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Am I Disabled?

aeon.co

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Re: Am I Disabled?

#11

Post by kayodelycaon »

I think this is a pretty good writeup on how disabilities are dealt with in society.

For myself, I'm bipolar. I've had significant difficult my entire life but I didn't know why until recently. Being bipolar has a severe impact on every aspect of my life.

In relation to work, it's just painful. I need accommodations to handle a 40-hour work week. I need a regular schedule. I can't be on-call during the night because I take medication to sleep; I can't even walk properly during that time. I have days where it's better to one day off than spend a entire week being unproductive.

Despite all of this, I've managed to be as productive as my non-disabled coworkers because I am good at what I do. I know how to cope with my symptoms but I can't cope with having to do it the same way everyone else does.

And it seems like no one else can cope with me either. Not being able to be in the on-call rotation causes resentment. Being randomly sick is disruptive. So many people think I'm off having fun while I'm actual at home trying not to kill myself. (I deal with suicidal thoughts quite frequently, never attempted.)

This is all made worse by being unable to explain to my coworkers and managers why I need these accommodations. My dad thinks I'm demon-possessed. I'm not exactly keen on finding out that one of my coworkers has the same belief. My friends know, because I can afford to lose friends. I can't afford to lose a job.

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

Needing accommodation was a major factor in losing my last job. I was transferred to a department where I couldn't be promoted due to my limitations and then let go at the earliest opportunity.

Edit:

Forgot to mention I also have a milk allergy, can't have caffeine, and can't drink alcohol. This severely limits my ability to go out with coworkers.

Sit-down restaurants that advertise handling allergies don't. I've gotten extremely sick from every one I've tried to eat at despite being extremely clear that I'm sensitive to cross-contamination.

Fast food is hit or miss. I can't even trust Starbucks to use coconut milk instead of regular milk when I ask for it.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#12

Post by samsquire »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #11

I think this is a pretty good writeup on how disabilities are dealt with in society. For myself, I'm bipolar. I've had significant difficult my entire life but I didn't know why until recently. Being bipolar has a severe impact on every aspect of my life. In relation to work, it's just painful. I need accommodations to handle a 40-hour work week. I need a regular schedule. I can't be on-call during the night because…

I would recommend praying for deliverance, even if you think it would not work.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#13

Post by samsquire »

I didn't like the writing very much in this article. Found it difficult to follow points along.

I'm disabled. I have schizophrenia. It sucks. I cannot concentrate properly and I hear voices that tell me to kill myself. Fortunately I've only attempted once and failed.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#14

Post by sterlind »

igetspam wrote: post #5
uberman wrote: post #3

I've personally pondered this a number of times and here is my conclusion that I am comfortable with. While there is some sense of continuum, there is a difference between being hurt and being injured. In a similar sense I feel there is a continuum of "something" and disabled. I don't really know what to call the "something" end of the disability continuum that would be analogous to "hurt" rather then "injured". For…

My wife appears to be incredibly fit and she is. She's able bodied, thin but not sickly so and strong. She has great muscle definition. Her skin looks healthy. She is often taken for being a decade or more younger than she actually is. She spends half her week pleading with medical staff or arguing with insurance about why the drugs and procedures shouldn't be denied. Her eyesight is rapidly degenerating. She's has d…

Sorta sounds like me. I have smooth and young-looking skin, but it's because my collagen is messed up. My joints come apart everywhere in my body, I get woozy from standing or even sitting for long, and I'm developing a host of spinal and nerve problems. I'm expected to need PT, braces and probably more for the rest of my life.

But I can walk, and I look young, so I had a hell of a time getting diagnosed. And I felt really guilty about using a disabled parking pass even though I knew I needed it.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#15

Post by callinOutLiars »

It seems society sucks at helping cripples. I’m in constant pain while walking, but while wearing shoes (covering up the noticeable deformation) I have been yelled at many times for parking in handicap spaces. I have had people and family tell me it is no big deal and I need to deal with it (if you can walk, but still crippled no one actually considers you crippled).

Re: Am I Disabled?

#16

Post by kayodelycaon »

kube-system wrote: post #10

There are employers are asking this question? What purpose does such a question even serve? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen even to ask.

There's actually a good reason for it: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/regs/compliance...

I never trust companies to not use it against me though.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#17

Post by lazyasciiart »

kube-system wrote: post #10

There are employers are asking this question? What purpose does such a question even serve? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen even to ask.

If any kind of request is being made that would only be granted on the basis of disability, for instance. Or they might be attempting to gather demographic information (do they employ any disabled people?), which is allowed if the intent is to benefit employees with disabilities.

Here's an example form used for federal contractors: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/regs/compliance...

Re: Am I Disabled?

#18

Post by lazyasciiart »

uberman wrote: post #3

I've personally pondered this a number of times and here is my conclusion that I am comfortable with. While there is some sense of continuum, there is a difference between being hurt and being injured. In a similar sense I feel there is a continuum of "something" and disabled. I don't really know what to call the "something" end of the disability continuum that would be analogous to "hurt" rather then "injured". For…

I think that people's perceptions of what it means to feel disabled are so different that your view is wrong. For instance, my mother totally lost the use of one leg as a baby with polio. She has always worn a full supportive brace on that leg from foot to hip so she can stand up and walk (she's never been able to run). She has always said she doesn't "feel disabled", but she checks yes on forms like this because she knows that this is the terminology used to cover things like "I may need extra help evacuating the office in a fire".

Re: Am I Disabled?

#20

Post by gumby »

Likewise flummoxed by the equivalent “race” question almost always asked on the innumerable forms you’re subjected to in the USA. In the country I was born in there was one correct answer for me (though the question was rarely asked); later that changed. In my mother’s country the legally determined answer is printed on your ID card, which at least removed the need to think about it. In the USA there is a very different “correct” answer, yet that is apparently wrong when I fill out a medical form. If I fill it out one way I can be scolded by the doctor, yet the other way and it has more than once been “helpfully” changed by front desk staff.

Frankly it feels like visiting the Dell web site: are you a small business? Medium business? I never knew what answer will give me he best price or product.

Humans are fucked up, and fucked up towards each other.

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