Metamorphosis: The Horror of Disability

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What if you woke up one day as a monster? Kafka's Metamorphosis is a fantasy, but it's closer to reality than you might think.
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[@TheTaleFoundry]

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[@seriousmaran9414]

Intended or not this KZbin is very close to antidisabled. Be careful.

[@Lovehandels]

Shame on you for making me cry!

[@Endarius_Termina]

I would love to see your analysis of H.G.Wells The island of Dr.Moreau

[@comfortingabsurdity.]

I have always said that the loss of ability (to do something) is the scariest thing. And this is well depicted in the anime Made in Abyss. In the movie continuation of said anime called Dawn of the Deep Souls, there is a scene where one character completely looses all of their bodyparts that are not essential for survival. Even their bones. Being turned into a tool for avoiding a curse for the wearer. This is terryfying. Knowing how fragile and upon destruction how unobtainable the ability to do things is ever again, is the most terrifying thing. That also goes for the loss of mind as well as body. And for the creatures of chaos that are self aware that is the ultimate horror. Or one of them at least

[@NecrochildK]

I never thought of Metamorphosis in such a light. It's interesting to see. I'm disabled myself, though invisibly so. I struggle with fibromyalgia and severe depression and it's robbed me even of my art based hobbies. Some days, all I have is this, just watching videos on the internet. And yeah, I echo that feeling of being worthless in the eyes of society. I dearly wish I could work any kind of job. The US has that kind of mindset too, that if you don't work, you're a blight on society. The people who push that idea never stop to think about disabled people. They imagine welfare queens who are capable, but choose not to and want to tighten any kind of welfare programs that are already difficult even for severely disabled people to not just get into, but keep.

[@salmonmolotovstrikesagain9120]

This really reminds me of the "Mental Health Matters!" Crowd that abandons you as soon as you struggle with hygiene or become psychotic.

[@mightymeatymech]

yesss.

[@CosmicSphincter]

It’s because they either cannot tell the difference between having a feeling and a belief, or they are just lying. To be fair, would you like to ride an elevator with someone experiencing psychosis or someone who isn’t?

[@ariawen8476]

​​@@CosmicSphincter I mean... as long as I'm not actively being attacked, I'll take what I can get for that elevator ride. If I gotta be in there with someone experiencing psychosis, okay. Not like there's anything I can do about it except maybe get off on another floor or try to help them, right?

[@Envi-jm8mi]

Seriously.

[@missblank3887]

​@@ariawen8476Yeah.

[@cheeriotheocelot5273]

The Metamorphosis is the original "would you still love me if I was worm?"

[@mychannel-lp9iq]

That question is actually quite philosophical. A worm is disgusting, its a parasite and its uselessso. A burden

[@TheReluctantVlogger]

That’s interesting. Or would you still love me if I were to become very ill? Deformities, dying and disabilities can be very difficult for people to look at or be around. This story reminds me of a time that I still feel shame for. I was unable to speak to a man who had only weeks to live due to brain cancer. I worked for him and his wife and they had 3 children. He had been so successful and happy and had turned into a husk, barely able to walk or even write his name. I could barely look at him. He was only 43. I think moments like that are vivid reminders of our own inevitable death. His wife had such an amazing attitude about it. Grateful for the time they had shared and confident she would see him again in the next life. That’s what love is and what it does. It endures.

[@Hirohitorunguard]

​​​@@mychannel-lp9iq well, to be scientific the worm is far from useless because it keeps soil fertile and acts as a crucial source of food for many types of animal and critters. Useless is something invented by humanity, in nature everything has a purpose.

[@TheGreatUnknowing]

​@@mychannel-lp9iqWhat? Do you know anything about worms? They're incredibly important to the ecosystem and most definitely NOT useless

[@garrettwhite3922]

​@mychannel-lp9iq not to deny the point you were trying to make, but worms are incredibly important to the ecosystem and very useful. Also, most aren't parasites. Again, your meaning is right, but the specifics are off, and I'm an autistic gardener and lover of worms.

[@suzannecontant]

As someone that became disabled 13 years ago, this is spot on. Especially how the behavior of others around you changes almost overnight. Says a lot about us as a society.

[@lourdespachla6516]

ATLEAST YOU WERE'NT BORN WITH A DISABILITY, YOU KNOW YOU NEED HELP, AND MAY SEEK IT, MEANWHILE I STAY IN MY LITTLE FREEDOM, IN THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT, I DONT NEED HELP, I SIMPLY DONT KNOW BETTER, I ENJOY THIS WAY OF LIFE, I SIMPLY DONT WANT HELP, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN BECOME THE BEST YOU, SO SHOW SOCIETY YOUR GREATEST METAMORPHOSIS!

[@Ana-ho8dy]

I'm sorry you're experiencing that. Hope the happiness in your life to exceed the sadness

[@decentsleep]

As someone who was born with a physical disability, I especially feel for those who experience late onset disability. This state is my default and all I’ve known. It's different when you've had the norm you were used to completely upended. I can scarcely imagine the amount of resilience you've had to muster and I commend you for it. Stay strong, friend.

[@arcamers]

​@@decentsleepas someone who was born with a disability too, I completely agree with you 😙

[@user-sb2xj6pd3c]

​@@decentsleep hEDS haver here. I agree. I've always known that I need more support, whether I actually get it or not. And I have 2 good friends who have a sudden disability. One by injury, the other Cancer. They have told me how shocking it is to suddenly be in pain for seemingly no reason, and I taught them some skills for managing it. Life is tragic, but that's what makes the good parts good.

[@foxfire9124]

I was really upset about "The metamorphasis." Not because of the story itself, but because of how I experienced it. I read it for an assignment in public school. There clearly was a deeper meaning to the story, but the quiz was only about the objective facts of it. The moral I learned from The Metamorphasis was that school (in America, at least) doesn't teach you to think, it teaches you to answer.

[@lanaharris6338]

School is teaching you to contribute to society in a useful way, rather than helping you to actually learn. It hurts, knowing that our society is fundamentally built on selfishness. And the most simple-seeming of changes to something such as schooling is nearly impossible with so many moving parts depending on the absence of change for something as insubstantial as, well, society.

[@osasob007]

Sadly, it's not just America's schools are like this ..

[@deannal.newton9772]

Schools in Japan and India are the same way, too. They just teach you how to answer questions as oppose to think for yourself. God forbid if you do think for yourself instead of other people, you'll be ostracized from the group as a whole.

[@Voc_spooksauce]

Same here in both my school and highschool, i live in Brazil tho. It's a shame all i thought about the questions were "this doesn't really let me give my own take on the book if they want a specific answer" anytime i had an exam

[@deannal.newton9772]

@@Voc_spooksauce I know, because when I read The Stranger for the Summer Reading Program and answered the questions that I gave to my new Language Arts Literature teacher in my senior year in high school I got a C for it. I was too empathetic towards the main character of the story but I didn't understand why he did it to begin with and it would be nice if we all taked about the whys as oppose to the whats.

[@wahoobidy4912]

The horse that pulls the wagon is always the one who breaks his leg first.

[@jasonssavitt5297]

And how quickly they forget the labor! How quickly they plan on turning the horse into glue, unapologetically thinking the injured beast a burden and they the inconvenienced victims.

