Guess Who Finally Got Diagnosed With Long COVID? After Having Long COVID For Over Two Years?

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Salt pills are a miracle. I had low salt levels earlier, took one, and it took my levels up so fast it was wild. I went from feeling like I needed a hospital to feeling fine in what seemed like minutes without needing to dump table salt into my mouth. Beautiful. 100% recommend

as my own direct immediate list of game grievances i hate that stardew valley expects you to side against a wheelchair user who is upset that he was moved without his consent. i hate that the mass effect trilogy gives you visible scarring as a direct result of choosing mean dialogue and heals it if you're nice. i hate that the vampire the masquerade ttrpg has a monstrous player class that can appear as horrible vampiric monsters or as visibly disabled people and both of these appearances are mechanically the same. i hate that dark souls games have a difficulty level implemented in a way that cannot be adjusted for disability. i hate that i can play as a mermaid or a werewolf or a horse in the sims games but can't use a wheelchair. i hate that the ace attorney games have so much flashing and not all of the games can disable it. i hate that disability is constantly something that happens to teach a lesson, i hate that disability is something that happens as a punishment, i hate that disability is either compensated perfectly with no drawbacks or something that is endlessly sought to be cured. i hate that no character customization will ever include the mobility aids i use, that the player avatars that represent me will never look like me. i am so goddamn annoyed and so goddamn tired.

Don't tell me you're tired too!

I have ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. People seem to think that it's just that I'm a bit tired and i often get comments like "I'm tired too" or "i think I've got a bit of that".

I am NOT "just tired"

Most people fail to understand the differences between fatigue, chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), so I'll explain:

Fatigue is extreme tiredness caused by mental or physical exertion or illness.

Chronic fatigue is extreme fatigue that doesn't go away with rest and last for a long period of time usually due to a chronic illness. While not an illness in itself it is a symptom of many chronic illnesses.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) is a chronic multisystemic neroimmune disease (meaning it affects a lot of stuff and lasts a long time). While chronic fatigue is the most well known symptom it is not the only one. ME/CFS can cause a wide variety of problems including but not limited to, sleeping issues, cognitive functions, muscle and joint pains, headaches and migraines, soar throat and glands, flu-like symptoms, dizziness and feeling sick, breathlessness, hypersensitivity and heart issues such as palpitations. ME/CFS can last anything between months, years, decades or even life. No matter how much you rest it doesn't go away. There is no cure and no effective treatment. It is NOT just tiredness!

I AM NOT JUST TIRED!

I have soul crushing chronic fatigue that you probably can't even imagine and it plagues every moment of my existence. I am in constant pain. My clothes hurt my skin, the light hurts to look at, the sounds make my migraines worse. It hurts to move, if i so much as breathe it feels like I'm being stabbed a thousand times. My brain no longer works correctly, i have brain fog all the time. I can't sleep no matter how badly i need it and when i do it's filled with nightmares and i wake up at 3 in the morning crying from the pain. Even if i had the best sleep of all time i would still wake up the same, more sick than i previously thought possible.

So I'll say it again,

I AM NOT JUST TIRED!

Good video about the problematic history of freak shows and PT Barnum. It's around thirty minutes so fairly short, but he put a lot of effort and research into the history here

"Brain damage" only sounds like a harsh and offensive way to describe brain injuries because people constantly use it as an insult. It's a totally neutral descriptor of what it is. I have brain damage. My brain is damaged. It's not ableist to call it that, it's ableist to call people you don't like brain damaged because you think it's an inherently bad thing to be.

"Nonverbal people are communicating, they can use AAC devices!!! The only reason a nonverbal person can't communicate functionally is because the people around them are not trying hard enough!!!"

(Sometimes this statement in some situations is true, but I am talking about when it is not true)

Have you tried using symbol based AAC? Do you know what any AAC apps are called? Do you know there is different types of AAC? Have you even actually looked at the home page of a high tech AAC device?

For someone without impaired communication, I think it would probably take about 1-2 months if not more to fully learn their way around a high tech AAC page set.

Now imagine an illiterate person, a person who has severe fine motor delays, a person who does not understand what people are trying to get them to do when given an AAC device, a person who doesn't understand any language at all, a person who doesn't understand what AAC is or even the concept of communication in the first place, a person with little interest in communication.

Can you imagine that person, handed an AAC device? Do you seriously think they will suddenly starts expressing their thoughts in great detail?

Have you ever talked to someone who used to fit the criteria of being profoundly autistic or someone who's profoundly autistic caregiver? Have you listened to how many hours of therapy a week they have for their communication? Sometimes five hours a week and sometimes even more. Do you know that? Do you know how hard some peoples caregivers try? How much they wish their child could be able to communicate functionally?

How much money they spend on AAC apps? Do you even know how much an AAC device costs? A SGD? Thousands.

Stop calling caregivers lazy when they say their child can't functionally communicate their needs. You have no idea how hard they are trying.

Did you ever believe a creepypasta to be real?

Stop saying differently abled when you mean disabled.

Stop saying gited burnt out kid when you mean disabled.

Stop saying the c-slur when you mean disabled.

Stop saying 'super power' when you mean disabled.

Stop saying senile when you mean disabled.

Stop saying special needs when you mean needs for someone who is disabled.

Start saying disabled when you mean disabled.

Disability isn't, nor will it ever be, a dirty word. The only reason you think it's dirty is because you walked on it with muddy shoes.

fyi things like insulin, hearing aids, wheelchairs, glasses costing money at all is a form of structural ableism