physical illnesses on mental problems, and thereby saving money by not paying benefits. There is no concrete proof psychosomatic or functional disease exists with the vast majority of historical diagnoses turning out to be biomedical illnesses medicine has not discovered yet. Psychosomatics is rooted in misogyny, and consisted up until very recently of blaming women’s health complaints on “hysteria”.

Did your post/comment get removed? Before arguing with moderators consider that the goal of this community is to provide a safe space for people suffering from chronic illness. Moderation may be heavy handed at times. If you don’t like that, find or create another community that prioritises something else.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It’s not unfathomable to me at all, unfortunately. For so many people, empathy is seen as weakness and any issues others deal with are bullshit sob stories worthy of contempt… unless it happens to them!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's not just that, I'm certain many people genuinely don't understand. Being unwell 24/7 is unfathomable to them, as they've never experienced it (and hopefully never will). That's not an excuse for bs behavior though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Definitely. Genuinely not understanding, coupled with a negativity-first mindset where people’s default position is cynical contempt for others, is a hell of a combination.

It’s almost a guaranteed attribute for the conservative MAGA types I know. Just assume somebody is a lazy ass working the system for that sweet disability check unless proven otherwise.

I have a chronic potentially disabling condition myself, and while the fatigue and mental effects are rough, thank goodness it’s not straight up constant pain.