If you could choose your disability...

If you had to have a disability, but you could choose the one you had, which one would you choose? This applies to those with disabilities too, you can pick the one you do have or the one you'd rather have if that's the case.

This isn't meant to hurt anyone's feelings, it is just something I have always asked people out of curiosity, because I happen to have a disability myself. I am often asked what it's like, or told "I don't know how I'd live if I had your disability". So it makes me wonder what people think is the best disability to have if you have to have one.

Edit: by "Chronic, debilitating illness", I mean an illness of some sort that greatly hinders normal daily life or quality of life... severe epilepsy (not just one seizure a month or something like that, but every day or so), cancer, vestibular disorder, Muscular Dystrophy, etc... stuff that affects your every day living or quality of life.

 

I would want to be morbidly obese. I think that would rock, cuz all I would ever do is eat. Who cares if I have to bath with a rag on a stick. I'd get to eat like 5 gallons of ice cream a day.

 

of course, having a foot growing out of the side of my head would be kinda cool too.

 

Oh come on guys, be tactful here.

 

I would like to try my hand at some tourettes. It'd be fun to just start yelling random stuff and such.

 

how isn't that tactful. I would rather be fat and be able to eat whatever I wanted.

 

I would wish to have conjoined twin myslexia.

 

I can't even really think about it to be honest. To make a choice, I would honestly have to experience all of these things. How can I say, oh I'd want to be blind, when I don't know what being blind is like - that goes for all of these things. When I encounter someone with a disability, I kind of freeze a bit. I want to be empathetic with the individual, but at the sametime, maybe they don't want my empathy - like my empathy is in a way, a message of unnacceptance for who they are or that maybe my empathy wouldn't be viewed as genuine as how having not experienced life with a disability, can I possibly truly understand what they have to go through.

 

severly obese or a chronic disease

 

though you couldnt ever listen to music again...or hear when people are sneaking up behind you, i think deafness is "best" of all the choices. You can do almost anything these days if youre deaf. Plus it would be so peaceful all the time.

 

Then just vote on what you think would be the easiest to deal with.

 

I agree.. except for the peaceful part. It's not always peaceful. Some people, as a result of deafness, experience constant tinnitus, which is ringing of the ears. That is torture.

Besides, if you are late-deafened, you would miss music and sounds too much to appreciate the "peace". If you have been deaf all your life, the idea of "peacefulness" wouldn't really register, because being deaf would be a way of life. You would have no knowledge of "noise" or "annoying noise" with which to compare the "quietness" of being deaf, so you wouldn't really see it as peaceful. Instead, you would rely on your eyes more than anything else, and you take in more information about the world around you as a result, kinda like how blind people's hearing is better than most. There is a kind of visual noise, since you notice more visually, it's not very peaceful, and that is where your own noise comes from, your idea of peace would be visual only, such as a nice quiet little green meadow somewhere versus the usual hustle and bustle of your visual field when you live in the cities and etc.

So while being deaf wouldn't really be that peaceful, I do agree that it's the easiest disability to deal with, because deaf people can do just about anything in this world, but maybe I am biased. That's why I made this poll.

 

like I said - I can't even really think rationally about such a question because all of those disabilities I have never truly experienced for myself. its all just far too hypothetical to me.

 

wow, constant ringing...i would kill myself. I fucking hate that shit...when its reeeealy quiet and all you can hear is ringing in your ears. Is there anything they can do for that?

 

Sometimes, but not usually. It's something you just have to learn to live with, but one week a few years ago I had it so bad I literally went insane. They say that is why VanGogh cut his ear off, because it was ringing all the time.

 

I would choose severe obesity. Hell I already have people telling me I would be so hot if I would just lose a few pounds. At least if I was obese those fuckers would leave me alone. Besides I could always get my stomach stapled to lose all of the weight.

 

no use of legs. I could still do the things that I really wanted to and I would never get tired doing it!

 

It's really impossible for me to pick one.

 

I dont know which one i could deal with.... but i know which one i wouldnt be able to deal with and that would be being deaf.... i just couldnt imagine life without hearing things... especially music

 

i think i would probably choose deafness..... i guess it just seems like the easiest to deal with. I sure wouldn't want some chronic illness. And I would hate giving up my legs or arms. Plus, I think it'd be really cool to learn sign language. The ringing wouldn't be so cool, though....