#and in both cases/ in all of kyriarchal oppression the answer is to work together and help each other

[softness-and-shattering]

Im not looking to pick a fight here I just want to express something.

I see a lot of posts with a declaration like "this is for physically disabled people only, dont make this about mental health, neurodivergents dont interact". And it just doesnt sit well with me.

It could be that Im not seeing what this is a reaction to.

Bodies and brains arent separate. Our bodyminds are one big set of feedback loops.

Firstly brains are physical organs. We dont know exactly how to see thoughts on a scanner but theyre somehow made of neurons and electricity and brain stuff. Maybe even brain stuff that we cant currently detect or measure. But it is physical because what else could it be? We're made out of meat.

Second. Trauma is stored in the body. Anxiety partly is stored in muscle tension. Mental illness and neurodivergence manifests physically. In headaches and stimming and tension and bad sleep, fatigue, impaired executive function, skin picking and handwashing and fine motor skills and likely many other things I dont have as much knowledge of.

And physical disabilities affect the mind too. Frustration, anger, helplessness, distress, pain, loneliness, fatigue, brain fog. Trauma. Likely other things I have less knowledge of.

And yes some disabilities are more accepted and/or accommodated. We all have different experiences and I think we like to think other people have it easier, if only I was disabled this other way Id have my needs better fulfilled.

And in some cases theres truth to it. We all have different experiences and no one should talk over anyone else about their own lives.

And, we all live in an ableist society that isnt set up for us and we all struggle in different ways to different degrees. We're also not all that different.

Like if one person is talking about how they cant go to the shops because they dont have the mobility necessary, and someone with agoraphobia chimes in and says I also hate that I cant go shopping, congratulations you have something in common to talk about. The source of your difficulties and what would allow you to negate or manage those barriers are very different, but you have the same struggle.