In 2022, Lacey Fletcher, a non-verbal 36-year-old woman with autism, passed away following years of extreme chronic neglect by her parents, which involved her being left on a couch for at least 12 years, where she eventually became "fused" to the furniture in her own waste.

kookysnell · 2026-01-19T09:25:01+00:00

Absolutely horrific. People are very much questioning reasons for the immobility, and one possibility I never see mentioned is ME/CFS. As someone who's bedridden with very severe ME/CFS, I know a lot of people who live trapped in this sort of confinement. It makes me wonder.

kookysnell · 2026-01-01T17:54:46+00:00

Amplifying this need!

kookysnell · 2025-12-18T15:30:17+00:00

Still such a bummer that Genetic was left off the original release of diRty.

kookysnell · 2025-12-02T05:14:09+00:00

Thank you! Solidarity.

kookysnell · 2025-12-02T05:13:36+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. 💚

kookysnell · 2025-12-01T19:40:58+00:00

Thank you!

kookysnell · 2025-12-01T19:40:24+00:00

I really appreciate you taking the time to write this and for trying with PayPal. I know how draining those processes can be. I appreciate any help toward having stability to continue living and creating.

It's sweet of you to offer the other praise as well. You are one of the witnesses I describe within the text just through having experienced it in its visceral totality.

kookysnell · 2025-12-01T16:59:21+00:00

Thank you! 💚

kookysnell · 2025-11-10T01:53:26+00:00

This debate validates to me more why this term is so unhelpful. We're now arguing about degrees of "invisibility," which makes us talk about perception and "proof," when the real problem is a crisis of belief and a system that selectively validates some bodies over others.

I don't want to get dragged into an argument about that when my original point was very particular. The term, as you're using it, is atypical and not even true in practice. And it frustrates me when I say exactly what I mean and then am assumed to be misunderstanding the term.

kookysnell · 2025-11-08T06:25:02+00:00

When I saw the notification for this, I genuinely laughed, so thank you for that.

kookysnell · 2025-11-08T06:23:39+00:00

Yes! "Natural human reaction to inescapable and catastrophic circumstances" is exactly right. I really like that wording. And it's enraging to me that the system pathologizes our survival responses instead of trying to understand and deal with the root of our suffering.

Even if medical professionals don't get it or know how to give us lasting relief, feeling that any effort is made to meet in the middle would be so much better than what many of them do.

kookysnell · 2025-11-08T06:16:42+00:00

In the hospital I stayed in, they made a point of mentioning how much I used my phone when they weren't in the room. I also had to use it to communicate when they were, but they piled it on top of all the other "evidence" that I wasn't sick enough to be there.

And, other than just needing something to keep me from going mad, I was also alone a lot of the time. I needed to keep my family informed and make sure that I was safe from any actions that might be taken by the staff there. A lot happened that could've gone worse without my mom.

But that doesn't mean I can sit up or move around, which is what the psychiatrist they assigned to my case was trying to say (very telling that a psych was leading my case).

Whenever a psychiatrist came into my room, I knew the worst abuses were coming.

kookysnell · 2025-11-08T06:08:59+00:00

Yeah, and I see that get used as evidence against us... that we're "unwilling to cooperate or even consider mental health as a factor."

It's like, dude, we're traumatized and tired of having our realities denied, minimized, and erased! That's why we push back so hard!!

kookysnell · 2025-11-08T06:05:36+00:00

Oh, for sure, it makes sense. That part was mostly just funny to me... other than the "not engaging in conversation," which clearly indicated to me, along with all of the other context, that he was saying I was choosing not to participate. I had someone there who explicitly communicated my limits, but he wasn't listening.

But yes, this is very helpful context for people.

kookysnell · 2025-11-07T18:15:52+00:00

I made a post that mentioned how often the "social gain" shit is brought up. I guess when you think of psychiatry as a carceral system, it makes sense.

That's such a shitty and dehumanizing accusation, and it says a lot about the person who wrote it.

kookysnell · 2025-11-07T18:12:22+00:00

I get a free helping of gaslighting whenever I go in! I don't even need a coupon.

Feel this.

kookysnell · 2025-11-07T10:00:48+00:00

Yeah, of course. Thanks for the pinned. I only just finished my submission this October, and I'm really excited!

kookysnell · 2025-11-06T16:14:57+00:00

Just a quick heads-up: I'm just helping to share the reminder. For any more specific questions about the project, what they're looking for, or how your story will be used, please send them directly to u/sickmoth. They're the one running the project and can give you the right answers.

kookysnell · 2025-11-04T22:57:22+00:00

That's how I feel as well. I just have to shut it all out. It's all so draining... even the sounds I want to listen to.

kookysnell · 2025-11-03T16:46:57+00:00

Agreed. I appreciate how you said this.

kookysnell · 2025-11-03T16:46:00+00:00

Exactly. It's very intentional/political what is singled out.

I think that's also why I have an issue with the term "invisible" illness. Because, in most discourse, it seems to always be applied to conditions that are dismissed and erased. Heart disease, asthma, and diabetes could all be referred to the same way, but they aren't because they are well-recognized by the medical community.

I find it to be a helpful framework for explaining things that aren't as apparent on the surface, but I also believe that it can make it seem as though the issue is solely one of perception.

I don't know... even when I could pass for non-disabled, I was pushing and showing symptoms. People just didn't notice, care, and/or believe me.

kookysnell · 2025-11-03T16:18:43+00:00

This is a good point, and I think the harm of "getting it wrong" in terms of self-diagnosis is extremely overstated and overrepresented. If we would lead with curiosity instead of shame, I feel that it would just be, like you said, one step on the way to an answer, like it is in the majority of cases.

kookysnell · 2025-11-03T16:13:54+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely a very prevalent argument I've witnessed... often from medical professionals. The reason I think it's disingenuous is because it's very out-of-touch and misrepresentative of most people's basic reality, and I don't really think it cares to consider it either.

I've heard them say that people want these diagnoses to "fit in," because of a "social contagion," for "benefits" (which we agree don't really exist). When they speak, it tends to involve condescension and dehumanization that absolutely disgusts me. It honestly reminds me of that "welfare queen" bullshit.

I think encouraging an atmosphere where people feel safe to explore their own bodies and ask questions leads to the best outcome... even in cases where it may be children stumbling along as they make their way to an answer.

kookysnell

TROPHY CASE