u/Subluxed_Epistemics

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

I may be about to accidentally start expensive shopping habits for myself, but I'm curious: what health tracking devices are you all using? I have hEDS, dysautonomia/POTS, and MCAS, and currently use an Apple Watch, which I like, but I'm fascinated by all the different ways people track symptoms, pacing, heart rate, sleep, HRV, activity levels, crashes, etc.

Tell me about your watches, rings, chest straps, ECG monitors, symptom-tracking apps, spreadsheets, colour-coded notebooks, or whatever other system you've developed in your quest to collect data on your weird little meat vehicle lol. What's been genuinely helpful, and what's just been interesting data?

We are still living in a world of colonialism. Colonial relations still shape global trade, resource extraction, debt, migration, language, education, and the production of knowledge itself. If post-colonialism is more than just a theory, what are your micro-actions toward post-colonialism? How do you challenge colonial assumptions, power relations, or ways of knowing in your everyday life?

For me, post-colonialism isn’t just about addressing colonialism as a standalone force. I see colonialism as historically intertwined with other systems of power; patriarchy, capitalism, imperialism, and at times organized religion (thinking here of Weber’s \*Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism\*). These systems reinforce and reproduce one another in complex ways. Because of that, my own micro-actions are about learning colonial history, questioning whose knowledge is treated as legitimate, examining power relations that seem natural or inevitable, seeking our marginalized perspectives, and being conscious of how inequality is reproduced in everyday life. None of these actions are revolutionary on their own, but they feel like small ways of resisting structures that continue to shape the present. What do your own micro-actions toward post-colonialism look like?

Feminism seeks to expand women's freedom and agency. But what if greater freedom doesn't necessarily produce less patriarchal outcomes? Many women freely choose things that feminism has historically criticized or viewed as reinforcing patriarchal structures. If we say those choices are genuinely free, then patriarchy seems partly reproduced through women's own agency. If we say those choices aren't really free because they're shaped by social conditioning, then it’s like we're dismissing women's agency whenever they choose something “non-feminist”. How do feminist theorists resolve this tension between agency and structure?

Feminism seeks to expand women's freedom and agency. But what if greater freedom doesn't necessarily produce less patriarchal outcomes? Many women freely choose things that feminism has historically criticized or viewed as reinforcing patriarchal structures. If we say those choices are genuinely free, then patriarchy seems partly reproduced through women's own agency. If we say those choices aren't really free because they're shaped by social conditioning, then it’s like we're dismissing women's agency whenever they choose something “non-feminist”. How do feminist theorists resolve this tension between agency and structure?

Feminism seeks to expand women's freedom and agency. But what if greater freedom doesn't necessarily produce less patriarchal outcomes? Many women freely choose things that feminism has historically criticized or viewed as reinforcing patriarchal structures. If we say those choices are genuinely free, then patriarchy seems partly reproduced through women's own agency. If we say those choices aren't really free because they're shaped by social conditioning, then it’s like we're dismissing women's agency whenever they choose something “non-feminist”. How do feminist theorists resolve this tension between agency and structure?

We are still living in a world of colonialism. Colonial relations still shape global trade, resource extraction, debt, migration, language, education, and the production of knowledge itself. If post-colonialism is more than just a theory, what are your micro-actions toward post-colonialism? How do you challenge colonial assumptions, power relations, or ways of knowing in your everyday life?

For me, post-colonialism isn’t just about addressing colonialism as a standalone force. I see colonialism as historically intertwined with other systems of power; patriarchy, capitalism, imperialism, and at times organized religion (thinking here of Weber’s *Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism*). These systems reinforce and reproduce one another in complex ways. Because of that, my own micro-actions are about learning colonial history, questioning whose knowledge is treated as legitimate, examining power relations that seem natural or inevitable, seeking our marginalized perspectives, and being conscious of how inequality is reproduced in everyday life. None of these actions are revolutionary on their own, but they feel like small ways of resisting structures that continue to shape the present. What do your own micro-actions toward post-colonialism look like?

I made a post a few days earlier, but it got taken down. I’ve made a revised and updated version.