[@lourdespachla6516]

AND HE IS ALSO THE FIRST TO BE TURNED IN TO GLUE... PS: IGNORE THE CAPS, MY KEYBOARD BROKE.

[@maple22moose44]

@@lourdespachla6516NO PROBLEM MAN

[@lourdespachla6516]

@@maple22moose44 YAY I AM NOT ALONE

[@ThatDynamoArt]

@@lourdespachla6516 what the lol

[@avabethmcghee3048]

You freaking made me cry, robot-man. Disabled myself, have people constantly telling me I don't deserve good food. Feel like I'm going to get in trouble if I decide to save up and buy myself a nice dinner. And I'm younger than 50, nowhere near retirement age. So your outlining exactly what this story is about? Right in the feels. Maybe I should listen and nod along when my mom's griping. She won't be around forever.

[@serafina2k]

Food is nothing someone need to deserve. Please get every dinner you like ❤ (A part of me believed this too for years, it's hard the first times)

[@crispy7499]

Some people think that your merit is directly tied to your capability to produce labour. That's wrong, your worth is inherent because you are human. Don't think otherwise.

[@fariesz6786]

i would love to cook for you. i can cook really yummy and pretty dishes on days that i have the energy for it 🤍 but yeah, i was close to tears as well

[@Anime_Oni]

Food is a human Right Tell the people that

[@calladricosplays]

You gotta practice treating yourself right to unlearn that. Don't be like my parents who are never satisfied because they believe that everyone should suffer as they did

[@vincentsabatini88]

As a man with terminal cancer. I feel this on such a deep level. Before I was sick I was everyone's rock. My whole family relied on me financially and emotionally. I also had my child with an absent mother I was responsible for. Once I got sick, everyone left. No one needed me anymore so they didn't need to keep me around. My daughter is even leaving now after she told me she's embarrassed of me looking like I have cancer. She doesn't want anyone to see me. I haven't even taken a photo with my 11yr old daughter in two years now. She's officially going into her mother's full custody this summer. Now I just wait to die I guess. Life really is cruel to us bugs.

[@EliasKayama245]

Hey man, how are you doing today? Just wanted to check on you.

[@inkcruz4075]

Im so sorry sir. My dad recently got diagnosed with kidney failure so I’m in the same position as your daughter. Its so horrible that she acts that way. You’re not a burden, I know it must feel like it but everyone who is alive deserves to live. We were all brought into this world for a reason. My dad was also the rock for my family. We all lived off of his income and when he couldn’t work anymore he was devastated and felt like a failure. But I know he isn’t and I know you aren’t. You’re a strong man for even working so hard for your family. I personally hate work as someone who is more artistic and can’t stand work culture so I applaud anyone who makes it more than a year. My family all had mixed reactions to my dads sickness when it happened. A lot of my aunts and uncles never even showed up to the hospital to support him when he almost died. I tell my dad all the time that he should be happy he’s blessed with the opportunity to keep living with his sickness when people all the time die due to not having the resources to survive. Maybe everything hurts and life sucks right now but at least you’re lucky enough to feel the breeze on your skin, to watch blue skies, and feel grass beneath your feet. I hope things get better for you sir and I’m sure one day they will :)

[@vincentsabatini88]

@@inkcruz4075 thank you, it really means a lot. And I'm genuinely excited for the future. I dedicated over a third of my life to other people. They abandoned me. But now I get to take what ever is left and finally live for myself. That includes a cruise this summer! I'm finally leaving the country and seeing the world like I always wanted to. That's all I'm going to do, until I can't anymore. I'm sure you are the most amazing daughter/son your father could have asked for!

[@camcam794]

I’m so sorry to hear how your family treats you. You deserve all of the support and care you need, and I’m sorry you’re not receiving that. My dad was recently hospitalized with Covid complications. He’s the bread winner of the family, and hasn’t gone to work in 4 weeks. I couldn’t imagine leaving him in his time of need. He’s done a lot for us, and he needs us more than ever. Please know that I’m thinking about you, and I hope you’ve been at baseline today

[@werewolflover8636]

God bless you.

[@andriesoliviier9529]

Confession time: I was my father's primary caregiver when he was suffering from Dementia and a whole host of other health issues (while, incidentally, hiding the fact that I suffer from depression). I was about to crack under caregiver fatigue when he passed away from stomach cancer, and I ABSOLUTELY HATE MYSELF for feeling relief when he finally died.

[@chimcharFinn1203]

I hope you're doing well

[@optimizedlaziness6183]

Just remember, you didn't feel relief at your father's death. You felt relief because suddenly all the ungodly amounts of physical and mental energy you had to dedicate to take care of the needs of somebody else got freed up. This does not detract from your grieving, nor does it mean you're a monster. Your body and unconscious mind simply gave you the signal that it was time to start moving again. Also, dementia and the general decay of the body that accompanies elderly people in their death is tough to bear for them, and the people around them. And it wouldn't be surprising to feel a degree of relief once you cease exposure to such a grim reminder. And in that case again, remember that you feel relief not because your father left, but because extremely mentally taxing conditions finally left the forefront of your mind alone. And finally, this guilt, or hate that you feel for yourself is self-inflicted. You have an immense power that is shared with every other human. It's the power to change, to take the steering wheel of your life. And there is nothing more exhilarating than being in the driver seat even when the roads get bumpy. However, if you do not consciously make use of that steering wheel. Somebody else, or a certain part of yourself will. And you may not like where they're steering. Hopefully this wasn't too long and my english was understandable, cheers from France and from somebody slowly but surely crawling upwards. You're loved by others and are worthy of loving yourself

[@flare3000]

@@optimizedlaziness6183 Absolutely well said

[@opalglass8101]

Don't feel so bad, sweetie. I heard someone put it like this: The reason why grief wasn't the first thing you felt when he died was because you have already grieved. You silently grieved for the person your loved one was.

[@crispy7499]

You were drowning trying to keep yourself afloat, let alone someone else. You were struggling, and like optimized said, you weren't relieved he died. You were relieved a painful burden and responsibility was gone. That's normal and human, don't beat yourself up

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

As someone with Autism this is spot on. My family has actually been pretty good about it, but if I tell anyone else they'll either start treating me like a child, or just be really rude. And don't even get me started on the times Ive had meltdowns in public places

[@spacesharkwriter6554]

As a Teen with a bit of the tism myself along with adhd, I get the pain It’s the worst feeling in the world and it just makes me feel… different, and somehow, some way, no matter how nice or kind or how much I try to hide it I always feel like people can tell that I’m different and treat me differently because of it, maybe they talk to me like I’m stupid and try to be nicer like someone talking to a 6 year old Other times I feel like me and my friends are outright hated for just being different and are always treated like outcasts by other teens, never able to hang with the popular kids and all the popular girls only talk to me when they have to for work or to try and get me to say something they gossip about and spread rumors about and tell to all of their friends and suddenly I’m dealing with that same thing from freshman year all the way until I’m a senior It’s rough to feel different

[@MoaiGaming1]

@@spacesharkwriter6554 I think the way autism is portrayed in media causes people to think of us as unintelligent.

