Non-disabled people sometimes think that disabled people are living the dream and have nothing to stress about because we don’t have to work and they will say to us, “You are so lucky you don’t have to work, and you have nothing to stress about.” As a disabled person, I don’t have work stress since I am not employed, but that doesn’t mean that I have nothing to stress about, because I have to think about things that a non-disabled person would have to. Disabled people stress about different things than non-disabled people because employment is not the only type of stress. My life is not as stress-free as non-disabled people think it is, and when a non-disabled person tells me I have nothing to stress about, it shows that they know very little about living with a disability because I have challenges every single day and always have some kind of stressor. Do disabled people have stress-free lives? I don’t think anyone who has significant health issues lives a stress-free life, and although you may not always see it, we stress more than you think. In this post, I am going to share a few things that I may stress about as a disabled person.
Stress of not being able to access something- I have a physical disability, but would consider myself pretty independent because I am able to walk and can navigate inaccessibility a little easier than a full-time wheelchair user. Since I would consider myself very independent, sometimes people think that I can always find a way around inaccessibility, but depending on the barrier, I am not always able to, because I still have a physical disability with limitations. We live in an inaccessible world, and it can be stressful for disabled people to go out because you never know if you will be able to access the park you were planning on going to. I am a little more stressed when I go out places because you never know the accessibility or if you will even be able to get into the store with your friends. Inaccessibility is very stressful for disabled people because it can be dangerous, and there is nothing worse than having to navigate stairs and creating a scene. Disabled people can’t even leave their homes without stress because some people don’t care about accessibility!
Stress of money– Non-disabled people sometimes will stress about money, but not to the extent a disabled person does. Disabled people often struggle to find employment because employers make wrongful assumptions of us and don’t want to hire us. It is more expensive to be disabled because disabled people sometimes have more doctor appointments and need equipment that a non-disabled person wouldn’t need, which is not always covered by insurance. I am always stressed about money because, after years of searching, I was never able to find a job and live off of government checks, which is barely enough to survive off of. I am limited to how much money I am able to make because if I make what the government would consider too much, I could lose my disability benefits. I am always stressed about money, and my biggest fear is when something expensive breaks because I can’t always afford to replace it. Disabled people sometimes need more money than non-disabled people to be able to get everything we need to survive, but often we make less and are always stressed about money, and many disabled people live in poverty.
Stress of pain getting worse- Living with chronic pain is stressful because you can be eating the healthiest diet and exercising and still have increased pain levels. You don’t have complete control over your pain because you can’t control how your body is going to react to the medication you take or the foods you eat and there is nothing more stressful than when you are doing everything and feel worse. I practice healthy habits and do my absolute best to prevent my pain from increasing but am always stressing about my endometriosis pain increase because it’s not uncommon for that to happen. People in pain are always stressing about their pain increasing because doctors don’t always listen to us and people in our lives sometimes will not understand and will judge us when we don’t exercise. I try not to stress about my pain because it’s not something I can fully control but I sometimes do because there is nothing worse than having to go somewhere with unbearable pain.
Stress of having a bowel issue out in public- If you don’t already know, my bowels do not work properly, which means that it is not uncommon for me to have an accident because I can’t hold it in like everyone else. It is stressful to go somewhere where there is food because I never know how my bowels will react, and can be as prepared as possible, and still not have enough supplies and have to leave early. I am grateful that I don’t have a whole lot of bowel issues out in public, and most of the time I can feel in coming and prevent a serious issue. It is embarrassing when it does happen because people my age don’t usually have this problem, and not everyone understands why I couldn’t prevent it from happening. It is a little less stressful if I have an event at my home because I have all my supplies readily available, but it is still stressful, and I am always worrying about unexpected bowel issues.
Disabled people do always have work stress because a lot of us can’t work but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to stress about. Non-disabled people can eat healthy and exercise and have very minimal health but that is not always the case for disabled people because we can be doing all the things and still have health problems. Disabled people have stressors and it’s just different than what a non-disabled person would experience because everyone has things they are struggling with. You should never assume that just because a disabled person is at home all the time that we have nothing to worry about. Work can be stressful but if your job is making you too stressed you can always quit but I can’t always do that because my bowel issues are here are here to stay whether I want to deal with them or not. Everyone experiences stress even disabled people that don’t appear to have a lot going on in their lives and often are facing battles you cannot see. What things do you stress about as a disabled person? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe And Never Miss A Post
My Rockin Disabled Life 