guarding dark

I deal with chronic pain and fatigue, executive dysfunction, brain fog, and mobility issues. I have been a professional author sinve 2021.

1. Write what YOU want to write, not what the world needs or what people say you should write.

You don't owe the world representation or inspiring words on the subject of your pain or disability. Write what moves you and that YOU feel passionate about. You don't have to JUST write about disability.

2. Let daily goals motivate you, not shame or frustrate you

It's great to write or work daily if you can, but if you need a rest day or time to decompress, it's better to let yourself do that than power through and set yourself up for exhaustion, pain, or a flare-up. Give your body grace.

3. Let it take time

When you're disabled, it feels like time is constantly being stolen from you - by your fatigue or accessibility issues, by administrative burden, by the amount of time it takes to communicate things, etc.

Writing will take more time too, and that's okay.

4. Swap Between Projects

If you struggle to focus on one project at a time, it's not cheating or abandonment or undisciplined to swap between multiple drafts and ideas. Let yourself enjoy the process. Let things marinate and come back to them months later. Follow your passion in the moment.

5. Feed the tank

People say that good writers need to read, and sure, if they can, that's great - but "reading" doesn't just mean reading a book. You're engaging with the text from a craftsman's perspective: how did they write it? Why does it work or not work? What can you learn from it?

If you can't focus on text right now or can't hold a book, you can still apply those questions and skills to other media: to videogames, movies, TV, the news, to art, to music. You're taking apart in your head or in conversation, seeing how it works, and taking lessons for yourself.

Horizontal Violence

When we can’t strike back at those who are truly harming us, we often lash out at those we can reach. We yell at our lover because we can’t yell at the boss. In groups, we may fight even the most minor conflict to the death. We attack our fellow group members with all the unexpressed rage that really belongs to the perpetrators of violence. In our minds, we are always fighting for our lives. Just as enraged dogs will attack one another with no regard for their relative size, we lose sight of real power differentials and may demolish a group member with a blast of anger without realizing that we have shifted from victim of abuse to abuser.

Horizontal Violence Strategies

Friends don’t let friends abuse one another. A group that sets healthy boundaries and standards for behavior needs to hold one another accountable for keeping them.

Offer constructive critique and honest feedback.

Collective intervention: Others in the group can support one another to tell the raging group member that their behavior is not acceptable. Couple this with:

Good cop/bad cop: While one or more group members set and hold clear boundaries, another might offer help and support to find counseling, coaching or mediation.

Mentoring: Assigning the offending person a mentor can provide long-term encouragement to both change behavior and look at deeper patterns.

The Perpetual Victim

Some people cling to the role of victim, claiming center stage. Whatever issue or drama erups somehow always ends up being about them. Their patterns may originate from deep hurt and trauma and we can feel sympathy, but colluding with them is not helpful either to the person or the group. Fruitless efforts to appease them can drain the group’s energy and undermine its effectiveness.

When we are caught up in the role of victim, our speech and actions reflect our sense of powerlessness. To regain our sense of empowerment, we might begin by challenging the inherent assumptions in our words and practicing alternative framings and affirmations.

Blaming

Statement: “You made me feel …”

Assumptions: I am at the mercy of other people’s speech and actions. I am helpless to do anything but respond to how others treat me.

Alternate suggestion: I choose how to respond to other people’s statements and assessments. I can choose what to take in and what to discard. My feelings are real and valid, but I can move through them quickly and separate them from my own assumptions and other people’s judgments.

Blurting

Statement: “I have to speak my truth.” Translation: I’m about to blurt out something hurtful in the most blunt way possible. Assumptions: Truth is uncomfortable, painful and festering. My feelings and perceptions are The Truth, and I must get it out just as I might vomit up a bad meal, regardless of consequences.

Alternate suggestion: I choose to speak my truth, using all my sensitivity, wisdom and skill so that I can be clearly heard and effective.

Bleating

Statement: “I’m being silenced.”

Assumption: If people actually heard me, they would agree with me. So if they don’t agree with me, they are shutting me down.

Alternate suggestion: I can advocate for my own perspective — whether or not others agree — and respect their right to differ. I do not need anyone’s permission to advocate for myself.

Strategies for Transforming the Role of Victim

Clear, fair and transparent ways that people can earn power in the group will provide constructive alternatives to victimization.

Structures and practice of constructive critique can provide positive channels for complaints.

Encourage responsibility with questions like: What would you suggest to make the situation different? What structures would you like to see in place that would help us address your needs and concerns?”]