PracticingAcceptance
Senior Member
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Hello all.
I'm feeling weird about using services and tools designed for disability.
Examples:
They would make my life easier.
The thing is, life isn't impossible without these things. I can still get myself to a hairdresser, just not very often, and I can still afford things, just not very often. I can walk, just not far and not fast and not every day. I don't need accompaniment to the cinema.
If life was impossible without these things, I don't think I would feel weird about it because it would be 100% necessary. I don't feel weird about having a 'Please offer me a seat' badge on public transport, because I wouldn't be able to travel without it. I don't feel guilty about using the disabled loos if the 'normal' ones are upstairs and I'm not feeling good.
I can get by. Should I only be using disability services/tools once I have no other option?
I don't want to put people out, I don't feel worthy of loads of extra effort from other people.
Or am I accustomed to a lower quality of life now, and should I be demanding to get a better quality?
I am afraid of wheelchairs as a symbol of disability - the way things are now my disability is almost invisible. I'm afraid of what life would be like to be going around in a wheelchair, because there's so much discrimination out there. I've only used a wheelchair once when I had no other choice and it really freaked me out.
I'm also afraid that by using these things I'd be losing my independence. Wheelchairs seem to require someone to push you. I feel weird about that. I can walk, and I just stay within the limits I have, rather than going outside my limits which would require help.
Please could you share your experiences with me if you've been through these things?
Please let me know if there is already a thread on this, I'm sure I'm not the first person to feel this way.
Thank you.
I'm feeling weird about using services and tools designed for disability.
Examples:
- A couple of friends have suggested that I ask for a hairdresser to come to my house, or to go to a pay-what-you-can hairdresser. Going to a hairdresser is a huge energy drain for me, and I'm concerned about money now that I'm not earning - but I'm not sure if it would be fair on the hairdressers to ask for these things.
- I feel really resistant to using a wheelchair, even though I find it difficult to walk much.
- I felt not-worthy when I got a free ticket for my brother at the cinema as if he was my carer.
They would make my life easier.
The thing is, life isn't impossible without these things. I can still get myself to a hairdresser, just not very often, and I can still afford things, just not very often. I can walk, just not far and not fast and not every day. I don't need accompaniment to the cinema.
If life was impossible without these things, I don't think I would feel weird about it because it would be 100% necessary. I don't feel weird about having a 'Please offer me a seat' badge on public transport, because I wouldn't be able to travel without it. I don't feel guilty about using the disabled loos if the 'normal' ones are upstairs and I'm not feeling good.
I can get by. Should I only be using disability services/tools once I have no other option?
I don't want to put people out, I don't feel worthy of loads of extra effort from other people.
Or am I accustomed to a lower quality of life now, and should I be demanding to get a better quality?
I am afraid of wheelchairs as a symbol of disability - the way things are now my disability is almost invisible. I'm afraid of what life would be like to be going around in a wheelchair, because there's so much discrimination out there. I've only used a wheelchair once when I had no other choice and it really freaked me out.
I'm also afraid that by using these things I'd be losing my independence. Wheelchairs seem to require someone to push you. I feel weird about that. I can walk, and I just stay within the limits I have, rather than going outside my limits which would require help.
Please could you share your experiences with me if you've been through these things?
Please let me know if there is already a thread on this, I'm sure I'm not the first person to feel this way.
Thank you.