Identifying with a medical condition

I don't know but speaking as someone who has a medical condition (Mood disorder NOS (not otherwise specified), Schizoaffective Disorder, Depression, and OCD), I always get incredibly offended by others who think it's "cool" to have a disorder. It really isn't, I have to rely on meds to keep me sane, it's not fun at all.

I just...URGH..I hate it when people get on this bandwagon of theirs with thinking this way!

Either way, just my two cents.

Think of it this way, would you envy someone who has Diabetes? AIDS? Cancer? No, those diseases suck. It might be a part of who you are (as in, "you have cancer") but it's not part of your identity. Your identity is something that defines you and I'm sure that someone with a disease would not want to be defined by their disorder (I am a wolf and I have bad allergies, but my allergies aren't part of who I am; I just happen to suffer from them).

It's one thing to use your disease to explain things online, or to let people know you have it, but as @DustWolf that is not the same thing as being a "migraine therian". Therian is part of your identity, your disease is not. Nor is it something cool to be envied.

(2021-09-25 23:13)DustWolf Wrote:  If you identify with a disorder, you are basically saying that the disorder is a part of who you are and it's not something that anyone should attempt to remove. It would be unethical to try to cure you. However, since it is a disorder, it's negatively impacting your life and it should be cured. There is an obvious conflict here.

Additionally to it being detrimental to your own life, because of the disorder, there is also the problem described in the video, where broadcasting your disorder causes harm to people around you.If you identify with a disorder, you are basically saying that the disorder is a part of who you are and it's not something that anyone should attempt to remove. It would be unethical to try to cure you. However, since it is a disorder, it's negatively impacting your life and it should be cured. There is an obvious conflict here.

What if you have accepted your disorder, and you live with it comfortably? Or if it is an uncurable disorder?

If the disorder cannot be cured and you are stuck with it for the rest of your life, you may as well accept it, and... you know, its part of who you are. But I don't think people should advertise it online, like you were saying. For example, if you have tourette's, you should'nt make a video being like
'I have tourette's, I'm so different, I'm special!' and so on for attention.

Imo, you can accept who you are and be "proud" (not really but you get it) of your disorder, but not identify WITH the disorder.

I don't have any disorders, this is all from guessing/research. someone please slap me if I'm being rude.

-Jay

You’re not being rude, but if I’m being honest it does at times feel like some members here are idolizing disorders or playing up their issues. I do understand to an extent, as there are a number of reasons this could happen, and I have done so myself when I was much younger and very insecure and uneducated on my issues.

I’ve accepted many of my disorders, the ones that are lifelong, or may be curable/quite treatable, but take a lot of extra time and effort to do so compared to the milder amount of impairment I have from them. I don’t find treating those issues worth it right now, with my other, more pressing issues, so I accept them and that helps in my specific case. Additionally, I feel iffy at the idea of curing some of my (incurable, lifelong) disorders, because, despite significantly impairing me, they are in everything I do and always have been. I don’t understand what it’s like to not have them, and they’ve given me some unique positive experiences despite the many struggles. I also don’t want to spend my whole life trying to find a way to fully cure myself rather than living and learning and getting some treatment that may help.

I’m not ashamed to say I’m mentally ill or disabled or whatever else as much as I used to be, it’s just part of me. I don’t have it as the main thing I tell folks, but I’m not usually ashamed to, despite using heavy discretion. That being said, I’m very lucky to have a pretty good support system where I can get support pretty much whenever needed, which not everyone can have. Some may seek out support online. It is important to not confuse people looking for support with people making a costume out of a disorder.

Hi,

(2025-09-05 23:39)Jayfeather1318 Wrote:  What if you have accepted your disorder, and you live with it comfortably? Or if it is an uncurable disorder?

If the disorder cannot be cured and you are stuck with it for the rest of your life, you may as well accept it, and... you know, its part of who you are.

...

(2025-09-05 23:39)Jayfeather1318 Wrote:  Imo, you can accept who you are and be "proud" (not really but you get it) of your disorder, but not identify WITH the disorder.

I don't have any disorders, this is all from guessing/research. someone please slap me if I'm being rude.

I am nearsighted. It is a permanent incurable condition that I developed since an early age due to my genetics.

I'm affected by it, but I do not identify with it. I don't hang out with groups of nearsighted people nor do I choose my friends depending on whether or not they are nearsighted. My handler has 20/20 vision and although it is a bit of a bummer to not be able to ask him how he cleans his glasses, or have the same experience as him at a shooting range, there is nothing noticeable in our relationship because of these differences. He doesn't think of me as "the nearsighted friend" an I don't think of myself like that either.

There have been circumstances in which I felt offended because someone called me out for wearing glasses. I'm pretty sure this is the normal reaction people have to being identified as "the person with the disability" in a crowd. I don't think it's okay to identify with the disabilities for this exact reason. Like maybe it'd be some kind of self-deprecating experience for someone who is depressed, but either way it's not a good thing.

I have known of people who wear glasses with no correction in order to appear to have qualities of people who do wear glasses, such as being intellectually sophisticated. I always thought that was pretty silly. And after, almost everyone can see past the person's glasses to see that they are stupid. I might actually be offended by their attempt to associate with me, but at least it is harmless.