I made a post on my university's subreddit about scent-free policy non-compliance as a disability access issue and I wanted to share the experience here because honestly it was a lot.

For context: my campus has scent-free signage everywhere but no meaningful enforcement or education behind it. I have MCAS, which makes fragrance exposure genuinely dangerous for me; difficulty breathing, anaphylaxis risk, neurological effects, multi-day recovery periods. I navigate this constantly. I talk to every professor at the start of every term, and go back repeatedly when students don't follow through. It's exhausting.

So I made a post. Just raising awareness, explaining why the policy exists, citing the Ontario Human Rights Code, including a stat that 1 in 3 people experience fragrance irritation. Pretty measured. And then the comments happened.

Some of what I got told: "Good luck with that, you're pissing in the wind." That unscented products don't work and people would rather risk ignoring the policy than smell bad. That the upvote ratio proves most people want the policy to stay unenforced. That I should just attend class from home instead. That my post was written by AI. That I only care about this because it benefits me…

The school from home one got me the most. Every other physical disability gets environmental accommodation; wheelchair users get ramps, accessible washrooms, automatic doors. They get to come to class. "Just stay home" isn't accommodation, it's exclusion.

The AI comment was also something. I'm a published author. The assumption that a disabled person advocating for their own access needs must have had a robot write their argument says a lot. It’s also such an ableist comment toward people with ASD who already have issues with being perceived as robotic.

On the "you only care because it benefits you" point: yes, I care because it affects me. That's also true of every person who has ever advocated for any accessibility measure. The only benefit I'm asking for is the ability to attend the school I pay for. That's a benefit every other student already has. That's it.

There were some people who mistook what I was communicating, like thinking I’m asking people to go out of their way to buy unscented products, or to create some kind of criminal code around fragranced products. All I asked was for the awareness and people to think twice before applying perfume or body spray when leaving for campus. The argument that it would cost other students more is weird, because not applying something saves money. Also, as someone who has to navigate this way for survival, I would know a thing or two about the cost of living a scent-free life.

There were good faith comments too, people who engaged seriously, proposed solutions. Those conversations were actually worth having. One of the better points raised was that accessibility should work in both directions: if someone has a physician-recommended product they can't switch away from, that deserves accommodation too. I agree. That's the same principle applied consistently. Everyone should be able to participate.

Someone also pushed back on the 1 in 3 stat, saying it doesn't mean 1 in 3 people need formal accommodation, which is true, and also not what I was arguing. The stat was addressing the repeated claim that this affects almost nobody. It doesn't. And accommodations designed for one group routinely benefit others anyway. Curb cuts were designed for wheelchair users and now benefit anyone with a stroller, a bike, or a heavy load. Captions were designed for deaf viewers and are now used by millions of people in noisy environments. That's an argument the disability community has been making for decades.

But the labour of it. Having to justify your right to be somewhere, in public, to strangers, over and over again, while also being the person most affected by the thing you're writing about. It's a specific kind of tired that I think a lot of people here will recognize.

If anyone else has done something similar on their campus or in their workplace I'd love to hear how it went. I was honestly shocked by the amount of negative comments I got in response to a post about accessibility awareness.

I made a post on my university's subreddit about scent-free policy non-compliance as a disability access issue and I wanted to share the experience here because honestly it was a lot.

For context: my campus has scent-free signage everywhere but no meaningful enforcement or education behind it. I have MCAS, which makes fragrance exposure genuinely dangerous for me; difficulty breathing, anaphylaxis risk, neurological effects, multi-day recovery periods. I navigate this constantly. I talk to every professor at the start of every term, and go back repeatedly when students don't follow through. It's exhausting.

So I made a post. Just raising awareness, explaining why the policy exists, citing the Ontario Human Rights Code, including a stat that 1 in 3 people experience fragrance irritation. Pretty measured. And then the comments happened.

