Girls Using Walking Sticks

[Arran2024]

I saw a post about this on X this morning. Apparently it is a trend.

Anyway, I went into town this afternoon and sure enough, I saw a number of young women with walking sticks. None of them looked like they were leaning hard on their stick, just kind of walking along like it was a big umbrella.

Is anyone else seeing this?

Exactly.
People need to read Tilly Rose's blog or her book. She was dismissed so many times and in such nasty ways.

I can think of quite a number of girls (myself with Myasthenia, my friend with ME for starters) who would have been able to embrace university far more fully if we had felt wheelchairs/sticks were an option.

As for the boys, I know of several mums of teen boys/young men with Myasthenia who feel helpless as their boys don't feel socially able to use wheelchairs or sticks even though it could improve their lives immeasurably. And only recently there was a Facebook post in one of my groups from a man with Myasthenia in his 40s who ended up incredibly unwell after having to stand on a train journey (standing for any length of time makes us ill very rapidly) but still doesn't feel confident to use the priority seats on trains because, to the untrained eye, he looks fit and healthy

If this is all the case then you should have no problem with this being looked into properly. The outcome would be that these are all genuine cases. The same way as scientists are looking into the truly disturbing increase in cancer in young people. Or if there is a group of kids who are not physically sick but use sticks for whatever other reason this would actually point to other problems that need addressing.

I don't disagree. I am happy for people to do lots of robust academic research and tease out the probably varied causes. And also some research and work on why boys and men are so reluctant to use mobility aids /chairs /priority seats even when it could keep them out of hospital.

But shitty articles implying that someone who can get out of their wheelchair and do things is faking their disability are hugely damaging and ignorant

And didn't walking canes used to just be a fashion for victorian men? I am sure that made life immeasurably easier for the men who actually needed them.

Why do we not see the same number of walking aids in the same age group outwith university? And we really don't, I live in a smallish town and see the kids my children went to school with and didn't go to university still around daily, there isn't a single walking stick anywhere. Or international students, you don't see them with sticks either. You would expect all these other groups of people being in need of walking aids at similar rates and this is just not happening.

Functional neurological disorders are real, underdiagnosed, and many people go through life without them ever being properly managed. It’s hugely misunderstood how real the manifestations can be, which means people can’t accept that their condition is functional and doctors can’t let themselves believe that the symptoms described and the signs seen can be the result of a FND. Seizures, lung issues, neurological symptoms, limb problems, deformities, deafness, blindness, you name it, it can happen from a FND. Patients with FND have had operations they didn’t need, feeding tubes they didn’t need, medications started they didn’t need, and on, and on, and on.

They come about from a cascade of multiple people doing bits and pieces of actual healthcare, cumulatively adding things without rationale in a poorly functioning system. And they absolutely travel in clusters of social contagion. There are whole lists of different types that do this.

There are many people where it becomes patently evident their condition is functional, at which point most medical people don’t have the courage to say it. Because they are accused of being “ableist”, or dismissive, or cruel, or whatever.

Which is a shame, because most people who accept their FND diagnosis are grateful that they can finally sort it out.

Do they need crutches and wheelchairs? They probably do, because to go from accepting a FND diagnosis to full function takes a hell of a lot of work and a long time. It’s not like they just start dancing around like Grandpa Joe with a Golden Ticket. Their disability is very real to them, and even if they accept they have FND, the symptoms are still very real to them.

The big question is why there are so many people demonstrating FNDs publicly? Of course that’s a reasonable question to ask.

It is an uncomfortable fact that illfluencers exist; & while in the US girls & young women share the details of unscrupulous doctors who will issue “coveted” diagnoses (the [h]EDS-MCAS-POTS “trifecta”; increasingly frequently combined with gastroparesis & CCI/AAI) & treatments that cause iatrogenic harm (central lines + IV saline; steroids; wheelchairs; feeding tubes; spinal surgery…) in the UK it’s about where to try to get referred to (NB, not where the top specialists are) - and what you should say to get the diagnosis you want. Not things like “make a list of your symptoms & how often they happen” or “take someone with you to the appointment to help explain” stuff - it’s like sharing a cheat sheet, for want of a better description.

Lots of [would-be] illfluencers in the UK are quite open about the fact they’ve self-diagnosed with various physical issues, citing NHS waiting times. When they are then told they do not have said issues they refuse to accept it & insist this is gaslighting & medical misogyny. Some of them research the things they’re claiming very carefully & put accurate information out; others simply spout arrant nonsense, sometimes making claims with the potential to cause real harm.

