The recent podcast episode that featured ableist remarks and disgusting views towards disabled persons has sparked a conversation that needs to be had.
When we discriminate and label disabled individuals with disgusting terms such as ‘mangled’ & ‘grim’, we are contributing to the systemic ableism that is already prevalent in society. The last thing we need is for discrimination to be given a platform and normalized even further.
It is important to remember that health is in no way guaranteed, and you could become disabled at some point. Whether it be from an accident, illness, or old age, our health can deteriorate. Would you then view yourself as “mangled and grim”?
For those who have been affected by the hurtful remarks made in the podcast, remember your self-worth. You are deserving of love and respect, and ableism has no place in our society.
Some of you who have popped on to here over recent days will have noticed small changes popping up around the site. It’s an exciting time for the blog. In the eight years its been running for it has had the same look, so it was about time it had a make over along with a brand spanking new feature. Hopefully this means you’ll find it easier to navigate, but as always I’m only a message away and you can always drop me a line over on the Dystonia and me Facebook page if you’re having any difficulties.
Dystonia & Me; Spoonie Talks Logo
Spoonie Talks is the blogs latest new feature, this will be a weekly podcast posted up every Friday evening. I am overly excited about this. It’s an idea I have had bubbling away in the pipeline for awhile but it was never quite the right time. However sometimes you’ve just got to grab the pandemic by the horns and give things a go, so I’m launching Dystonia & Me: Spoonie Talks podcast and hope to have the first episode up and running by the end of the month.
How can you be involved?
While some of the the episodes will just myself talking, I’m aiming to make this an interactive series bringing light to issues that my readers, and the Dystonia and me community feel strongly on. This really could be anything! It could be on a specific condition that you would like to spread awareness about, you could be a carer and wish to discuss what that’s like, maybe you want to share your journey to diagnosis, tips on balancing illness and home life, pacing, perhaps you are a charity and want a platform to speak on. The possibilities are really endless.
If you think this is something you may be interested in, drop me a message through the facebook page and we can have a chat. The more the merrier!
The Return of Facebook Lives
During National lockdown I was on the Dystonia and Me facebook page twice a day doing facebook lives to check on how everybody was doing both physically and mentally. This meant I could provide links to resources for those who were struggling, and hopefully for those who were feeling isolated it meant that they had something to look forward to.
Now with my health not being at its most stable at the moment twice a day is not something I can commit to, however I feel (and some of you have messaged) that the lives returning would be helpful with so many local lockdowns in place again. With this in mind I’m going to be coming Live on the Facebook page 7.30pm every Monday and Wednesday night. It wont always be awareness spreading, it might just be a friendly chat to see how you are all doing, so join in in the comments. I will schedule these on the page, you’ll be able to set reminders for those who want to join.
Dystonia and Me 