...to keep going when you are told every minute of every day that you are of less value than others, that you do not deserve the same care, support and consideration as `normal' people, when the abuses against you are excused and reframed into `care'?
How do you keep going when you see more and more people like you abused, murdered, tortured, neglected, abandoned, and the world turns its back?
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I think that the solution might be in having/finding (by accident) something that requires our attention and presence -- whether what's needed is our unique firsthand input, or our bond/skill/dedication to another person (human or otherwise).
Another thing that I've heard works is to volunteer or work in some capacity where you get to see actual results at the end of the day/week. When I was well enough, I found that volunteering for the library by helping sort book donations (either alone or once a week with the quirky library ladies) was a good choice for me in that regard -- I got to sort things (which is relaxing) and see the number of boxes dwindle.
Of course, none of that applies now for me, either... I basically stick around on the planet because I have a few cats that truly need me in order to survive. (That and I'm afraid of actually being dead.)
I'm with Moggy.
I try to remember that I'm just as valuable as anyone else, regardless of what they think, that power and abuse doesn't make them right.
I do what I can do when I can do it and try to learn to trust that it's enough, because it has to be, because it ought to be.
When I can't bear knowing the things I learn of as an self-advocate, I have other things to bury my head in for a while.
Today I read a heart-breaking post by a friend with Lou Gehrig's disease that is being abused by his paid caretaker. Even though this isn't the first time I've heard about this sort of thing, every time I do, it makes me feel so frantic. I just wish that I could go and DO something about it!
*sigh*
I hope you can join me on Change.org in our "Support People with Disabilities" community:
http://www.change.org/changes/view/2154
Thanks,
Will H.
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