if you can't fight, wear a big hat

palilicium:

tehblackbirdisincognito:

tesseralharmonics:

unknowablewoman:

I think lumping all forms of mental illness, physical impairments, developmental disabilities and systemic diseases together under the same oppression is the worst fucking thing internet/Tumblr SJ culture has done.

tw: violence, discussion of ableism

I could not agree more that it’s disingenuous and ineffective to pretend all disabilities are alike, that all disabilities are comparable, that all disabilities have the same impairments and concerns and stigma and discrimination packaged with them.

And I really appreciate your clarification because yes, from your original post it really did read to me as though you were questioning the idea that mental illness could be a form of disability.

However, I’m still really not comfortable with sweeping generalizations…

This is a really good discussion. Like palilicium, I agree with the basic thesis statement, however placing a solid value judgement on what kind of disabilities are “worse” is just as much putting the cart before the horse as lumping every experience into a broad category. The issue isn’t so much about which disabilities are more debilitating on a day-to-day basis; it is not about “better” or “worse”, it is about the fact that one disability experience is incomparable with another and it’s about people thinking that being an “activist” on the internet with a disability gives them authority to speak on the behalf of the entire “community” even though the idea of a cohesive “disabled community” in which experiences of people with vastly different disabilities can be easily conflated basically only exists in the minds of people who attempt to exert their imagined authority over it. What I am saying is that the discourse lacks nuance. 

(Source: saturniinae)

Hey - my friend and I are planning to send a critical letter about the state of Mental Health Care in our province to the Premier and we need some help making sure that it makes an impact! Nova Scotia’s Mental Health care institution is far from comprehensive, let alone competent, with very few beds, resources and sparse coverage even for those with private health plans. Many of us who have been in and out of the system have had less than inspiring experiences coupled with a distressing lack of outpatient support or follow-up care. 

We are looking for other Nova Scotians to talk about their experiences within the system in order to present the Premier with a broader and more accurate picture of what actually goes on when mentally ill people attempt to get treatment in this province.  

While the focus of this project is on the short fallings of the system and negative experiences, if your experiences have been positive there is room for your voice as well! If you were treated well, feel free to send us a paragraph or two about what you think worked.

If you would like to contribute, please send your story to:

nsmentalhealth@hotmail.com 

Anonymity is just fine! We are not looking to attach names (unless you want to!)