[@logged-out]

yeah, my best of friends don't really see me as human sucks when first impressions with new people are pretty much ruined in one fell swoop via "shut up you're literally autistic" they say they're joking with an "okay, fine. i'll exercise my patience to accommodate for you since you're so blind. i'm not being serious. you know that at least, right?" - but it's really obvious this is just how they've been taught to treat people like me then they go off and get a tri-piece friendship bracelet magnet. even i can see that's a little fucked lol

[@MoaiGaming1]

@@logged-out those are not real friends

[@NovaG0]

I've been lucky with my friends and family (I only have like 5 friends) but general everyday people have said things like 'oh you don't look it' . I never know how to respond to that.

[@RobbieBise]

Living with depression, this story has always resonated with me. I quite often wake up as someone foreign to me.

[@lourdespachla6516]

WHO ARE YOU TODAY THEN?

[@NickOleksiakMusic]

@@lourdespachla6516 Your mom 😏

[@furrystarcat]

Not all disabilities are visible from the outside

[@LadyVenus125]

I hope you prevail and heal soon from your depression. As long as you try to exercise, get a therapist/supporting person, and try out a new hobby, you'll be fine. I know, because I used to be depressed when I was younger. Sending love and prayers! ❤🙏

[@NickOleksiakMusic]

In all seriousness, I've suffered with that same dissociative feeling at points as well and wish the best for you.

[@donovanb8247]

I read The Metamorphosis only last year, coincidentally about 2 years after my girlfriend started dealing with a severe mobile disability. Like everyone else I was quick to denounce the way Gregors family acts as if this is a problem happening to them, but the more I read the more I had to face that I’m the same way. At least in my most tired, frustrated, and bitter days. It haunts me to think I easily I could have fallen into bitter selfishness, how in another world I could have convinced myself that she was no longer the person I fell in love with. It’s validating in a way to know that these feelings happen to other caretakers, but more so, it reminds me of the kind of person I could become if I’m not careful.

[@WobblesandBean]

I'm glad you touched on that, cuz frankly, you're right. Caretaker burnout is a thing, and it's a huge problem. I think that needs to be discussed in a mature manner, and not just viciously judged as caretakers being bad people.

[@no.6377]

Yeah. I actually related to those feeling. My mom got sick when I was 20 and just starting a new job. I still feel shame for how I acted on my worst days.😢

[@BastionMarshall]

As a smart and ambitious person who became disabled, I definitely grieve my loss of productivity and potential. It is like waking up in a unfamiliar and broken body. And society no longer values me as most of what I do is unpaid labour. I hadn't thought about the disability aspect when i first read it. Thanks for the insightful take.

[@lordfreerealestate8302]

In the same boat. I've been forced to relearn who I am outside of work. Hope you at least find happiness 💛

[@bensoncheung2801]

111 ☹️

[@ViirinSoftworks]

Same. I was a mountaineer, and now I can only really move with an electric wheelchair. So, I started getting into mad science. No one's looking, and I have the time...

[@CODDE117]

I once went to a performance (a PERFORMANCE) of this work. I expected the Greek myth collection of metamorphosis, and instead I got Kafka's version. Genuinely horrifying, and the actors were so incredibly good at their role. I can never forget it.

[@sophiejones3554]

For your future reference Ovid's myth anthology is "Metamorpho*ses*", plural and no article. Kafka's book is "The Metamorphosis" singular, and with an article.

[@wryn.is.trying]

“You might feel her pulling you into her world for a moment, away from the rest of society.” This is probably my favorite line in this whole wonderful video. I’m disabled/chronically ill and mostly housebound. On the rare occasion I get to hang out with my friends in person, I have nothing to talk about that isn’t related to my health, because *everything in my life* relates to my health. They’re out advancing their careers and building a life, and I’m here fighting my insurance and trying to find a shampoo i’m not allergic to. There is so much shame associated with every part of being chronically ill, and the urge to isolate yourself can be overwhelming at times, but connecting with others is a large part of what makes us human. To my fellow disabled people: If you ever feel guilty for allowing yourself some small joy (or selfish for even wanting to), remember that pleasure is part of life as much as suffering is, and you suffering through your time rather than enjoying it isn’t helping anyone. You don’t have to justify your existence to yourself (or anyone who purports to care about you!), it’s okay to just live :)

[@YaboiZephyr]

I have a number of mental issues depression, anxiety, autism and paranoia, to name a few. I feel for gregors plight because when you aren't 100%, it's hard not to feel like a total burden to those around you.

[@jeremylackey6587]

Everyone loves you until the mental illness symptoms Flare up.

[@Rock-n9k]

i suffered from depression for years but the loves of my family, counselors and Jesus got me through and now I am much better than I was before. people who truly care about you will love you even with mental issues and as long as you breathe there is hope for the better.

[@BCBell-fj2ht]

Disabled people are the first to learn there is no such thing as unconditional love. People want butterflies, but we're just dung beetles.

[@calladricosplays]

Dung beetles still provide an essential ecosystem service! As for unconditional love, I learned more about it through wildlife rehabilitation than from my own family. Putting that much effort into something, just to set it free...

[@valerielusa8000]

I'm disabled, and I know unconditional love is real because I feel it. I'm sorry you were treated so cruelly

[@BCBell-fj2ht]

@@valerielusa8000 Thank you. I was having a tough day. Living in the now, I'm better.

[@missblank3887]

​@@BCBell-fj2htThats good and take it easy friend. You'll find your unconditional love one day in the most unexpected places.

[@kidflash2fan]

I'm going to argue while it is terrible for the disabled person. It's no walk in the park for the caretaker either. You are the person who they take everything out on.

[@kavinaderrow3269]

My dad has frontal-temporal dementia. I can't even begin to describe the pain of watching him turn into a different person as he slowly dies in front of me.

[@Wickedesu]

Your strong. Keep being a light in the dark.

[@kavinaderrow3269]

@@Wickedesu Thank you.

[@bensoncheung2801]

111 👍 ☹️

[@originalchildclown]

How long did they give him?

[@kavinaderrow3269]

@@originalchildclown Oh, geez. I don't remember. He's only hanging on because he's so stubborn.

[@lordfreerealestate8302]

Disabled person here! Worth and productivity are tied. So this reinforces ableism, when disabled people are viewed as societal burdens. I, like most disabled people, have received ableism from family and abandonment in time of need. Gregor's family was a lot like mine. It's also important to recognize non-physical and invisible disabilities: like mental illnesses, autism, and autoimmune disorders. We're disbelieved because they can't be seen. Vulnerable disabled people are five times as likely to be abused/neglected by their family than the able-bodied - and sadly this was true of me, too. It's also possible that Gregor comes from a narcissistic family system where he existed only to be used, and they resented that they could no longer benefit from him. This was a very empathetic take on disability and I thank you for it. 💛

[@ViirinSoftworks]

Fifteen times, actually. I'm autistic, schizophrenic, have a CSF leak so I can't stand or walk, and a left rotator cuff tear. I left a bunch of stuff out. Depending on where you live, you're allowed to live. I just need to move back to where I came from before I showed up here. What's really fun, is it was abuse from family that got me this broken, and they never took me seriously to begin with. Me being unable to defend myself made them act like a lion licking its lips.

