Human Literacy

Apple cider vinegar is a brilliant TV show and brings focus to lots of nuanced issues in the health industry:

- The confusion and contradictions of advice in the world of alternative medicine 🧪

- How Western medicine is becoming a place of distrust 🏥

- The negative impact of social media on the young and impressionable 📲

- How lots of unscientific (and scientific) doctors target vulnerable communities to cash in 🩻

- The danger of alternative advisors claiming they can ‘cure’ you by following a certain protocol 💊

- The ethical responsibilities of influencers 🤳🏽

I also can’t help notice a cultural obsession reflected here with woman lying. The last 3 Netflix shows I can think of where a woman has launched a business were all liars or frauds (Belle in this case, The Dropout, Becoming Anna)… It makes me wonder if there could be negative implications of this.

Many woman I know, myself included, have been wrongly labelled as lying or having hysteria in the medical world, when they can’t obviously see what’s wrong at first. The first reaction tends to be, ‘if I can’t find anything obvious, they must be lying’. Yet many conditions take years to diagnosis because the biomarkers simply don’t exist yet. In the medical world for a woman it is statistically more likely to be unbelieved than believed.

Many people have come out, rightly so, feeling angry at the damage that Belle has done to communities. But I’m also conscious of the impact on multiple shows dramatising lies, could this cause even more skepticism and anger towards woman when they are genuinely unwell?

There is already so much medical neglect for woman, particularly with chronic health and autoimmune conditions. I believe this story is the exception and we are in desperate need for more compassion not more medical neglect 💭

The new year always brings this pressure to be a brand new you, energised and ready to take on the world. When you live with a chronic illness, it just isn’t the vibe.

There’s no “right” way to start a new year. Whether you’re setting big goals or simply focusing on getting through the day, you’re doing great. 💌

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Just finished this book by and it’s such a powerful tale of chronic symptoms. Selma talks about the experience of being diagnosed with MS after having difficult symptoms for decades, alike to finding a missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle. This type of diagnosis, a health condition that we have some understanding about, actually comes across as a luxury to me when I have had unresolved symptoms for years.

She also talks about how after her diagnosis when she first stepped out into paparazzi with her cane, she was overcome with emotion, beginning to cry. To her amazement the paparazzi actually stopped photographing, and instead shouted “you look great, Selma”, “we love you”. The next day headlines were talking about how brave she was, a warrior. Why should it take a MS diagnosis to get this respect? For so many years people - women in particular - struggle with debilitating symptoms, but because there is no obvious cause are all treated as complete hypochondriacs.

I was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder in 2021, which is a controversial and problematic diagnosis. It occurred when I was unwell with multiple types of infections and my body just completely malfunctioned (although the doctors didn’t realise I had these infections at time of diagnosis.) FND is known to being as debilitating as MS - with seizures, tremors, speech issues, fatigue, memory loss - but because people know little about the cause of FND, once you have this diagnosis your doctors tend to associate you with conversion disorder, or the anxious or hypochondriac type. It is a permanent black mark on your medical record.

It’s very common for people diagnosed with FND being told that if they addressed their ‘unresolved stress or anxiety’ their symptoms would miraculously stop. Conditions like MS and AIDS were once considered psychosomatic and conversion disorder too. How can we be more accepting of communities chronically ill who do not have a full explanation or diagnosis?

So, what exactly is this concept? 💭

A strong sense of self breeds confidence and decisiveness, while an unclear sense of self could cause self-doubt and difficulty making decisions.

It can help us keep grounded, even when life throws changes and challenges our way. It allows us to weather storms with a sense of resilience and self-assurance.

Here are three ways to think about nurturing a stronger sense of self:

1. Heal from past trauma 🌱

Past experiences can often impact how we feel about ourselves today, but they don’t have to define us. If you have wounds from unhealed trauma—such as a neglectful or absent parent, an abusive relationship, bullying, loss, or any other type of damaging experience—addressing it and working toward healing can be a big step toward a stronger sense of self. Without this healing, we may identify more with our trauma than our actual selves.

2. Practice self-compassion 💌

Showing yourself compassion can formulate a stronger feeling of who you are and how to defend it. Expressing gratitude daily, refraining from comparing yourself to others, cultivating mindfulness practices, and saying positive affirmations out loud every day can all help you in this practice.

3. Set boundaries 📐

Are you a people pleaser? When asked for your preference or faced with a choice, take a moment to tune into yourself and see what you really want, and then practice expressing it. Listening to and clearly expressing what you want is a core practice of getting better at boundary-setting over time.

