How chronic does my pain have to be?
With an enhanced awareness of ableism and societies built for able-bodies, we must have an understanding that disability may look different for everyone and to create a space for those who are disabled to share their experiences. Disability is characterized as “a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.” As someone who has been applying to dozens of jobs lately, I have become keenly aware of the limits of claiming disability on a job application. The definition made by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that the disability must “substantially limit major life activity” in order to count under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
This raises the question: how many low-level disorders constitute as a “disability.”
Under more than three categories of disability, each condition I have would fall considerably low on the list. Under nervous system conditions, I experience migraines but take medication that moderates them to a dull daily headache. Under autoimmune disorders I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis which causes hypothyroidism, a thyroid disorder affecting metabolism, energy, growth, and much more. Within the last year, I was also diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, a type of spinal condition that can cause chronic back pain. And finally, I experience a moderate level of anxiety that falls under a type of mental health condition — every job application uses different examples but anxiety is often used.
Now, looking at each of these conditions separately, one might not recognize a significant impairment on my daily life. However, altogether and at a mere twenty-one years old, these conditions have a major impact on my life. Sitting or standing for a long period of time can cause pain in my lower back to the point where all I want to do when I get home is lay down. If I lay down when I get home to release back pain, I am not combatting the hypothyroidism that slows my metabolism and makes me gain weight at a more rapid rate. If I combat the hypothyroidism and exercise, I could risk inducing a headache and causing further fatigue.
No matter what I do at any given moment, at least one of my disorders is actively working against me.
Does this count as a substantial impact on my life? Would an employer even recognize this as a challenge to my day?
I recognize that I am able-bodied and lucky compared to many, but when did we start discounting ourselves by comparing to others? As my parents would say, the grass is always greener and everyone is always going to have more or less of something than you. So, for my personal experience and interaction with the world, my day-to-day is challenging. But is it disabling?
I run into this question every time I am applying for a job and debating whether or not to select “Yes” under disability. If I have to get blood draws and take medicine like a guinea pig to determine which of the several disabilities is causing a certain symptom and how high of a dose will solve my problem, is that substantial? If my head hurts more than the average person on a daily basis, is that substantial? If my back is consistently in pain after more than two hours of a given activity, is that substantial? How a person quantifies pain versus impact is completely subjective.
So, the question remains, how chronic does my pain have to be?
