#diagnoses

Yes, mental health like adhd or autism but also like...blindness...or ailments requiring you to use a wheelchair.

Not to mention how many of those things also penalize you for having a diagnosis.

"It's fine, just show them your doctor letter and--" what if you can't get one? what if you now how to prove over and over and over in humiliation rituals that yes you can't do that and still can't? what if a diagnosis prevents you from being able to move? to have kids? to get married? to live alone? what if it costs you your job? your house? your education?

If you have some diagnosed conditions and some suspected conditions, select whichever applicable option you want.

–

Benjamin Fitzgerald Pincus at primary school-age

In my mind, before he discovered fanny packs, Ben carried his mother's small, old bag to take his most important belongings everywhere.

Because his father was very embarrassed about it ("boys don't carry handbags!"), his mother only got him his first fanny pack a little later.

Hobbies:

Reading: I like the idea that before Nublar, Ben was a bookworm who preferred immersing himself in imaginary worlds to the real one.

Organizing: It doesn't sound like a hobby, but I can imagine that pre-Nublar Ben passionately (or compulsively) sorted objects like toys, books, etc.

Fantasy worlds: I think that as a child (or rather, before Nublar), Ben loved to immerse himself in fictional worlds. Especially worlds that he found exciting (pirates searching for treasure, he drew treasure maps for them, etc.), but that didn't frighten him.

Diagnoses:

Chronic iron deficiency anemia: In my imagination, Ben has undiagnosed ARFID (canonical fear of certain foods, brings its own symptoms, etc.) and therefore an iron deficiency he's had since childhood, which was also evident at the beginning of JWCC through his very pale skin, frequent malaise, and shortness of breath (also from panic attacks, but anemia can exacerbate this).

Anxiety and panic disorder/phobias: Ben definitely has a pronounced anxiety disorder (at the beginning of JWCC), which manifests itself in many situations (travel, animals, dirt, germs, food, self-confidence, social interactions, etc.).

Even after what was probably the most intense incident of his life (the fall from the monorail), Ben definitely still shows signs of his anxiety, just in a completely different, masked/altered form. But this is about the child Ben.

However! Every time they ask, in that Concerned Authority Figure voice, if I experience depression or anxiety, I’m just like…..uh, yeah! But just like, the usual amount, you know? Considering *gestures vaguely at my entire body*

Like, can you imagine if I was in pain all the time and exhausted and etc. —and I WASN’T a little fucked up about it? If I seemed just Completely Fine? Now THAT would be cause for concern, psychologically speaking. Big red flag.

I think it’s a completely reasonable and expected response to be a little depressed and anxious, given both the physical misery I experience on a daily basis and the sharp left turn my life took because of my health.