r/disabled

So today im going to a family thing for a birthday. At the minuite I (17 F) am in the worst pain I've been in in ages. I cryed from the pain last night and my mun had to guide me through breathing exercises. I am allready taking my step dads prescription cocodamol as its the only thing that touches the pain and sometimes it dosent even work. I have no diognosis but its been like this for 3 years and its actually coming upto the 3 year anniversary if my partial ACL tear that was misdiagnosed as a sprain for 2 years. I am still going to the family event because I feel so bad missing them and I also kinda have to. For some background I walked like a zombie for a year and a half and now I can walk normally and most the time my issues are invisible. I think they think it went away. So i dont know what aids im going to use at the thing but i dont think ill get around without any. I will not use my wheelchair because it's not like a proper one and makes embarrassing sounds and im kinda scared of using it because I will get judged and will feel bad about using it. Then I have crutches. The pain was in one leg so I was hopping around but that caused pain in the other so not good. I have a walking stick but I doubt thats going to help much. Might help the more painful leg tho. My other options are my 2 quad walking sticks that are verry Stable and might (emphasis on might) help but their so big and clunky. Then theres my rollator but im just not using it. I will die from embarrassment im not even joking. Does anyone have any advice on how to cope with feeling judged for using mobility aids? One of my aunts judge me and by extention i feel like my older cousins do. The oldest one to a lesser degree but still. The rest of them dont feel too judgy though. Just abit of 'what have you done now' or somthing but it dosnet feel judgy it feels more like expressing concern without trying to bring the mood down. I know why I use them and i know I dont have to explain that to anyone but I cant help but feel judged or embarrassed especially because I have no diognosis. Any advice?

i have MS and even though I have mobility aids, my fatigue, pain, and speech issues make it hard for me to socialize. I'm overwhelmed and annoyed when I'm out of the house. i have trouble keeping up with conversations.

I'm so depressed. I wish my life was more fulfilling. i have no idea how to fix it

idk I just needed to vent

I'm so tired and I feel so done-for. I dont even know what to do with my life and I'm 25. I've been in community college 5 yrs, can only take 2 classes at a time bc of my disability (ADHD, regular fatigue of unknown origin, and chronic wrist pain of unknown origin, investigating currently)

I'm so stumped. My college's disability services only help with in-class issues & accommodations, the career center doesnt know what to do with me and just refers me to O*NET or any generic career-finding website, but none of it considers that I'm physically disabled.

I genuinely love doing physical work with my hands; I'd honestly be some kind of construction worker if I could physically handle it (but my wrist + lifting heavy makes me so tired that I suddenly "feel like I need to fall asleep/lay down"). I considered welding, dental assisting, even interior designing, but the hand-work needed for all of that is too much and it's driving me nuts.

Every single thing I consider is genuinely impossible for me. I want to be a comic illustrator (my life's passion project). It's gonna be super hard and take me a super long time. But if I'm already hurting myself chronically at work, I am never ever going to be able to do that.

Anyway, sorry for rambling/venting, I'm just really stumped.

How did you find a career as someone whose disabled?

Are there any career-finding websites that consider the nuance of disability in the search criterion?

All of these darn quizzes give me things that I am physically incapable of but would genuinely love, otherwise.

Thanks for your time.

I work for a pretty large national nonprofit, and I've been doing some disability advocacy through it and have been in my personal life prior. I've noticed though that people just go silent, or sort of discourage me from talking about it? My responsibilities in my position is to ensure our organization branches out and that our programs are inclusive, so it's very relevant to my position. The person responsible for hiring me said she had specifically hired me because I am disabled and have a history in disability advocacy. She no longer works here, but since she left I noticed it just seems to be a sore topic for my team? They either get quiet and have no response, or they just write it off or say we don't have the means to address that right now. Disability is really tied in with our cause, but our organization has done so little to address it or...really much lately. I think my position here seems sort of absolute, because it feels more like I'm filling a space than expected to do the work I was hired to do. The team doesn't really even seem like they expect me to stick around, which makes me think my position was the idea of the girl who hired me. Not the actual organization. Anyway. Outside of my job, people just do NOT like hearing me discuss disability. I get that people may not know what to say, or it's "taboo" for them, but I would hope we're past this point. I'm also fairly wary to discuss my own disability, unless someone specifically asks or I need too. So it just feels strange to me? I know I'm not challenging anyone or dumping private information onto them. It feels like either I've said something that I don't realize is controversial, or they're not addressing something too me. Does anyone else experience this? It feels so strange and it makes me feel like I'm being judged or I'm just really tone deaf. It's not like this when I interact with other disability organizations though, I've got a pretty good connection with other nonprofits and grassroots organizations that focus on Disability which reassures me a bit. I've been told recently during a conference that if I'm coming into this issue so often, that I'm not in disability-friendly enviorments. But I have a really hard time accepting that I guess.

