For years I’ve heard stories from my chronically ill friends of loved ones who abandoned them or who refused to believe that their illness was real. So, I wanted to write a letter to the friends & family of chronically ill people.
Tag: ableism
10 Harmful Beliefs About Dissociative Identity Disorder
One of the reasons we wanted to start writing about Dissociative Identity Disorder after we received our diagnosis is the massive amount of misinformation out there. Having this diagnosis is highly stigmatized and many doctors and even mental health professionals still perpetuate these harmful beliefs about dissociative identity disorder.
A Guide to Social Etiquette When Interacting with My DID System
A frequent request we’ve encountered is to create a guide to interacting with Dissociative Identity Disorder systems. We’re offering a list of our own preferences around social interactions and a list of questions to help you get to know the specific preferences of the system(s) you know.
Why Understanding Abuse & Trauma is Necessary for Social Justice Work
CN: disturbing statistics regarding intimate partner violence, extensive discussion of the impact of abuse, trauma, marginalization and the intersection of all three; brief discussion of trauma-based mental illnesses, and oppression as a result of race, LGBT status, socio-economic background, and/or physical/mental ability. The focus of Yopp has always been to discuss all things related to social justice and civil rights. But another important topic that emerged fairly early on was issues related to abuse and …Read More
The Practice of Allyship
This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years. CN: broad discussion of oppression I once saw a post from someone somewhat new to social activism saying he wished there …Read More
Celebrating Disability Pride Month
Disability is a framework that teaches you to prioritize the needs of your mind and body over the expectations of society. Check out these articles to dive deeper into the experience of disability and chronic illness.
Why I Stopped Taking Gabapentin
I am updating and republishing some of my early articles from this blog. Please enjoy this article, originally published under the title “Color” in March of 2017, about the early days of my chronic pain journey. CN: extensive discussion of the experience of anxiety, chronic pain, medication side effects, and medical neglect. Duloxetine was the first pain medication my doctor ever prescribed me, an anti-depressant that can sometimes help with pain. A year after I …Read More
9 Things That Blocked My Access to Medical Treatment
This is a new version of an article that was originally published as “26,” about the early attempts to diagnose the cause of my chronic pain and other symptoms, and the many ways my access to medical treatment was blocked for years prior.
So, You Want to Write an Article for Yopp
Please check our submission guidelines page to find out whether or not we are currently accepting submissions. As of August 27th, 2022, we are no longer accepting submissions. You can check our submissions’ page periodically or subscribe to our email list to be notified as soon as we re-open submissions. At Yopp, we seek to help any group of people whose lives suffer from social, financial, & legal factors outside their own control and to …Read More
Chronic Illness: Wait, Your Body Doesn’t Do This, Too?
A revamped version of my article “The Blue Book” about my discovery of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and early struggles with integrating chronic illness into my identity.