Some of what I got told: "Good luck with that, you're pissing in the wind." That unscented products don't work and people would rather risk ignoring the policy than smell bad. That the upvote ratio proves most people want the policy to stay unenforced. That I should just attend class from home instead. That my post was written by AI. That I only care about this because it benefits me…

The school from home one got me the most. Every other physical disability gets environmental accommodation; wheelchair users get ramps, accessible washrooms, automatic doors. They get to come to class. "Just stay home" isn't accommodation, it's exclusion.

The AI comment was also something. I'm a published author. The assumption that a disabled person advocating for their own access needs must have had a robot write their argument says a lot. It’s also such an ableist comment toward people with ASD who already have issues with being perceived as robotic.

On the "you only care because it benefits you" point: yes, I care because it affects me. That's also true of every person who has ever advocated for any accessibility measure. The only benefit I'm asking for is the ability to attend the school I pay for. That's a benefit every other student already has. That's it.

There were some people who mistook what I was communicating, like thinking I’m asking people to go out of their way to buy unscented products, or to create some kind of criminal code around fragranced products. All I asked was for the awareness and people to think twice before applying perfume or body spray when leaving for campus. The argument that it would cost other students more is weird, because not applying something saves money. Also, as someone who has to navigate this way for survival, I would know a thing or two about the cost of living a scent-free life.

There were good faith comments too, people who engaged seriously, proposed solutions. Those conversations were actually worth having. One of the better points raised was that accessibility should work in both directions: if someone has a physician-recommended product they can't switch away from, that deserves accommodation too. I agree. That's the same principle applied consistently. Everyone should be able to participate.

Someone also pushed back on the 1 in 3 stat, saying it doesn't mean 1 in 3 people need formal accommodation, which is true, and also not what I was arguing. The stat was addressing the repeated claim that this affects almost nobody. It doesn't. And accommodations designed for one group routinely benefit others anyway. Curb cuts were designed for wheelchair users and now benefit anyone with a stroller, a bike, or a heavy load. Captions were designed for deaf viewers and are now used by millions of people in noisy environments. That's an argument the disability community has been making for decades.

But the labour of it. Having to justify your right to be somewhere, in public, to strangers, over and over again, while also being the person most affected by the thing you're writing about. It's a specific kind of tired that I think a lot of people here will recognize.

If anyone else has done something similar on their campus or in their workplace I'd love to hear how it went. I was honestly shocked by the amount of negative comments I got in response to a post about accessibility awareness.

I made a post on my university's subreddit about scent-free policy non-compliance as an accessibility issue and I wanted to share it here because honestly this community is the only place I don't have to explain why this matters from scratch.

For context: my campus has scent-free signage everywhere but zero meaningful enforcement or education behind it. I have hEDS/POTS/MCAS and managing fragrance exposure on campus is something I navigate constantly; talking to professors at the start of every term, having to go back repeatedly when students don't follow through. It's exhausting in a way that's hard to explain to people who don't live it.

The post got a lot of engagement, including a fair amount of pushback. The arguments I kept running into were: unscented products don't work or are too expensive, the policy can't realistically be enforced, and that affected students should just manage it individually; talk to professors, attend remotely, take precautions. The remote attendance one in particular frustrated me. Every other physical disability gets environmental accommodation. Wheelchair users get ramps and accessible washrooms and automatic doors. They get to come to class. Telling people with fragrance sensitivity to just stay home is exclusion.

Someone brought up peanut allergies as a reason individual management should be sufficient, and I pushed back on it: a person with a peanut allergy can take precautions and still access campus because they are not surrounded by people covered in their allergen. When the trigger is worn by the majority of people in every room you enter, individual precaution stops being a realistic solution.

I also added a clarification edit to the original post because comments kept conflating scented deodorant with perfume and body spray. The distinction matters and I think it's worth making clearly whenever you're having this conversation; the ask is not to overhaul anyone's hygiene routine, it's to not apply concentrated synthetic fragrance before entering a shared space.

If anyone else has navigated this in an academic or other settings I'd love to know what worked for you. And if you've ever had to make this argument to people who just don't get it, I see you. It's a lot of labour to have to justify your right to be somewhere.

If anyone is interested in seeing the original post and comments, you can find it under r/wlu