[@galaxyjam3742]

@@ViirinSoftworks I hope the internet is the escape you need. Get into writing if it helps. You seem to make good use of metaphors to show how your family acts. You could easily use those metaphors to write some POWERFUL revenge/poetic catharsis stories (Just be careful bc writing those can lead to further abuse or lamenting your inability to 'free yourself' irl

[@LosferWerds]

One of the worst things in this society is how we silently treat our disabled. A lot of time it seems as if society is telling us that we did something wrong to end up this way. Almost as if our "poor" choices led to it. I was injured in Afghanistan. Even while still in the military I was treated like an event that was completely out of my control; an event that is a very possible result of serving your country, was my fault. None of us chose to be this way; would ever choose to be this way.

[@morgan4574]

They prefer when we die heroically for our country. Then they don't have to deal with us. One of my commanders lost his leg in Afghanistan (he blames himself based on circumstances I don't want to get into but...) and he stayed in and transferred to a low key branch where we work at desks. He was great at first but when things got stressful he became abusive, it was so shocking. Me and his own commander tried to mitigate his behavior because he was still doing well mission wise and he only really was abusive to me, a junior officer. But when it spilled over into outbursts at my Soldiers I had to put my foot down. I had also become extremely avoidant and anxious at work even though I tried to compartmentalize it's not something you can power through, come to find out. He voluntarily took a med board and our commander didn't pursue misconduct that I knew of, maybe a GOMOR at worst. I don't think he was a bad guy, I just think that he put so much pressure on himself to be "normal" despite his experience. His leg wasn't the issue but he clung to the fact that as long as the leg thing could be overcome it meant nothing else mattered. Because a lot of people still think and believe that mental health issues are something you can prevent or overcome with enough discipline and resiliency alone. I'm really sorry about your experience.

[@Paradude84]

I’ve had a colostomy for almost 2 years. And I can’t think of a single movie or tv show that has shown what it’s like to have one.

[@Wickedesu]

Your still beautiful dude , The only thing that can gross me out is an ugly soul.

[@ArDeeMee]

My sister had to temporarily have one (they had removed 50 cm of her colon, so they gave her an AP to let the tissues heal), and I was her caretaker during that time. It sucks. Especially the part during changing the bags were the colon gets agitated and… yeah. It sucks. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like for her. She was always so embarrassed… 🫣 Will you have the AP for the rest of your life, or is it temporary as well?

[@ViirinSoftworks]

With you having that, you might be the Santa Claus that came to my house when I was a kid. I didn't get presents, but what your bag contains. Tis the season!

[@Paradude84]

@@ViirinSoftworks what a weird thing to write.

[@ViirinSoftworks]

@@Paradude84 Thank you! Just trying to show solidarity- I used to go mountaineering but now I can barely move on my own. I know what it's like to have everything taken away, including the use of your own body, and how quickly people throw us away once we no longer provide money and resources. It's like people don't even see the "condition" when they say "unconditional love". People like you and me and the bug have seen it, though.

[@HermitRunner]

Man honestly I feel so angry towards Gregor family because as Tale Foundry mentioned in the video Gregor was the only one that supported the entire family and now they will just cast him aside and forget everything he has done for them it’s so unbearable to me, I mean he could’ve left his family to rot If he wanted to

[@GabrielKelty]

YES. My right arm was paralyzed in a skiing accident, and afterwards I pushed myself beyond what was healthy to be successful. It was because of this; I was so afraid of being useless, a creature to be pitied, mocked, or shunned

[@RichardK6K]

A friend told me about how much he hated the story, and felt obligated to tell everyone how bad Metamorphosis is. Now that I've heard the summary... It's quite relatable. I wanted to become a guitarist, or at least a guitar teacher. I knew, that at some point my hands wouldn't allow me to play music again. I imagined this time to arrive in my 50s. Not before I became 19. It's been a few years already, but I'm still not at peace with everything. Barely anything, in fact. It feels really bad depending on others. Especially, when you were too young to have worked, back when the disability began. It feels bad, when your friends leave you for something, you have no control over. No one can see my disability. For me it's just pain. And a lot of people can't comprehend, that I really do want to work, and that I dispise depending on others. I just don't have a choice.

[@gutbucket6184]

As a musician, you can do this. Maybe not guitar, but making electronic music is still making music. There is no wrong way to make art.

[@sweetgirlyjk]

As someone that is losing more and more function on a daily because of a back injury from an accident, this made me genuinely cry. An accurate depiction of what it feels like to suddenly just be something that is taking up space That’s how I feel constantly. Just a waste of space to my husband and children and thought I can still do a lot, there are times where I’m like “how long can I push it until I lose more function?” I’m trying so desperately hard to contribute something, ANYTHING, but it feels fruitless and like I’ve done something WRONG because of how it affects me afterwards.

[@adaharrisonn]

I totally understand man. I've had chronic back pain too, it's so unbelievably debilitating.

[@sweetgirlyjk]

@@adaharrisonn I honestly cannot wait until I can get the total disc replacements I need when the lawsuit is over. The other drivers insurance is dragging it out as long as they can but I’m not backing down cus I NEED that surgery. Until then I feel like such a burden and losing more time I could, SHOULD, be spending enjoying my youth and my children. Back issues suck so bad

[@Rock-n9k]

@@sweetgirlyjk I don't know how you feel but i know for a fact that beating yourself up and pushing yourself to more than you can take will not help. please be patient for yourself and your family because you are not a waste of space you are a person and that in itself is valuable. I pray to god you succeed in getting that replacement.

[@mint_e7536]

I relate to this story, for I was born as a bug. Growing up with autism has been a burden to myself and others, especially since I used to be severely socially awkward. I had no friends during that period, and the ones I managed to get eventually left. The only person I was truly able to speak to was my big sister. She resented me, to the point that she started to smother me with insults and tear away any of my boundaries. She made me not want to depend on my parents for anything, since she told me I was a burden. She told me her problems mattered more, since she was abused until she was adopted. This irony of this is that, due to her past abuse, she started to abuse me the same way her parents did. When she had to go to college, I actually was a much more ‘normal’ person, since she was actually hindering my ability to function.

[@audreydoyle5268]

Oh my stars, my life is a mirror reflection of yours, minus the adopted sister. My sister and I share blood, but that's the only thing we have in common. She told me all the time growing up that I wasn't going to move out of our "parents" house until I was at least 25, if I moved out at all. Mind you, I was undiagnosed autistic and ADHD all my childhood and teen years. So my "parents" made the assumption I was choosing to be difficult and struggle at school, because I had shown I was gifted when I had the mental energy to do school work. Turns out having ADHD as well as being a previously gifted kid makes me a twice exceptional, and such circumstances require an approach my "parents" and older sister couldn't fathom. My sister used to smack me upside the head, taunt me, say I was terrible at singing (everyone else in my life had said they either get goosebumps or are shookth in a good way when they hear me sing, but I find it hard to believe them). She used to try and drown me, then would claim her childhood was harder cause she was 8 when our birth giver left our sperm donor, and I was 4. What she doesn't realise through the pain of that chip on her shoulder (meaning major victim mentality) is that she had longer familial stability than I did. Just because our father was abusive to her for longer, doesn't mean she had it worse. The fact that my first coherent memory was of our bio parents breaking up and were fighting about me, then growing up mostly fatherless is worse than any bruised backside. Bruises heal, but knowing you're the reason your parents broke up because you needed medical attention does a number on your psyche. Both my sister and my birth giver's husband made me feel like a burden. And I can't shake the independence streak they've instilled in me, which they also berate me for, because I clearly struggle. Fun thing about autism is that we experience recurrent catatonia, which isn't just temporary brain body disconnect, there's also an active side to the symptom. It's why so many late diagnosed autistic people are first diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 2. Active catatonia looks like mania, but it lasts only a couple hours, till you fizzle out and go still again. I would go full steam ahead cleaning, then my ADHD distracted ass would conspire with my autistic catatonia and I'd end up doomscrolling or frozen in deep thought tangents, appearing as if I'm choosing to do nothing. So they saw me powering through one minute then freeze the next, and the next day I'd be in so much pain and/or exhausted, and they'd think I was being too lazy to attend to my other responsibilities. Nah, my hEDS, ADHD executive dysfunction and ASD inertia would leave me bedridden like I had come down with the flu. If I was laying in bed, aching and tired, my BG's husband would make me get up and do something or risk loosing my phone for a week minimum. The concept of varying physical and mental ability is mystifying to those who are able bodied and minded enough to carry on business as usual every single day, while also being so evil as to play victim so they can justify their abuse towards you. It's demonic.

