Abled people find it hard to believe how many people are actually disabled, vulnerable, mentally ill, or have chronic pain and impairment that requires ongoing medication or other treatment because they think of themselves as "normal" and "the default" and assume other people are faking.

It's a pretty common story, the same as every other dominant group looking askance at the marginalized and asking why they can't just bootstrap themselves out of the problem.

Even as they make it worse.

@gwynnion I very probably tried to gaslight myself out of my own bipolar syndrome

@Rasp I spent years beating myself up over depression because I wanted to believe it was all about being trans and dysphoric and I should have gotten over it eventually.

And that is a lot of it. But it's in there now, the trauma has happened, and it's just part of who I am.

It hasn't stopped me from doing the same over whether I'm really borderline or mildly bipolar or what. I just know something in my head doesn't always work right, whatever the reason.

@Rasp Chronic pain and mobility issues have put me in a place where the how and why don't matter as much as how to live with it all comfortably.