For further reading visit: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/the-importance-of-a-strong-sense-of-self-and-how-to-gain-it/

[Image description: a figure captured dancing in a blur, wearing a lilac dress with organza fabric floating around them, against a bright orange background]

If you look at the history of HR, and why it came into existence in the first place, its fundamental function is not to make us feel good for the sake of making us feel good; it’s to make us more exploitable as workers.

This means that initiatives don’t serve to make us to experience joy, flourishing, or our ideas of fulfilment, but rather to make us happy and emotionally adjusted enough to be exploited. We are seeing worrying stats when it comes to burnout and sick leave in the workplace.

Read our carousel to understand more about what’s going on 💡

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If you look at the history of HR, and why it came into existence in the first place, its fundamental function is not to make us feel good for the sake of making us feel good; it’s to make us more exploitable as workers.

This means that initiatives don’t serve to make us to experience joy, flourishing, or our ideas of fulfilment, but rather to make us happy and emotionally adjusted enough to be exploited. We are seeing worrying stats when it comes to burnout and sick leave in the workplace.

Read our carousel to understand more about what’s going on 💡

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These are just a few of the many disability rights icons who have worked to make the world a more inclusive place.

Their contributions and their continued work have helped to create a more equitable society, and are an inspiration to anyone else following their path 😃

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Anna Neubauer is a London-based multi award-winning photographer.

"A lot of my work is centred on people with visible differences because I think the less diversity people see in their everyday lives, the more disconcerting they might find it – and that's something I can change.

For me, diversity does not exist without inclusion. I’ve realised that as a photographer, I’ve got the transformative power to show how beautiful differences are, and to contribute to a more open, diverse, and inclusive society. Society decides what normal looks like, or what people can and can’t do. With my work, I am moving away from traditional stereotypes by creating images that promote acceptance, kindness and honesty.

I am showing what being human actually looks like. With my portraits, I'd like to inspire others to join me, because sometimes all it takes is an inspiring story told through a powerful image."

Image description: a carousel of photographs from Anna Neubauer's portfolio. Including photographs of an exhibition at Outside Art Project outside King’s Cross area in London, highlighting work "designed to make you look again". The exhibition is titled Radical Imagination. All of Anna's work beautifully challenges the underrepresentation of young people with disabilities and visible differences. Throughout Anna’s works, while they show a variety of situations, people and places, she manages to craft a consistently warm, sensitive and peaceful feel throughout her work.

This quote from disability activist Judy Heumann is a reminder that we should all be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of our abilities or disabilities.

Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, people with disabilities still face discrimination in many areas of life, including employment, education, and housing. We need to do more to create a society where everyone is able to reach shared equity. 💡

[Image description: black text is placed over a pastel green and cream background, reading: “People have not seen us as an equal member within their communities, their schools, their mosques, their churches, their synagogues, social clubs, or whatever it may be. They look at us and they think, “How could I live my life like that?’” — exactly the reason why authentic representation is so vital.” Judy Heumann, life-long activist]

Here is a reminder of some comforting sensory joys to bring attention to in darker days 🌘

Change of seasons can be particularly difficult time of year. Studies have shown that people suffering from joint pain, headaches, arthritis, and fibromyalgia may experience flare ups, or increases in pain, correlated when temperatures go from warm to cool or cold.

Additionally, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons. Symptoms often resolve during the spring and summer months. Less often, it can cause depression in the spring or early summer and resolve during the fall or winter months.

The exact cause of SAD is not fully understood, but it's often linked to reduced exposure to sunlight and reduction of Vitamin D during the shorter Autumn and Winter days.

According to the University of Leicester, Seasonal Affective Disorder affects around 2 million people in the UK. Higher prevalence rates can be seen in people with pre-existing health conditions, for example, affecting 10-20% of people with major depressive disorder, and around 25% of people with bipolar disorder.

If you feel symptoms start in the Autumn and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and reducing mood, SAD might be an explanation.

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🍃 🎃 🍂 ☕️

Have you been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder? Perhaps you can help 😙

The experience of receiving a diagnosis for Functional Neurological Disorder can feel intimidating and often unsupportive, due to outdated stigma surrounding the condition.

We want to create a wellbeing guide for point of diagnosis that makes the topic feel more human and approachable.

If you have been diagnosed with FND, please share your experience by filling out our survey :)

We would love to hear about any resources that have helped you on your journey the most.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfV2m3J4FxAG7iTTpZ_pGKKICjY9Th7Ezo1FQf8LenfDz8UMw/viewform?fbclid=PAAaYy3OJ31v3GF3x68Pbw5EOlBC77yAONoSRUYOkmOq-N_papleVzrQNbt9g_aem_AQhT-curNOj1u3YRsiQvDLiVw6W1O-mCxhdlKTyo7fDRRYkjxqjPJoEUNHxGXOPJls8

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