Ableist things people have said to me

I haven’t written about this too much on here, but I have several chronic illnesses. I got a bunch of diagnoses in this past year (YAY diagnoses!!!): IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), GERD (acid reflux), fibromyalgia, and strongly suspected endometriosis.

Anyway, there is a lot of ableism in the world. I have to deal with a lot of it. I’m sick of it. I feel like if maybe I write some of this stuff down, I’ll feel a little better.

My brother scolded me for bringing a bag (a small purse!!) to a dinner party. He said I was bringing too much and didn’t need it. I literally did need it!! It basically only had my medicines in it, which I would need to eat in order to eat a meal!!! (IBS & GERD issues)

I had covid, and I’ve been having heat intolerance (and fatigue) ever since. By heat intolerance, I mean that my heart rate gets really high when it is hot. I come close to fainting often. I have to skip work because of it. I told my friend this, and she said that maybe it’s because my ancestors come from colder climates that aren’t used to heat?? (I am White and my ancestors are from all over Europe — both hot and cold places) Maybe this one is a little racist, too, not just ableist. It annoys me because first of all, I’m normally always cold, even in the summer, and this is an established fact about me. Someone’s ancestry doesn’t dictate how their body works. Second of all, I was pretty clear that this is a new issue that has been happening since I have covid. It hasn’t been going on my whole life!! Ugh. It just felt like she wasn’t taking seriously how this new illness was impacting me. She did back off when I said this hasn’t been happening my whole life, though.

I will stop writing for now. Those are the things that are bothering me the most right now.

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