invisible disabilities Archives

Forgetting Stigma & Picking Dandelions

22 May

In the journey of invisible illnesses and mental health, we get assigned words. The words are diagnoses. Diagnoses can be powerful blessings. They are a pathway to understanding, to treatment, to community, to validation. But they may also hold devastations...
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What’s a “Loo Desert”?

4 May

a tan portable toilet with the words "got poop?" on its side sitting roadside with mountain terrain behind it

I love discovering words or phrases or even inventing words of phrases in order to simplify communication. I find it particularly important when talking about invisible disabilities, even more so when it’s a “taboo” topic that people already avoid talking...
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“Feed Your Porch Cats” is a Positive Mindset in the Toughest of Times

18 Apr

On one of my worst days this week, I dumped a scoop of cat food into the bowl I keep on my back porch. Hearing the clank of all the crunchy little pieces against the stainless steel, I felt valuable....
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Ideas & Guidance for Disclosing Disability in the Workplace

20 Mar

For a yet-to-be-published episode of Hidden Disability Conversation (check out our HiddenDisabilityConversation.com YouTube channel), my partner, Wendi created this helpful one-sheet guide for disclosing disability in the workplace. I’ll include the content below, but you can also DOWNLOAD .DOCX HERE...
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What Chronic Illness Taught Me About “Uncertain Times”

14 Mar

Here's the thing about not having a diagnosis: It's very challenging to move forward. I couldn't get a clear treatment plan, because we didn't know what we were treating. I couldn't explain to friends and coworkers what was going on,...
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My 12 Hacks for Attending a Professional Conference While Living with Invisible Disability

1 Aug

I avoid in-person trainings and especially conferences, because my chronic conditions make them quite uncomfortable and even agonizingly painful. I live with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease (with one terrible herniated disc named Larry), and...
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Middle-Aged, Disabled, and Still Playing with Toys

30 Jun

I have a joyful building toy hobby, which has now inspired a new YouTube channel @ConstruxtiveChris featuring a favorite toy from my childhood, Fisher-Price Construx. This channel has nothing to do with my speaking business or my Splat books. It’s...
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17 Reasons Folks with Hidden Disabilities are Assets in the Workplace

24 May

I am so thrilled to have my own business and all the flexibility that comes from being self-employed. I’ve managed to become an entrepreneur both despite and because of my hidden disabilities, which are: osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease (with a...
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Documinitary: 4-Campus Speaking Tour in New York

12 Apr

I finally made another little movie! This was the first week of February, 2024, when I spoke at Cayuga Community College’s Auburn and Fulton campuses, as well as Onondaga Community College and State University of New York Morrisville. Here you...
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The Dark Side of Adventure

23 Mar

How I Lost My Ability to “Pass” and What Happens When People Make Assumptions Five years ago, when I published my first article on The Mighty (featuring my Splat system for communicating about chronic physical and mental health conditions), a...
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