I’m concerned about anyone of any age using an unsuitable mobility aid. I’m also concerned someone claiming to be a physio on page 6 of this thread is ignorant of the reasons physios will advise people to use a single crutch 🤨🙄

That someone is feigning/exaggerating/inducing (incidentally, Munchausen’s By Proxy is now known as FDIA or FII & Munchausen’s is Factitious Disorder (Imposed On Self))/otherwise being dishonest about the illnesses they claim isn’t an assumption to be casually made. It should also be held in mind that any of those behaviours are a serious issue in & of themselves - just not the ones the individual “wants”. Moreover, part of the reason the social media illfluencers are so dangerous is because they drag in vulnerable young people who are actually disabled. One of the “trendy” brands of sticks/crutches is actually far superior to standard NHS provision - no use if you need a tripod base or should be using a frame (& I’m sure I made myself popular with them by encouraging a potential customer to get assessed to check what she needs & THEN come back if the company can provide it); but brilliant for crutches/sticks.

People making their disability their entire identity isn’t healthy. It can be incredibly difficult, though, to understand yourself through any other lens when other people make your disability central to your identity. For young disabled women whose peers are forging ahead into careers or further study it can be very difficult to build a sense of self that isn’t wholly focused on their disability - & sadly we are still stuck in an era where it is expected people will build identities as if from LEGO, rootling round for random blocks to construct their identity.

The online peer networks of people who [claim to] have the same disabilit[y/ies] as you can be MASSIVELY toxic; so there are lots of valid reasons to be concerned about certain behaviours. It is possible to identify liars with whom you have to interact a lot IRL; & it can be possible to spot those engaging in a range of problematic behaviours online (though people should no more assume on the basis of a random post than they should a random IRL encounter).

While I get that making your disability is your identity isn't healthy, it also isn't something we should have to hide or mask because of shame or fear of judgement. My quality of life is so much better since I have had a diagnosis and been able to talk to others who understand what I live with, and since I accepted that i can get back out and go to art galleries and museums and travel if I use a wheelchair

I am lucky too that my condition allows me to still work full time and volunteer on top. But for some people the symptoms - and treatments -really do take over their life.

Why do you 'fear' it might be a trend. I mean if some people are feigning disabilities they don't have (as I dare say a few will be), that's pathetic and in poor taste, but how does it affect you personally, any more than any other trend would?

It's only an 'absolute eye opener' as to that particular person's behaviour. Tbf it puzzles me too, but it isn't proof of any broader points about disabled people in general. And she's quite right that some people need a wheelchair only some of the time, not all, although obviously it's wrong of her to put people out trying to help her on the days she doesn't need it.

Because it puts extra strain on already massively under-funded disability services in a country with a stalling economy that has traditionally failed people with disability year after year.

Take disabled toilets: there aren’t enough of them as it is. People who need them can’t get into them. So now add a big increase in young women and girls who don’t actually need them but do to fit their unnecessary walking sticks in?

And it reduces funding overall. This happens everywhere and results in the opposite of what people think will happen.

Take a hyperbolic example:

If more and more and more people say they have POTS, say 20% of the population, those people will say there needs to be funding and support for people with POTS. What will actually happen is the government will say too many people have it, it’s just not possible to fund something that is so ubiquitous in society.

A lot of countries have to deal with this. In Australia there is the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The problem there is it attracted so many people with diagnoses of all sorts, many questionable, that it now can’t fund everything because costs to the taxpayer have blown out to billions so it is cutting access for particular diagnoses.

So accuracy of disability diagnoses affects everyone.

This thread has depressed me.

I live with an energy limiting condition (yes, diagnosed, no i haven't invented it) and have recently discovered the difference mobility aids can make to my life.

I'm struggling with shame, what people will think of they see me get out my wheelchair and walk a bit, etc.

Apparently most people will be wondering if I'm a big fake. So that's nice.

I don't enjoy being dependent on my husband. Its really difficult being in a wheelchair because even for something as simple a wanting to read a poster, you need to all your carer to turn you round or move you a little. People not in a wheel chair just take a step to the side. Sometimes I feel like I'm asking too much.

I've been on holiday and my husband drove me to the beach and helped me down the steps so I could have a careful 10 minutes time playing in the sea. I then had to rest for 15 minutes before struggling back up to the car park. I've been knackered for 2 days. If we need to go out today, I'll need the wheelchair to avoid making myself worse.

I'm feeling low today. I'm putting on weight and there's FA I can do about it as moving about too much leaves me bed bound for days. This isn't me, is not the person I used to be - chubby and dependent. I used to be fit and strong 💪

So threads like this, speculating on other people's disability really get me down.

I get that if there's a trend it's useful to look into that and find out why, not not everyone here is doing that, some are clearly just here to judge. And that's shitty.

Oh yes that’s definitely true. I just want to point out I don’t assume anyone in a wheelchair or using walking aids is faking their disability. I may have come across badly in this thread but that is of my own doing, I’m not the best at articulating. I did example one person because that one persons presentation doesn’t add up, for me anyway. I don’t judge everyone with a stick or chair based on one person but I did judge that one person based on what they have shown of themselves.

I remember many years ago I had some heart scans done and when I met with the cardiologist for my results he told me I don’t have a heart problem. He was so surprised at my relief and said you would be amazed how many people are not happy to be told their heart is fine. I guess some people just want to have something wrong with them, for whatever reason and those people will always make the ‘worst’ of their situation.

