this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
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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] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

It isn't just disable people who are fed this narrative, it's everyone, it's all a part of ableism, and this is one way it manifests when we internalise it.

As well as how it impacts us personally, it's also important to recognise that it is a systemic, but also artificial construct that is enforced on society, not something that naturally exists (I don't have the spoons at the minute to source this, but there is a lot of evidence starting from early in pre history of humans taking care of their old, hurt, and or disabled). Not only because it's important to understand the big picture, but because doing that helps alleviate some of the guilt it burdens us with when we don't fit the narrative of "beating it". It isn't our failure, it isn't our responsability to "inspire" others, or provide them with a feel good story they can cling on to to stave off their fear and disgust of disability.

(E: I feel like I could have made my point much better, but my brain is too tired to figure out how so I'm leaving it)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Reminds me of this:

In Cree, one does not say, “I am sick.” Instead, one says, “The sickness has come to me.” I love that and want to honor it.

source

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The fact that the link to the source essay takes me the the anarchist library makes me happy. I'll try and give it a proper look later/tomorrow, but bookmarking it for sure!

E: I've just skimmed the post you linked, and yeah, that's a really healthy and important distinction to make!