@pastelbat myself I guess. I really don’t feel I need a chair even though being off my toes would reduce my pain a lot.
Mostly bc I could take some form of long term painkillers but choose not to bc I feel I’m not in enough pain + not sure they’d react well with other meds.
And bc...judgemt by doctors and parents as I don’t need one in their eyes imo
ablism
@Brainship I mean
I choose not to take longterm opioids, but that doesn't implicitly mean I'm not in enough pain to warrant it (it just means I value having a colon). It sounds like you're in a similar situation wrt other meds?
I got a bit of overwrought concern when I started using a stick, and then using a chair later.
Abled people seem to look at them as some sort of trap. I think this is because they have a false binary in their heads, of those who Need X All The Time & those who Don't Need X At All
Like, it's less "do you 100%-all-the-time Need it to even scrape by, even at a bare minimum"
and more "Would it be helpful to you in mitigating and managing your disabilities. Would it mean you burn out less. Would it let you have more energy & functionality and better mood as a result of less pain/exhaustion/etc."
Freeing up all the resources pain eats away at is no small boon, but it's one that I know we often internally undervalue
re: ablism / some vague venting abt doctors
@pastelbat rn not having to walk so much would 100% improve my mood. I wonder how much my mental health is impacted by pain rn.
Especially as despite what I feel I was last told, my RA is nor in recession or low inflammation to me.
my small toes dislocate constantly, the big toes swell and can’t bend. I haven’t been in to see docs lately admittedly thou idk.
I was told to not walk on my toes when they hurt, but they always hurt. I can’t walk less.
Idk. I need something and a chair sounds a lot like that something rn