“I’m not saying you’re ‘MAD'”, and other lies doctors tell me – on somatic symptom disorder

Content warning: contains GIFs, discussion of abuse and gaslighting

If you’ve been following along with this blog so far, you will know that my already poor health has taken a sharp turn for the worse. The decline is so sudden, dramatic and long-lasting, that I have started to consider that there may be some underlying medical condition affecting my health other than ME/CFS. As it had been some years since a full medical review, I decided to try a few different GPs in town for new ideas.

Disability and gaslighting: when being disabled makes you crazy

Warning: contains experiences of gaslighting and abuse. There is a GIF near the end.

Recently, I had an altercation with a family member on Facebook. They published a meme which is all too common on social media: the inspirational disabled person. The image was of a Paralympic horse rider, with the caption, “no excuses.”