I have been thinking about this past class’s questions a lot and how disability can really take a toll especially in the way our society is built. Being in a capitalistic society means that we must be constantly producing and consuming, but people with disabilities can’t produce/ work in the same way as people without disabilities can. People with mental illness can’t predict when they will have panic attacks and can’t plan their work schedule around them. And other mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia) can keep a person from working at all which in turn can keep them from receiving treatment (since they can’t pay for it). A lot of this also has to deal with stigma and ignorance when it comes to mental illness.

For example, my sister has Generalized Anxiety Disorder and depression that at one point got so severe that she couldn’t even leave her room. When she started to go to therapy and started taking medication she eventually felt stable enough to get a part-time job so she could gently ease back into a “normal” life. She worked part-time at Macy’s and it was a decent job (except for a few inconsiderate customers) and had a relatively flexible work schedule that my sister could work with so she wouldn’t get too overwhelmed. As people with anxiety issues know, it can be better or worse depending on the day and my sister would at times have to call out. I just remember one time when my sister was having an anxiety attack right before she had to leave for work and she really wanted to call out, but if she did she would be scolded and possibly fired. She went to work anyway even though was still shaking. She didn’t want to tell her manager about her anxiety since the manager would just wave it off as if it isn’t a real illness.

I also wanted to add a link to a blog about self care and anxiety information: http://killyouranxiety.tumblr.com/