My DD was using a stick up until a few weeks ago - but after a diagnosis of seronegative inflammatory arthritis has now been put on methotrexate and a steroid taper and is currently able to manage without.

Once the steroid taper has finished she may need to use it again depending on how well the methotrexate has been working underneath.

If anyone questions I guess she can just show them her three times the normal size knee and ask how she could be faking that!

I don't know if this is how you intended it, but it sounds like you're saying FND is 'all in the mind'.

I don't believe that is the case. Its a neurological condition where the nerve signals are not being transmitted properly - so you could have limbs which are, in themselves, fine, but they don't work because of a network issue between the limb and the brain.

The 'functional' means a change in the function of a body part, rather than in its structure, ie looks fine but doesn't work.

Maybe that's what you meant? Its not clear from your post. You seem to be saying that the 'functional' part means there's no actual, real problem, and I don't believe that's the case.

I think some people want to have a diagnosis, because they feel terrible/ have disabling symptoms abs they want to know that:
-they aren't going mad

• the Dr believes them and can see it too
• there is something that can then be done to fix it.

There's nothing worse than feeling terrible and being told all your tests are normal. Because that destroys any hope that you can be fixed.

I'm very late to the thread, and only skimmed it, but I find it fascinating we are back to another trend. Several years ago (over a decade) my DD's school saw a huge ramp up of girls wearing glasses. Non were prescription, some didn't even have glass in them just the frame, but about 30% of years 7,8 and 9 girls started wearing these funky, beautifully coloured frames, think emerald green, blood red, turquoise, crimson . There was no change in the ratio of boys wearing glasses. DDs friends admitted they were just cool to wear.

lots of trends that catch on and become a
social contagion: trans, self harm, glasses, tics, walking sticks.

IKWYM. Are people genuinely going into disabled toilets because they can't fit themselves and their walking sticks into ordinary cubicles, though? I've never seen this, personally, which isn't to say it's not happening, but I'm curious now as my own stick is very slim and in no way hampers me from getting into a loo cubicle... 🤔

And girls/young women appear particularly susceptible to them. Tourette's symptoms were prevalent during lockdown, apparently. There have also been epidemics of fainting in some societies.

It doesn't mean that people are faking the symptoms, just that they are contagious and people can have them even if there is no organic cause. It's an interesting phenomenon, and not easy to explain.

The difficulty - as we've seen here - is that if anyone dares point out that these symptoms aren't rooted in real bodily disorders, a bunch of people will say that genuinely disabled people are being accused of faking. Which isn't the case.

But that's happening too, and the two phenomena aren't unconnected.

I work in a university and have still never seen this 'phenomenon' personally.

Why would you assume FND for all these people @NotBadConsidering ? Many people with MEcfs have been misdiagnosed with fND I believe. So that's complicated to untangle too.

@RoyalCorgi MEcfs is a real disorder that is massively underfunded in research. People with it have suffered medical negligence and scandalous 'treatment' that caused and continues to cause people harm. It is really hard to get a diagnosis beyond a GP and many GPs are badly informed on MEcfs. Some NHS trusts have no MEcfs service at all or no consultants. This being the case, how can anyone point out that symptoms aren't rooted in real bodily disorders? If some are faking as you suggest as part of some social contagion, how on earth is this not going to damage people who have genuine illnesses and disabilities?

So you're saying that some people saying they have MEcfs or fibromyalgia or long covid or POTS or Heds (all of which often comes together/overlap) have real symptoms but it is psychosomatic? But people who actually have these conditions have also been told it is psychosomatic by the medical profession (disproved and good indicators now via the decodeME research). So are we to treat everyone who has such an illness as a youngster as someone in a trend feigning the illness or do we believe people? There's no test.

As someone up thread said, by all means carry out legitimate research on social contagion but naming individuals and having yet more anti disability narrative in the press is really damaging for very vulnerable people.

I found Stock's article really disappointing and concerning. A breezy dismissal and mean spirited. I might not like the way identity politics has inveigled it's way into this area too. I'm mid fifties and do not enjoy naval gazing and endless tiktok style attention seeking, but I am very concerned about this narrative around young women .. I think it is not the take I would want to see from older feminists.

There's no test.

That's the problem, isn't it? The alternative to treating all young women as if their symptoms are psychosomatic (which I think is what you're suggesting I am doing, or that Stock is doing) is to treat them all as if they have a genuine illness. Which is also problematic, particularly if it means that as a society we have to fork out large amounts in benefit payments.

I'm saying that we need more funding for such illnesses to ensure we have the ability to diagnose.

From my experience, getting benefits for such illnesses...even a blue badge without PIP, requires a good deal of evidence from consultants which are incredibly hard to come by.

I'm not saying give anyone who says they have a chronic illness benefits without any evidence. I would like to see many more specialists and more training for GPs but that's a whole other conversation (read what George Monbiot has written on the subject) .. I am saying that assuming people are faking does huge damage to already vulnerable people. This is just a hypothesis but one that feeds into the anti disability 'benefit scrounger' rhetoric going on. It's awful but will sell papers etc.