I don't know about the whole pride thing, it's specifically an american thing and I'm not american. As an european I would keep my medical history to myself and for example it would be illegal for my employer to so much as ask about it.

LP,
Dusty

“It” here refers to any condition, not just the ones I’ve mentioned, you can find details about the things I mention online but I’m not going to talk abt them. That’s not the point of this, it’s what they represent in society. I have very strong views on this, so I do apologise.


I agree with Dusts opinion on this. I have a lot of issues, some I talk about and some I don’t. I only ever mention things like that in relevance. I’ve mentioned livido reticularis in my journal because I nearly got hypothermia from it, so it was relevant to the entry. I talked about my MEWDS because it affected my drawings and vision, so was relevant. I don’t think that the concept or idea SHOULD be to identify with a medical condition at all. It just sounds like ‘bigging them up’ for attention. Especially behind a screen, I personally do not WANT people to know all of these things, because they are very personal and I struggle with them. It’s not just a cool facade. I’m struggling. I have them, yes, they are by default a part of my identity but that does not mean I identify with them. Yes, my eyesight is part of me, I’ve struggled with it my whole life and yes I hate how people look at me with my patches on, I wish they understood but I personally don’t like the idea of parading around disorders. I am not proud that I am depressed, nor should I be. I don’t start ‘depressed people only’ games nor do I gatekeep depression cause that’s just- not how it works at all. I agree with Pica too, things seem to be idolised a lot in the Therian community and TG, mostly because Therians are often ‘different’ from the ‘normal’ so want to seem more special or unique by saying just how ‘different’ they are. But I don’t think this is the right way to go about things. One is not over or under another person because they are autistic, they’re just 2 separate things entirely.

For example, and going with the most recent rule on systems (though I think for this thread specifically, it ties in too much for me to not mention it. I understand this is breaking the rule but it is also crucial to my point and it seems the best example) there are a LOT of systems on TG. Sometimes I feel like people treat this as the member being lesser or higher than another because of this, I’ve often felt alienated in that manner that I don’t experience stuff like that like others do. I have not ‘fragmented’ into many parts, only 2, and now I feel like that is frowned upon. It makes everything a performative culture. That you have to have this or that. That I should have more alters who behave noticeably differently, sometimes the way people portray alters I think is just to make them more ‘noticeable’ more than how they actually behave. That it’s just people having fun with the IDEA that they are multiple people rather than treating it as a real disorder. That it’s just another label to wear when it ISNT. And disorders are NOT a joke. U cannot try them on for fun, they are real genuine things. For me, the very idea of identifying with your disorder and being proud of it makes it sound like- I dunno I just- it seems the wrong way to go about a medical condition. Ok, I accept that I am autistic. It makes me who I am, and I will be so for the rest of my life. Does not mean I am proud of it, does not mean I identify with it. It is not something I idolise to be, it is not a scale of importance. I am autistic yes, but it shouldn’t matter. Most of my friends are autistic yes, but they doesn’t mean I exclude people that aren’t or treat neurotypical people any less. By default everyone is unique. We do not need or go around listing and parading the reasons why we are different because EVERYONE is different. I am not more or less so than you because I have this or that or because I do or do not experience such and such.

The idea of being ‘proud’ of it just rubs me the wrong way as makes me prickle my fur angrily. It is not cool or edgy or anything like that. It’s a genuine medical condition- I just don’t understand how it’s become a culture that people ‘aspire’ to have these things, because some people genuinely do are genuinely affected by and hurt by them and I hate the way everything is being downgraded and portrayed as cotton candy and rainbows because it’s NOT and life is not that simple.


I apologise if I have offended anyone. We are all entitled to our own views on things.

-Rain

I dunno- maybe I’m just a pessimist who can’t accept change haha- I do not want to make anyone upset!! And i do ofc accept and support ppl in their struggles!! I just don’t like the way the internet has made disorders into a ladder to climb to be more cool and collect them all, that’s that. Sorry if it came across the wrong way

I get this, to some extent. As a 13-14 year old I thought I had OSDD-1B and thought it was cool and fun and made it my entire identity. In the end, the entire experience made my sense of identity terrible. It’s why I used to believe I had a very high number of kintypes.

I am also annoyed when people treat some of my conditions as silly, fun disorders as well. Especially borderline. I have to be on medication for that or I will act really horribly- it’s easy for me to feel full of rage and fire when I’m not properly medicated. It’s caused me to yell at my family, slam doors so hard the frame cracks, and run away (somewhat). It isn’t fun, and I see people joke about it and say they want a “girlfriend with bpd”… it’s weird.

I like that this is being spoken about.

I did identify with osdd when I came to TG. It was needed for me at the time to be able to treat it. I also needed to pay more attention to a part at the core of me which claimed to be a wolf. Really, I couldn't be human and exist. That part of me could not identify with humans or even "me," at first.

It was life-changing when I learned I was a system. I want young people to have information I did not have. But I am relatively elderly and reclusive, and did not take into account just how poisonous social media can be. I had "cool" experiences, but I'm boring in real life. It's better than being dysfunctional.

I don't believe I was born with a sense of self or identity other than something like a primordial soup. My sense of self or identity was profoundly altered by early wounds which led to disorder. The wounds will always be there. I could always work harder to improve my health. But I don't identify with a disorder now.