[@ViirinSoftworks]

@@audreydoyle5268 My life isn't yours, but I'm severely disabled too. I will give you one argument, though. It isn't demonic. If you read the bible (I'm not capitalizing it because I don't believe in or respect it), even demons aren't that bad. Humans are worse than demons.

[@thereseemstobeenanerror1219]

​@@ViirinSoftworks Not really, but I understand that's not what you're actually getting at.

[@fariesz6786]

i never thought about the story like that, but you're so right, and it hits close to home. nowadays a popular alternative to disgust or rejection (especially for us who are, ostensibly at least, not "that badly" disabled) is forced toxic positivity. like, all we hear is "some with [insert disability here] are super successful in life" yes, i can pretty much do everything anyone else can but at like tenfold the cost or even worse, and people just don't get that, well, that is unfortunately the normal of many people with disability. we have to be brilliantly economic and frugal with our resources, and often times that doesn't even show. and when we do let it show, we are back at the disgust and contempt, and back with the feelings of guilt. thank you for this beautiful video.

[@NXTangl]

So in this metaphor there would be people talking about how strong ants are and you're going "but I'm a weird beetle thing that can't even fly..."

[@violetiolite]

This is very true. I'm visually impaired and I have ADHD, which isn't great combination, specially because I can't take ADHD medication without the risk of losing the little eyesight I have left. Doing stuff other people do is absolutely exhausting, and funnily enough I'm way more annoyed at the ADHD than the visual impairment. Working is hard. Doing daily tasks is hard. Studying is hard. Going outside to somewhere new is very hard. Making friends and keeping them is super hard. It's weird to say but doing tests and work in class has been painful my whole life. Physically because no desk is ever adapted to me, mentally because keeping attention on the majority of classes takes a lot of effort. "Oh Einstein was probably neurodivergent", "Hellen Keller couldn't see and hear and she did so much!" These sentences might be true but they don't erase my struggles. And they might not even motivate as I'll probably think first how much I'm a failure for not being to things.

[@fariesz6786]

@@violetiolite yes, ADHD is unfortunately seen as "not that big of an issue" even by psychiatrists unless they specialise in the condition. i personally have type 1 diabetes and ADHD (and autism, among other things) and like.. that's one condition that can end me if i'm not diligent and organised and one that quite literally means i can hardly manage _being_ diligent and organised to begin with, so merely just surviving takes like 90% of my energy and willpower. and then i hear that "everyone is a little ADHD" and that "i know diabetics who do extreme sports" - and nowadays my answer is "okay, so where's your yacht and your private jet then? bc if i should be able to be so successful, you as a healthy person would have to be _ridiculously_ successful!" i can also empathize with you on the tests thing. i never had that anxiety many people have about getting a good grade or stuff like that, but i start feeling anxious just by thinking about how uncomfortable and exhausting it will be to sit down and focus on something while i have to comply to the formalities of the respective subject and whatever the teacher's personal preference for doing things might be, all while dealing with the fact that i tend to stiff up too much when handwriting which makes it literally painful after 15 minutes or so. and that's not even touching on how i have to constantly translate between the language on paper and my internal thought processes bc i'm at the core non-verbal. anyway, what i essentially want to get across is i feel with you, you're not alone. i wish you to find the best possible ways to cope with your issues, and i hope you encounter a lot of people who are understanding and helpful (and ideally none who come at you with spite or toxic positivity). and of course may you retain your eyesight for as long as possible. 🤍

[@sarahallegra6239]

Well I clearly need to read this book. I took a nap one day in 2008, woke up with “the flu” and I’ve been sick with MECFS ever since. I haven’t been able to work since 2013, I’m mostly housebound, sometimes bedbound. I basically only leave for doctors appointments and it takes a huge toll on me. It’s taken a lot of therapy to feel like a valid human being still (and I don’t always succeed) since I don’t “do” very much at all, especially compared to pre-ME days. This story really speaks to me.

[@BeccaGhusn]

Hey, I'm the primary writer of this video. I actually wrote it about my own experience with ME/CFS. Pretty much the exact same thing happened to me when I was 11.

[@sarahallegra6239]

@@BeccaGhusn oh my goodness, I had no idea! First, I’m so incredibly sorry that you’ve had to live with this hideous illness for so long and through such formative years of your life. But secondly, I’m extremely grateful that you found the spoons to write such a masterful script. Clearly it spoke to me! I think the story and how you frame it is a really spectacular example of showing what life is like for so many of us who find ourselves afflicted with sudden illness/disability. Thank you so much for your response and for sharing your experience! I’ll be sharing your video to my (very small) audience for May 12, which is ME Awareness Day. I really hope you find relief and joy and hope and happiness despite what this illness has taken from you! 💙

[@BeccaGhusn]

@@sarahallegra6239 Thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear you found it cathartic. I hope you find some relief and joy as well, and that you're able to regain some of your previous function! I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to work at all, so I feel you on how frustrating that is.

[@duckraft]

@BeccaGhusn Tysm ❤ ME for 30+ years here. I became disabled literally overnight. I haven’t been outside my home in years and spend half the day in bed before I can transfer to my powerchair. I rely on in home care for basics, but there’s a national staffing crisis, meaning it’s just me, severe and solo. So this video really spoke to me. I have got to reread this story!

[@morgan4574]

​@@BeccaGhusnI was misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia when I was actually dying from advanced B12 deficiency but it's so tough having fatigue be the most overwhelming symptom. People don't understand. They say well you don't have kids how can you be tired?? Like it's a choice. My sister made me cry once when she called me when she had pneumonia and said "God, this sucks so much. I can't imagine how you live with fatigue like this everyday." It took a while to educate my family about the realities of Fibromyalgia/CFS but she was listening and finally understood 🥹 They all still sometimes forget about my limitations but they're human too

[@jaqjynx]

I remember reading The Metamorphosis when I was maybe 18 or 19 (many many years ago) and thinking ‘yeah, this kind of makes me think of being a teenager’. Your body changes outwith your control, you don’t really know who you are, you don’t know where to fit in. I grew up and became a psych nurse - and I see it all the time. Yes, the actual story is a bit crazy at first, but looking at it as a metaphor for life changes it hits the nail on the head.