What does “accessible” actually mean when you visit a public attraction?

My family recently visited a new Seattle attraction that had an elevator for wheelchair access. On paper, that sounded encouraging.

In practice, we encountered locked doors, staff confusion, delays, and poor communication. At one point, employees were trying to determine whether my wife's motorized scooter could fit through an alternative doorway instead of simply trying it.

The frustrating part was that the attraction wasn't lacking physical infrastructure. The problem was that the people and procedures around that infrastructure weren't prepared.

Once we finally got through, the ride itself was excellent.

It made me wonder how often “accessible” really means physically possible, rather than practically usable.

This is the first time posting, as I'm new to reddit. I'm 52, male and single. I'm also on disability. It's just the way my life played out, but the frustration and exhaustion remain.

I have bipolar and am autistic. Both diagnoses came later in life, at 39 and 50, respectively. I live with my parents now, both to save on rent and to help them around the house as they are now in their eighties. I'm not able to work full-time, though I recently picked up a part time seasonal position at a local department store. This is what people see.

What they don't see is the amount of work I've put in to get to where I am. When I was put on disability, I was almost non-functional as a person. Since then I have spent a great deal of time self-evaluating and engaging to make myself into a better person. I've taken up hobbies and set goals for myself to never stop learning, never stop doing. I wrote and published a novel, and now have a four-book universe nearing completion as well. I began exercising and have lost 115 pounds. I've been learning a second language with the goal of travel. I took on the aforementioned part time job and genuinely enjoy both the work and the people I'm around. All of this has been to better myself. I refuse to let myself rot away in front of some insipid television show when my brain and body are still capable of more.

The problem is, no one sees the me below the surface. All anyone sees is a middle-aged derelict. I don't have any visible disabilities, but I'm unable to work full-time all the same. I don't have much to my name, just a roomful of stuff and an old car I maintain. I have enough, and I don't want anyone else's money or charity. But I see the differences between me and someone who lived a conventional life. They have their own place, something I may never have. They have newer cars, something I can't afford. They have complete independence, something I've always struggled with. They live the life I worked for and never achieved.

I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life, but I don't want to deceive or lie either. I have a number of unique talents and skills to bring, and I want to share my life with an equal partner, not some sugar mama pity case. But people only see the disabled part, and they turn away. I can't say I blame them. There are millions of men out there who aren't saddled with my limitations. They were lucky enough to not have a permanent affliction.

I'm not writing this to garner pity. Pity is an ugly emotion. I get up every day and I fight. I take my meds religiously, as I know they work. I keep myself busy to sharpen my mind and maintain my body. I refuse to become one of those pathetic incels, blaming women for their own inadequacies. Women are people too, and they want what's best for themselves and their families. I just wish I could find someone whose strengths compensate for my weaknesses and vice-versa. Life's circumstances happened and this is the crooked mile I walk, but sometimes, late at night, I wish I didn't always have to walk it alone.

Does anyone know how to relieve bone pain? When I look it up everything is just like “yeah you need radiation. For the cancer in your bones.” and I’m like bro I don’t HAVE cancer I just broke my ankle in fifth grade and never did anything about it. Idk where else to ask. Any ideas?

I am a 51-year-old guy who was born with Cerebral Palsy, but I am not dependent on others for my care as of yet. It seems that women are repelled by my mere presence. While I am on disability, I am a person who tries to find work, but because it is made impossible by the government to gainful employment as somebody with a disability, I tend to draw the line now. I am selfless and very respectful. I don't understand what I could be doing wrong, because you would think women would want a stable relationship with a fun and loving person. What am i missing?

hi everyone,

ive had long covid induced mecfs for years now, and now in a place i feel like i can try leaving the house for short periods but i would definitely need a wheelchair to do so. i cant have one that has me sitting completely upright though but my question is how do you even go about finding a wheelchair that suits you? ive never used one other than at hospitals, im not really sure how you know what chair suits you? (oh i also dont need a motorized one since any time i leave the house i would be with another person who can push me.) i live in florida if that helps, and no i dont have any kind of government assistance. any advice is very much appreciated!!