Negative Comments Surrounding Disability

In an attempt to bad mouth a UKIP Brexiteer a Facebook user suggested that this kind of right-winger should be treated as someone with learning difficulties. 

I found the comment was negative and derogatory to people who experienced learning difficulty, or disability. Was I right to pull him up? 

Why is that people feel comfortable using disabled people and their conditions as a hook from which to hang points of argument. Those of us on the political left would not dream of using women, race, or LGBT negatively to promote our points of view. Yet, certain aspects of disability, usually areas around learning, neuro-diversity and mental health, appear to be fair game.

Yes, I am a disabled person with physical and mental health conditions. Am I sensitive to the negativity surrounding disability, particularly those that are invisible. Yes, I am. But I don’t hold with bashing people over the head when they stray and use negative, or even derogatory, words and terms around disability. Talking to people, explaining to them why you feel their language and attitude towards disabled people is unhelpful and negative.

   

The Nasty Party is crammed full of scum.

The House of Commons is a bear pit at the best of times (code for worst of times). A place full of baying yahoos more used to being fellated by dead pig’s heads during Bullingdon Club drunken orgies. 

But then, some dastardly bastard has the temerity to mouth an insult at the prime minister. Forget that those complaining voted in a cavalier manner to consign millions to the vagaries of universal credit. That these, the same trough swilling neo-liberal pigs on a whim voted for the scrapping of the disability premium attached to employment support allowance. Or, that these are the representatives of the Nasty Party who have continued to dismiss the thousands of deaths of disabled people through the work capability assessment…

If Tories gave a scintilla of concern for the lives they are wrecking in a wholesale manner; if they stopped for a second to consider the kids that go to bed hungry as a direct result of their policies; if they recognised that their vicious austerity programme has forced thousands out of their homes. If! If! If! 

When the Conservative Party begin to act like decent human beings, I will vehemently condemn the manners of anyone who uses discourteous language. However, until that day the Tory Party can go and fuck themselves.   

Depression, how to kick the blues.

What is it with depression? Why do I feel so blue? It's not seasonal as these dark feelings follow me all year around. Some days I wake up and think: "What the fuck's it all about?" I don’t think that the pain I feel getting out of bed, nor indeed the pain that dogs me all day, is the driver of the depression. 

Late last year I attended some counselling sessions at which we tried to address the anger I feel. This year late in the late summer and into early autumn I underwent more counselling, this time in an attempt to dig down to the source of the depression. 

After six sessions I came away none the wiser as to why the depression manifests itself at inexplicable times. We did discuss areas of my life such as the traumatic head injury I received when I was sixteen. Though this injury left me with quite erratic mood swings, I don’t recall feeling depressed in the way I do today.

At a consultation last week my GP suggest anti-depressants. For years I’ve shunned medication for depression. At the moment I take four different types of pain-killers, antispastic meds, meds for an overactive bladder, pills for cholesterol, potions for my bowels, medicine to deal with antacid, asthma pumps and even medicated shampoo. 

At times I feel like a maraca as I rattle along, so I’m disinclined to pop more pills. My GP suggested Citalopram or Sertraline, another steroid med was mentioned but with a caveat of weight gain. I told the GP I would have a think about going down the anti-depressant road.

Can anyone out there advise me on the efficaciousness of Citalopram or Sertraline, or the downside to these meds?