[@wesleycolvin7158]

There's nothing quite like feeling abandoned by other people who you believe see you as an 'undue burden '.

[@decentsleep]

I wept when I finished this book. The level of empathy Kafka demands you to feel for Gregor is so powerful. As someone with a disability, I appreciate the nuance with which you approach the caregiver/disabled family member’s relationship.

[@TheSaneHatter]

Disabilities are inborn sometimes, too: imagine being BORN like this, with no life or achievements from "before" your disability to be proud of, or even remember. Imagine if the whole world treated you like this from the start. I have Asperger's Syndrome: *I* understand this.

[@EliasKayama245]

I'm also autistic. I have ADHD too as well as a visual disability. I'm currently feeling guilty about the fact that I will never be able to safely drive, so being an electrician is currently off the table. I had a family member who would shame me for my autism and ADHD since he didn't believe that they actually existed as well as a ton of bullying.

[@TheSaneHatter]

@@EliasKayama245 Well, I *can* drive . . . but you're not missing anything. 😖 in my case, we found out about AD/HD only in my mid-teens, after years of disapproval of my "daydreaming problem," which we all thought I was doing on purpose. I didn;'t even get Asperger's Syndrome proposed to me until age 32 (courtesy of my late mother), and wasn't diagnosed until 37. So much time lost, and so much harm done....

[@EliasKayama245]

@TheSaneHatter I'm just upset that it limits my job opportunities. I do wish you well though.

[@Shrewdilus]

@@EliasKayama245Society isn’t as accommodating as it should be. Car dependency is a real issue these days, especially in America.

[@EliasKayama245]

@Shrewdilus fr. I wish we had more public transportation, especially in rural areas.

[@WeyounSix]

There are so many people living with disabilities who have it so tough everyday, and online since everyone is faceless it becomes even harder to see. The thing that constantly gets me is that even 100 years ago a huge majority of the disabled people alive now would simply not have survived because of lack of care and treatment options. There is a lot bad right now but there is also a lot good, and for disabilities, we are living in a time that has never been better. If you are reading this and have a disability, I am glad you are here with us. There is so much value in the soul and the mind, do not let anyone tell you you are worth less than anybody else.

[@galaxyjam3742]

Hey, thank you for the positivity, but I think it accidentally comes across as toxic positivity. It may come across to a disabled person as "Well that sucks, but you're lucky you ain't dead tho". Hope this helps!

[@WeyounSix]

@@galaxyjam3742 Sorry it came off that way, it was definitely not my intent, but that people often talk down that disabled people are a drain on the economy and aren't worth a lot, which I fully disagree with because there is so much value in a human soul

[@galaxyjam3742]

@@WeyounSix Its ok, I know it wasn't intentional! Nonetheless I find it important to point out so that anyone who sees your comment and dwells badly on it won't be the 'only one' and therefor feel like a sensitive snowflake or whatever. Seeing you admit it was an accident will also likely help.

[@mr.pavone9719]

I follow a man who writes a blog about his hobby which we share. He's in his 70s and has had a number of health issues over the past few years. Everyone who follows him, many also deep in the same hobby, have been very supportive of him throughout his troubles. I have to say, the idea of finding out he is no longer able to engage in his hobby would be truly heartbreaking.

[@tethyn]

This is not just of disability but aging with dignity. The loss of one’s ability due to aging is one in which we are all going through a predetermined metamorphosis.

[@GallowglassVT]

It's true as well if you have a disability that isn't immediately visible or is easily disguised, especially neurological ones like ADHD or autism (I have the latter). On the one hand, you often feel the need to mask so you can move in neurotypical society and you might even get angry when you see other people who don't, or genuinely can't, mask it, because they serve as a reminder of the fact that ultimately, you have the same disability. On the other, at some point, you have to acknowledge that, because of the way the world is set up, you ARE disabled by definition. Even if you mask or overcome the obstacles put in front of you, it's never going to go anywhere and no amount of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" or conforming to societal standards are gonna change that.

[@crispy7499]

I've got both, and it's really hard. I can't work a normal job at the 'acceptable' pace, so I usually get fired :/ I can't bootstrap. I get slapped down onto the floor if I try to even reach for my bootstraps.

[@GallowglassVT]

@crispy7499 the irony is that the phrase was originally meant to illustrate that it was difficult to impossible for poor or otherwise disadvantaged people to advance in a society operated by and for the benefit of the wealthy.

[@requiembeeblebroxx]

@@GallowglassVT I think about that irony all the time; it's up there with "oh, he's just a bad apple" when the original saying is that "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel", which is entirely applicable to the situations where the abbreviated concept is applied :/ Also, as a person with maybe-narcolepsy and previous mobility issues, I've spent a long time in the invisible disability space. I'm fortunate enough to have a group of neurodivergent friends who are familiar with the experience of being considered lazy or worthless because of something intrinsic to themselves; it's helped me a lot. I'm still deeply frustrated that I don't have enough energy to give my mother, whose dementia is slowly destroying her, the attention and care she deserves. I wish I could drive so I could visit her without having to ask for help.

[@xerveeon]

"...and you might even get angry when you see other people who don't, or genuinely can't, mask it, because they serve as a reminder of the fact that ultimately, you have the same disability." God dammit. Only after reading those words do I now understand where that specific anger comes from, and with that revelation also comes a great deal of shame.

[@alexanderfinegan1506]

I didn't fully understand this story when I read it in school but now I and a few close family are actively living through a number of the situations you mentioned in here: caring day and night for the disabled family members who everyone else acts repulsed by, becoming disabled yourself and watching as people turn on you, and going from the caretaker to the cared-for and being resented for it, and becoming dead to the family because they can't exploit you anymore.... so that's been fun. Great video. Looking forward to more.

[@redx738]

i'm in the middle of nursing clincals at an old folks' home. this video gives new layers to the way that dementia affects my patients and the way that some of the more heart-hardened staff treat them because of it. i really appreciate that you mentioned things like colostomy bags and catheters, because it really drives home that these things exist around us and the people who have these are still human. it's astounding how much disrespect and shame these people have to deal with. also, i liked the detail in your animation of one of your characters having a cochlear implant. the shape was simple and fit the animation style, but i could clearly distinguish it from a hearing aid. i just thought that was cool.

