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?

Yep, I know a couple of performative carnivores - OMG when there is a BBQ they go into overdrive.

The point is a person can be performative about anything, and when taken too far make it there whole personality.

Can't be said enough and loud enough!!
👏👏👏

Absolutely. I can’t believe there are posts on this thread which not only discredit and scorn women for their outward appearance but also their disabilities.

I am F in my mid 30s. In 2018 I started to experience really bad pain in my abdomen, I eventually got a referral for minor investigative surgery, in march 2020. So that didn't happen. For about 5 years I used to get these issues with my back once or twice a year, where it would tighten up and I couldn't move. Stretching and rest would fix it, it would normally be after a lot of exercise. One day in 2020 walking around the house the pain came on, and stretching and rest barely made it better. One year later I can barely walk, and I've tried everything. I get by by not leaving the house much, no longer going on dog walks and resting a lot when I do walk. Two years later I'm on holiday, I have struggled to walk the entire time. I went for a massage thinking it would help, and with in minute of leaving, I can barely walk again. I was passing a stall that sold walking sticks and though 'f**k it' and got one.

Ever since I have used walking sticks and am currently using a walking frame. I can't speak for others but I don't feel trendy. People stare at me, because I go out and do things lots of people with walking frames don't do, like I went to central London. Sometimes public transport is a nightmare, and I can walk unaided for about 60 seconds, so if lifts are broken I have to carry my walking frame. I used to like going to clubs but I can't anymore. I have to check every venue I go to first and I used to be spontaneous. I lost my body as well, I have gained a lot of weight due to the inactivity, I do use an exercise bike (it helps that I can sit down) but I have to pace myself with it. I also experience pain in my hands, they used to sting occasionally but one day in 2020 I woke up with them stinging and they never stopped.

I now got to the open university, where lots of young people who are disabled study. What I have found is we all experience huge loss of what we expected for our lives. I was a youth worker with children effected by violence and I had to quit because I could not longer travel there on public transport and carry all the equipment I needed, the venue was not accessible and some days I was in to much pain to think, meaning I wasn't reliable.

I hope this info helps give an insight into what young (ish) people with mobility aids are going through.

Sadly, even though I don't do either of those things people stare at me a lot. I actually got denied service in a co-op once because of how I looked with my walking aid. I had a meal deal with a CBD drink, and I asked the woman behind the counter for a disposable vape. She then wanted to ID me (I'm in my mid 30s) and I didn't have any ID so I said, no problem just the food please. She then wanted to ID me for the CBD drink. I expressed I was skeptical about this. She said 'I'd ID anyone, even if they have a walking stick'. I left without buying anything and was so distressed I had my boyfriend phone the shop. He spoke to the manager, who spoke to the employee. She admitted she had judged me and offer to apologies to me in person. I said it was ok and didn't take it any further. (I googled it co-op had no policy about age restrictions on CBD drinks).

What the eff is pots? This business of non-medical people using abbreviations for "conditions" is another reason the general public appear not to care... Medical people mostly understand each other and abbreviate in hand overs and emergencies. If you want non-meds to show consideration and understanding do so yourselves and Spell it out so that we all do!

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

It's a bit of a mouthful so people.... everyday people not just doctors...used POTS. You know, like MS gets abbreviated or IBS or COPD.

I doubt spelling it out will make you any more empathetic though. 🙄

It's never been easier to look things up if you're genuinely interested in finding out about something. Although, given how you've placed the word conditions in quotes, I suspect you're only here to put the boot in.

I'm not religious but it would do some people good to remember the phrase 'there but for the grace of god, go I."

My loved one was fine five years ago. Disability and chronic illness can happen to anyone.

What is "pots" if it's not a "condition"? Incidentally i am not falling prey to Artificial Intelligence and suchlike, and being older generation prefer to speak to those "in-the-know" or specialist professionals, not forgetting our fortnightly weekly mobile library. Underthecokesign response appears rather too aggressive, more like Undertheinfluence;

Wow more aggression on this thread, maybe the clues are in the handles! "Sod Off back to aibu" appears to be projecting and using transference regarding "empathy". By-the-way (btw) thanks for the definition of P.O.T.S i get exactly what that means when broken down into its components.

I'm not being aggressive. I answered your question and expressed an opinion that you sounded lacking in empathy.

You know where my username came from? Defending people being bullied on the relationships board or elsewhere, with aggressive posters showing ..a lack of empathy and kindness.

Having a swear does not make me aggressive or unkind. I can be blunt but there's much worse than that being dished out to disabled people and their loved ones on MN just now.

I think your post was more aggressive in tone than mine but we can agree to disagree. Not here to upset you. Don't know what you mean about transference? That's a psychological term, not applicable here.

The first time I saw a mention of POTS I didn't know what it was so I googled it....

I tend to refer to my condition as Myasthenia rather than it's full name (Myasthenia Gravis) just because it's quicker to type. A lot of people with the condition shorten it to MG though to spare typing /saying the whole thing (particularly because its a rather tricky name for a condition that often comes with dysarthria as as symptom). I tend to assume people may not have heard of it before (I wasn't until I was diagnosed) but that I don't need to explain it because a quick Google will provide them with ample information and they are welcome to ask me questions if they want to know more. After all, if I were to talk about it unprompted I would be at risk of being accused, by various people on this thread at least, of making it my whole identity

Oh good grief. Where to even start? 😂😂😂

I suppose I should be thanking you really because that's given me a bloody good laugh, and that's saying something because I'm at a comedy festival this week. Are you seriously attempting to defend your ignorance by saying you get your so-called knowledge from 'specialist professionals' (because we all know how easy they are to pin down for an informative little chat 🙄) and a mobile library? Even though you are literally using the internet to post on MN and could just as easily use it to educate/inform yourself? Because you think knowledge gleaned online is all AI or 'suchlike'? I have no words. 😂

And as for 'What is "pots" if it's not a "condition"?', you are either being disingenuous here or have never taken any books on punctuation out of your trusty mobile library. I think you know perfectly well what I was getting at - given the context of your post I believe you placed that word in quotes because you don't accept that the conditions you refer to are genuine. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I only have your words to go by. shrugs

(Too aggressive for what/whom, btw, just out of interest?)