Is Disability Simply A Label? Or Does It Exist
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by: RickLondon
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The system labeled me disabled in 2001. I was thought to have depression. I did feel depressed, but never felt that was the real problem. I turned out to be right. But it took a long time to prove it, and a very astute medical community.
I had worked for about two decades in a myriad of jobs such as sales, marketing, public relations, media production and the like. It was difficult for me to keep a job as I had depression, at least that is what I was "labeled" to have. I had been treated with antidepressants and talk therapy for many years but was not getting better. Finally, I was told I could not work, that "I was too depressed".
Now I had a lot of time on my hands so I began studying depression. It did not take me long to discover a disease called "TRD" or labeled by the psychiatric community, "treatment resistant depression". I was one of the few lucky ones who received the only treatment for it, a vagus nerve implant. You see, TRD is actually not a mental illness, in and of itself, but a faulty vagus nerve, of which I had, will mimic the signs of depression, lethargy, etc. After I received the treatment, my life took dramatic changes. Except for one major heart attack in 2001, angioplasty, and recovery, everything else was going swimmingly well.
I occasionally still hear whispers, "He's disabled" or "He has depression, ya know." It doesn't bother me much. I have taken on the philosophy, "What someone else says or thinks about me is none of my business", and I mean it. I have found that the Internet has leveled the playing field. I say that a bit facetiously and with a bit of sarcasm, because, during my "depressed state", I was keenly aware of the discrimination targeted my way, though those who were being discriminating were not aware of my awareness. I suppose they feel we do not have feelings or sensitivity. They are very incorrect.
So I thought it was the end of the world when my work days in corporate America came to an end. How would I ever survive on disability? I did. One learns to adjust. But there are some painful growth moments in that adjustment. But it was all worth it.
With extra time on my hands, I learned to "nearly master" the Internet. I started a cartoon project with no money, Londons Times Cartoons which in less than a decade became the most visited offbeat cartoon site on the Internet (and still is). It's rankings keep growing and by the end of this month we will have had 9 million visitors within the past two years. That may not sound like much but for a cartoon site it is. Most cartoons on the Internet last from 3-6 months and the others are gone within a year.
These past 16 months, I've launched two cartoon Superstores and six niche funny gift shops. Sales remain brisk. I have affiliates through my manufacturer 3drose, many of them on Amazon and they sell plenty as well. I create all sorts of products with my cartoons on them; greeting cards, t-shirts, hoodies, key chains, coffee mugs, beer steins, wall and desk clock, baseball caps, and, you name it, we make it. All this is due to research on the Internet and making phone calls. Oddly enough, a disabled person, and that person is me, can write a lucid, professional email, talk on the phone professionally, create a social network and blog professionally, and write articles, hopefully professionally. The old boy network, who was once so involved in keeping a stigma attached to depression and/or disability is out of the picture now. I have no excuses anymore not to succeed. I now have the choice to pick and choose with whom I deal, and I choose to deal with intelligent fair-minded people who want everyone to have a fair chance to succeed. They are usually more educated than me and that is okay. From them, I learn the most.
I am a "living room-industrialist". I come up with a cartoon concept, I make a call, its on a product, and jobs are created.
By the way, as long as we are labeling, I just finished three years of business college on the web at a very prestigious university. I am 53 now and plan to return next year to finish and go for an MBA. I will do it on the net. Why waste time with naysayers who are more concerned with "labeling" me so as to put parameters on my limitations, than those who know me just as a person and helping me succeed. I am not saying a depressed or disabled person should hide behind his or her computer all day, I spend plenty of time interacting with people, handing out business cards, going on talk shows, and doing as much as I can in the public.
This week has been a busy one. I have opened three new online niche stores featuring my cartoon products; Justfunnymousepads, Justfunnycoffeemugs, and Justfunnygreetingcards, not to mention two weeks ago when I created the first cartoon maternity shop mirthgirthbirth.com and of course my ten year old cartoon site that I started from ten years go in a metal warehouse in Mississippi, Londons Times Cartoons at londonstimes.us .
Labeling a person with an illness or disability is non-productive for everyone. Persons with mental illness or disabilities are the only of the population labeled by his/her illness or disease? If a person has cancer, we don't say "He's cancerous", or if a person has diabetes, I've yet to hear, "There goes Mr. High Blood Sugar!". But if a person has depression, 100% of the time "He/she's depressed" or "has depression" or "mental illness". That usually puts an end to the conversation as the stigma remains and many don't want to know much more. That is unacceptable.
Some very accomplished people both living and dead have had depression or other disabilities. If interested, view some of the famous people with depression websites such as http://www.geocities.com/coverbridge2k/artsci/famous_people_depression.html , or http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/illstandbyyou/famous.html It tickles me to see my name on all these websites. There are hundreds of them; simply google "famous people with depression". Just look down the last name alphabetical list until you get to London. Rick London. He's this disabled person writing to you now.
About the Author
Cartoonist Rick London has overcome many obstacles, and has some of the most visited humor-based websites on the Internet. His latest humor niche gift shop site is Just Funny Greeting Cards Disabled cartoonist Rick London opens yet another niche shop, cartoon greeting cards
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