[@Vinemaple]

This is a fascinatingly new take on _The Metamorphosis_ for me. I will never think of this story in quite the same way, ever again, and I finally understand why most people find it so much less painful and horrifying than I do! Even stranger, during the intro, when Talebot said "that happens all the time, you're just not supposed to notice," for a moment I thought you'd touch on how I've always seen this story. I've always seen it very differently: as a metaphor for learning to see what people really think of you. To me, the change in Gregor's family's attitude towards him seemed like they were abandoning their masks. Once Gregor could no longer provide for them, and keep them in a leisure-filled, middle-class lifestyle, they either began to resent him, or allowed their lack of genuine familial love for him to show. Having to get their own jobs, in early 20th-century Germany, meant a downward social mobility, especially since they weren't able to take over his business, and in fact eventually had to invite renters into their home, and even perform for them. Without him, Gregor's family are neither middle class, nor respectable. So I feel that, while nowadays we might see Gregor's family as better people at the end of the story, I think they would have seen themselves as ruined. Fallen. Disgraced. And they blame him for it, or at least that's how I've always remembered it, when I can bear to remember it at all. I felt their reactions showed that they thought the transformation was something Gregor had _chosen to do to himself,_ instead of as a tragic calamity. Whereas before they may have resented their own dependence on him, now they resent his refusal to maintain the status quo. Perhaps those of us who have revealed, to their family, that part of who they are is something their family rejects or abhors, might find this reaction familiar. Also note that in the 19th and 20th centuries, many artists from the middle classes either refused or escaped careers or educations in highly respectable or lucrative professions, in order to create... to the consternation of their parents. Perhaps not quite as life-changing to our eyes, but perhaps it was, to them. It also occurs to me that this is how we see homeless people in North America, especially city governments. We constantly try to compartmentalize and distance ourselves from the fact that homeless people are still human beings, and that most of them have some form of disability, and lack the advantages we ourselves may have... like, perhaps, a dutiful Gregor Samsa in the family. We blame them for being unfortunate or exploited or abandoned, and tell ourselves stories about how they've brought about their own tragic metamorphoses.

[@c4cezar_magz]

The disability interpretation ever since I first heard it, from Shanspeare, so it made me so so happy to see it covered more in depth here. I don't have any disabilities As debilitating as others, but the big about no longer being able to chase dreams really rang true for me. After getting COVID, I got Inducible laryngeal obstruction. When my vocal cords are stressed, whether it be from laughing too hard or anxiety or crying, they close a bit, sometimes more than others, sometimes almost completely. This doesn't affect speaking as much as it does breathing. It affects breathing a Lot. This, of course, impacted my love of singing. I want to be a choir teacher, or maybe even do musicals, but when it's hard to breathe it's hard to sing. I eventually went to speech therapy when I finally got it diagnosed. Learned exercises to help. It's a lot better but still not perfect and it never will be. A year after the first time, I got COVID again. And then Again IMMEDIATELY after. This time I got fibromyalgia. A month of what I thought was joint pain I was told would go away after a month or two actually did. A few months later it came back. Worse. More and more months of pain and not knowing why until I finally got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. It's getting a bit more manageable but it won't ever really go away and will probably worsen with age. When there's a big storm, pain. When I get my period, pain. When I stand for long periods of time, pain. This impacts my dreams again. How could I be a choir teacher if I can't stand for long. How could I dance in a musical if I can't stand for long. How could I act in a musical if crying makes my vocal cords close. I don't know. I'm really not sure. Getting COVID three times also means brain fog, which also comes with fibromyalgia. It's fun laughing at when I mix up words or it takes me too long to get a joke, or when I struggle to do simple math, but deep down after whatever conversation, I just feel scared. It's terrifying. It's terrifying losing so much of who I was and what I could do. Again, I'm not as disabled as many others so I don't want to act like my struggles are on par with that. I just. Miss being me. Despite that, throughout all of this video, I was smiling. So happy to see my fears and experience and the experiences of others being shared and told to so many people. So thank you to everyone who worked on this video. I may show it to my mom, who has asthma, has immunodeficiency, and has foot problems, but I'd have to pick a good time since I think she'd cry. She knows the feeling of feeling like a burden that has to be helped by her kids when she gets a foot surgery and when other people have to drive her places during the times she can't drive herself. Anyways, I'll stop typing now. Just kinda nice having a little spot and reason to talk about all this. Thank you guys.

[@ToastyNoneofyourbusiness]

11:45 you're absolutely correct on this. We are one car accident, one wrong fall, one kitchen disaster, away from being disabled.

[@carlizinea]

That's my favorite video you guys have made so far (and I love all of them). I have been disabled by long COVID, chronic fatigue, constant migraines, POTS, became bedbound for two years now, lost my job and had to quit my degree, now I live on my bed trying to distract myself and get better however I can, luckily my family supports me a lot. Thanks for this.

[@abydosianchulac2]

All my best wishes for your recuperation and comeback

[@carlizinea]

@@abydosianchulac2 tysm, I already have improved 70% in relation to my worst moments, that's a lot but I still can't work, I can wait to be able to work and study again, but there is no giving up, soon I'll get there ^^

[@lordfreerealestate8302]

I'm happy to hear you have a good support network. I wish good things for you soon 💛

[@BovineDesigns]

This has always been my greatest fear in fiction. The idea of irreversable involuntary transformation is so horrifying to me.

[@jellyfishbubgum]

At 19, after one year of working fulltime as a sales clerk and finding joy in the little encounters I always got to have and feeling as though I could make any customer’s day a bit better, I was diagnosed with severely progressed Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. A genetic disease that changes how your body creates a very necessary protein in your body. 1 year of independence out of high school, dreams of all that I could do with my life. It was all I got as I watched my body degrade exponentially from daily use and physical work. I watch as my joints become more unstable, my pain worsens, and I lose my ability to do even simple things I love like art. I was so depressed and empty… It’s hard to rethink your life. To change all perspectives and embrace a new reality you never fathomed, but happiness and self-value can be found. Everywhere. Stay strong, my dears.

[@AidanNCo]

I wasn't feeling very good today, I'm still not really. But this video going over ableism, self-perception, and societal expectation helped re-contextualize or at least confirm things in my mind. Thank you as ever, much love to all at Tale Foundry.

[@Luna-ej4mi]

I'm writing this as I watch this video. I've been disabled for basically my entire life (hearing loss starting at age 2, 21 as of writing), and ever since I've watched a movie based on the book, I've seen it as a metaphor for disability. I'm glad someone else made that connection For clarification, I'm not 100% deaf. I still retain some of my hearing, half on the right, 3/4 on the left. For now, at least

[@Lerrae1908]

Im disabled pretty severely but it's largely in ways that people won't see right away so it lets me hide much of it. I think the fact that my issues aren't visible makes it easier for people to feel sympathy when they learn what I struggle with, it's a discussion I have had with myself a few times while coming to terms with myself. I always wonder, if they could see a physical representation of what I feel and my limitations, would they start turning away because it's too much to see? And as I get worse, I worry people will walk away more when I need them most. What baffles me most is that the people in charge of disability aid look at me and say "eh". I have been denied all kinds of aid because they can't see it, and think im lying. Even though when experts speak up and examine me, they say "Oh yeah she NEEDS this help!" I think everyone in charge of policy making should be forced to live a week, at least, in the shoes of the people they try to force policy on first... So they know exactly what kind of suffering they cause and how it feels. Cripple them temporarily (like tying hands so they can't bend their fingers, use only a wheelchair or cane for mobility, make it impossible for them to bend their legs, make it impossible for them to eat or sleep normally, so they can get even a tiny taste of what some people suffer). Have them be turned away for all kinds of help they need, have their money taken away, make them feel isolated and helpless. Give them a budget to live on so small that they could barely fathom it. Shake them when they try to cook or clean so they can't hold a spoon or a mop, take their feet out from under them with no warning. Give them a straw to breath through and then tell them to go walk three miles because there's no transport assistance and they can't afford a taxi or an uber. If they could understand the fear of SELF that disability can cause then maybe they would have more compassion...

