My Experience Living With a Disability

MY EXPERIENCE LIVING WITH DISABILITY

Living with a disability is a challenge. Living with more than one disability is even more difficult. I really don’t know where to begin. The word “challenge” hardly describes daily life. Rather than go into details about my specific disabilities, I thought I would share what daily life is like for me.

To get a full understanding of what I am talking about, let me just list the conditions I live with every day.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;
• Anxiety;
• Permanent neck and back injuries from a car accident that broke 4 places in my back and 2 in my neck – I had to learn how to walk, feed myself, and live all over again;
• Asthma;
• Bipolar Depression;
• Psoriatic Arthritis;
• Chest Wall Pain – aggravated by stress.

Every day is painful, although some days are more painful than others. Physically, the pain can prevent me from doing everyday tasks such as walking, running, household chores, etc. Sometimes, it’s even difficult to do self-care.
There are days when it’s not the pain that stops me. It’s depression or exhaustion. That’s what makes it difficult because not all disabilities are visible. If the disability is not visible, people tend to think that you are just being lazy. Trust me when I say that laziness has nothing to do with it.

However, as one who lives with several disabilities, I also want to point out that there are blessings that come with the hardships. For me, it involved a deeper relationship with God – an intimacy that only those who lose everything and have nothing left to stand on can know. I know I’m never alone – ever.

Another blessing is that I can empathize with others who are going through difficult times. It’s easier for me to understand their pain – both physical and emotional. There are times that no words can help but just knowing that someone is there and they understand can help.

And the final blessing I’ve found is the ever-so-fertile creative soil I’ve found that gives me inspiration for my writing – poetry, short stories, articles, etc. Through my experiences, emotions and pain, I’ve been able to write poems that tug at the heart and mind. Having disabilities also affords me the ability to write articles such as this – trying to explain what it’s like to live with disabilities.

After reading this article, I only have one request for you. When you see someone who is visibly disabled, don’t pity them or judge them. Until you have been in their shoes, you have no idea what they are going through or what they have been through. When someone you know has an unseen disability, don’t automatically assume they are “lazy.” Definitely don’t tell them to just “get over it.” Don’t say things like they need to just pick themselves back up and keep going. Believe me, we’ve tried. It doesn’t work that way. Be compassionate and offer to be there as a listening ear. That is how you can help us.

Thank you for reading this.

A Disabled Writer