As a disabled person, this kind of unscientific thinking is a red-flag. There is a certain type of person you meet when you are visibly disabled or disclose an invisible illness. This person, usually abled, wants to help you “get well soon” — even if you have a chronic, incurable disease. They offer unsolicited health and wellness tips ranging from going vegan to trying “alkaline water.” And while these people may be well-meaning, the overall effect of their unwanted advice is to situate the blame for our chronic, incurable diseases on the people suffering from them. The implication is that if you just tried harder you could get well. This is extremely toxic for disabled people, and yet we encounter it all the time.
—Liz Moore, in “How Marianne Williamson’s Toxic Positivity Hurts The Disability Community”
Published to write.house by Bix Frankonis. Comments and replies by email are welcome.