Disabled people are limited to some activities because, despite what some people believe, you can’t do whatever you put your mind to, and there are some things that your disability prevents you from doing, but that is okay because we find new things to enjoy. People sometimes think that disabled people are bothered by everything we can’t do, but that is not necessarily always true because there are a lot of things that I have never had the experience of doing that I have no desire to do, and am bothered by the fact that my disability limits these activities. My physical disability makes a lot of things in life more difficult, and there are some things that I can’t do that I wish I could, but I try not to get upset over things I can’t do and focus on what I can because you will be much happier that way. There are some activities that non-disabled that I see non-disabled people do all the time, and I can understand why someone may like but there are even more things that I will understand because I’ve never had the privilege to do that activity and don’t know what it’s like. What things does my disability limit that don’t bother me? In this post, I am going to talk about six things that non-disabled people can do that I will never understand as a disabled person.
How can people enjoy running- When you have a physical disability and walk with crutches, it requires more effort because you have to use both your arms and legs to walk. Cardio is important for everyone, but as a disabled person, I do not get any enjoyment from cardio workouts and do not understand how people enjoy them, and it’s something that I just get through and do because I know I should. My dad and sister enjoy running, and I will never understand why anyone would choose a form of exercise that puts so much stress on your body. People say that when you run, it gives you adrenaline and you fall in love with it, but as a disabled person, I struggle to motivate myself to go walk because I hate cardio workouts that much. If I had an indoor exercise bike, I think I might enjoy it a little more since I would be sitting down the whole time, but I will never understand how people can do hours of cardio and like it because in my mind it sounds like pure torture.
People’s obsession with growing your glutes– I can understand why someone would want strong glutes because we use them for a lot of things, but some people take it too far and are obsessed with growing their glutes and take it to extremes. I am not able to work my glutes very effectively because they are very weak, and there isn’t any isolated glute exercise that will significantly grow my glutes. I can understand why someone might want a toned upper body because we use it for everything we do but I will never understand why some people get so obsessed with growing their butt muscles. I have never had the ability to effectively train my glutes, but even if I could, I don’t think I would do anything extreme because having the strongest glutes is not that important to me.
How people can stand for long period of time- As a disabled person, I struggle to stand for long periods of time because my physical disability makes me get tired more easily and after about twenty minutes, I start to get lower back pain and need a chair. Non-disabled people do not have these limitations and can stand for much longer than I will ever be able to, but I do understand why someone would want to stand for hours and have a conversation. Don’t you get back pain from standing too long? I am assuming that if you are standing for hours at a time that it must not bother you, or you wouldn’t do it. It is always amazing to me how doctors can stand for hours and do surgery because even if I had the brains to be a surgeon, I could never stand that long and remain focused.
How people can lie on a body–board and not fall off– If I were to go to the beach, I would probably sit in a chair and watch the waves because I can’t get in the ocean and swim as easily as a non-disabled person can. I can understand why someone may like the beach even though I don’t, but I will never understand how people can surf or lie on any kind of board without falling off. As a disabled person with a physical disability, I can lie on a board and surf the waves but it’s not the same experience because it takes everything I’ve got to get on the board, and even once I am on a lot of the time I can’t stay on very long and it’s more like a workout. People sometimes can help me to make it a little easier, but it’s still hard because I don’t have the muscles to be able to balance on a board that moves, and that activity does not give me much joy. I will never understand how people can enjoy surfing because I have never enjoyed these types of activities.
How women can function on their period– I have endometriosis and live with chronic pelvic pain that affects every aspect of my life. People with endometriosis often have more painful periods than someone without endometriosis, and I can never understand how women can function on their period. Women usually have to go to work when they are menstruating, but I don’t understand how people can get out of their beds because most times when I am on my period, I can barely move, even with prescription-strength pain meds. It is always amazing to me how some women can take Tylenol on their period and function normally, because I have never had that experience.
Why people can’t stop eating sugar– I live with chronic constipation because my bowels don’t work properly, and my disability prevents me from being able to eat five chocolate bars without major consequences. Some people struggle more with eating healthy than others and I understand why people like sugar because it’s delicious and addictive, but I don’t understand why people can’t stop and eat so much that they feel sick. My disability forces me to think about every nutrition choice I make because my stoma leaks when I eat certain foods which can be embarrassing. I wish that I could eat more chocolate and only worry about weight gain but at the same time, I think it can also be a benefit because my stoma forces me to eat healthy and I don’t struggle as much with getting addicted to sugar.
Disabled people have more limitations than non-disabled people, and there are going to be things that I will never have the privilege of experiencing, but that’s okay because I can find new things that my disability doesn’t prevent me from doing. There are always going to be things that I do understand as a disabled person, and there is nothing you can do to make me understand them because you can’t truly understand something you have never experienced. I don’t need to understand everything because I am never going to have the ability to go on a run and it makes more sense to focus on things I can do rather than try to imagine what it’s like to do things that are impossible with my disability. There will always be things that I will never understand as a disabled but there are also a lot of activities that are the same experience for me as it would be for a non-disabled person. Losing the ability to do things that you once could is much harder to accept, but when you have never had the ability, it becomes your norm. What things do you not understand as a disabled person? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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