[@judahjubilee4572]

I'm actually weepy watching this video. I've never ever heard someone talk about what this experience feels like, while not trying to hide at all how existentially exhausting and detaching it becomes to lose your body to illness. My condition has passed the point I'm able to work, but because of my upbringing as a forced caregiver, I've learned not only how to manage and care for my condition but all of my loved ones. It's shaming and degrading to be both so utterly dependant on, and yet, so very responsible for managing the care of each. It becomes so easy to give care then, to others as you learned how and you are desperate as well that maybe they give kindness in turn. Thank you for covering this so honestly and compassionately. Now I've really got to go find this book

[@MrBioWhiz]

I lost nearly all my eyesight about a year ago. The depths of misery i feel are awful. I hope I'm not a burden to my sisters

[@EliasKayama245]

I have always had a visual disability as well as a few mental ones. Understand how you feel. I had a family member who thought I was a burden. It really affected me as a kid, but I'm doing better now. I hope that your family does see you in a bad light.

[@kayleighmel4554]

What to do when you're already the beetle but the person you rely on to help you is becoming one too. I'm currently experiencing this with my mother. She's always helped me with the things I can do on my own. But as she ages and becomes more forgetful, more like me I fear there's nothing I can do to help her. I can't return her kindness and care because I can barely take care of myself.

[@galaxyjam3742]

Beg and cry the government and others for help. It is not selfish if you will not be safe without it. Do not hold back.

[@lythnookwemin]

To many times this is true for to many people. The problem is that many don't see others going through it, even when they themselves did experience it. While other times due to how we are treated, we become the thing they claim we are. My own neighbors drove a relative from our neighborhood, just because they where different. They used the local system to do it also. Yet even though they broke many laws, it was my relative removed, as they where driven to snap. But like so many times, nothing ever gets done about the real monsters. This story hit's very close to home, in many ways.

[@Spacecookie-]

I relate. I keep wanting to write a disabled protagonist in a fantasy story. I wish I knew how. Not having an income, not being able to go out to work means I can never go to college. I have no money. I can never afford most courses and subscriptions to sites. I live alone without any help and no-one visiting me. I keep telling myself that if I could just have a little something, get a little break from life, somehow make some money and earn enough to live on independently... It could all be better. I can't even do anything to reduce my stress much, because there's the guilt of not working.

[@AaronHendu]

I choose to smile in spite of my trauma. I will always search for that silver lining...and if it cannot be found, I search harder. I will never become a monster. That is a choice I work on every single day. The harsher this life, the softer my reaction to it becomes over time because it is what I choose with my free will. Some call me resiliant...I am just human trying to enjoy my time here until I am no longer. I am disabled and have few years left...and I am gonna spend those years being kind and happy in spite of everything. My life has been full of trauma...but I refuse to let it define me or dictate my character.

[@remiidr3660]

I find myself to be in a similar situation. I hope that you are well and all the best. You are doing great. Don't give up. Life is harsh, but we have a choice to go easy on ourselves (and others) by being kind and forgiving. We can and we will figure things out. Love from a stranger.

[@alexbayswood4847]

Spiderman why did you make that guy?

[@Harshworld100]

“If you search for the light you will often find it but if you search for darkness it is all you will ever see” -Uncle Iroh

[@master-dukecuthbert5061]

Even if you don't agree, I think that mentality DOES make you stronger than most people. It takes a lot of will power to be a good person, when youre dealing with a terminal condition. And I think it makes for a more fulfilling life too. I hope you have a good day.

[@spacesharkwriter6554]

@@alexbayswood4847 Not the place that joke dude

[@jonasholm-mw5bn]

Maybe this is why the main character of Kaiju no 8 is named Kafka Habino

[@HS-ENTMLGY]

Both woke up from bed transformed too

[@mray4784]

Yep.

[@nebricback1430]

WHAT

[@CynthiaMcG]

Brand new Anime on Crunchyroll.

[@jonasholm-mw5bn]

@@CynthiaMcG and a manga

[@vginsprdsobepr9698]

This video has a very deep message. I had a friend who’s sister had a daughter with a serious disability that left her dependent on others forever. My friend broke my heart when she told her sister “No she didn’t die! You let her die”. Sadly the girl wasn’t fed properly and the mother stopped trying to care for her.

[@snaketooth0943]

I was diagnosed with Asperger's (which I believe is now more commonly known as high-functioning autism) and I read metamorphosis as a teenager. I seem to remember I thought about the whole disability metaphor while reading it. Also, I took the mini-bus (short-bus to Americans) for the disabled/handicapped (apart from the kids who used wheelchairs, they had to use a separate bus) to secondary school (high school to Americans) and when I told the premise to some of the kids there, they thought it sounded cool, especially how the cause of the transformation was never explained. They went on to theorize that it was radiation from a government experiment and it was set in the Fallout world. That was fun.

[@TheSaneHatter]

I have Asperger's, too, along with AD/HD and some other problems. For the record, we can still describe ourselves that way, according to the medical community's new rules. But the new term is actually "Autism Spectrum Disorder," or ASD, while "high-functioning autism" got thrown out with "Asperger's."

[@astick5249]

Eh I personally never liked the term "High-functioning autism". What so other kinds of autism cant function? What is non functioning?

[@snaketooth0943]

@@astick5249 no, the other term is "low functioning", at least as far as I'm aware.

[@Darkninja105]

I think the current terminology is low/medium/high support needs. Asperger's got merged with autism because they couldn't figure out where one ended and the other began.

[@galaxyjam3742]

@@Darkninja105 Thats because Asperger's was considered a form of Autism, however it was only marked as separate because of a Nazi doctor trying to decide which Autistic children were useful enough not to be slaughtered.

[@JJ-me8zt]

I became almost totally immobilized with an invisible condition 4 years ago that shows no signs of improvement and this story is what I recommend to everyone when they ask me what being sick, isolated and homebound feels like.

[@ICountFrom0]

In context, I guess I always WAS a beatle, I just never noticed, and half my life people around me pretended I wasn't. It wasn't until I finally got some help and understood what was wrong with me better that I could actually escape the stress all that caused me, and just live my life. It's a small life, but it's mine.

[@sheabrookes570]

I had this professor who had us read this story and then write about how Gregor was being dehumanized by his family. So, I wrote about how the Samsa family's treatment towards Gregor mirrored how people with disabilities have historically been treated by their own loved ones, slowly becoming dehumanized and eventually abused just for the sin of existing and not being able to financially contribute. It meant a lot to me, as I'm neurodivergent and have always struggled and felt isolated because of it, so I really wanted to give the topic the justice and respect it deserved. By the end, I was very proud of the essay I had wrote. My professor did not agree. She gave me a 40-something on that essay. Apparently everyone did horribly, to the point where the professor had to explain to us what Metamorphosis was ACTUALLY about: emasculation! I vividly remember her citing the removal of Gregor's furniture as being a metaphor for CIRCUMCISION, and that THIS is what we were supposed to be writing about, dehumanization via emasculation, THIS is how we were supposed to see the story, the CORRECT way, the ONLY WAY. Anyways, after that point I stopped taking the class seriously and just began BS-ing my essays. Which worked out great, I got better grades once I stopped putting in effort. Needless to say, I feel incredibly validated in my original assessment after watching this video, and to that, I thank you.

[@cacturne6183]

As someone who was diagnosed with Cancer 2 years ago and needing chemotherapy, which resulted in me getting Acute Necrotising Pancreatitis then almost dying on 9 separate occasions putting me in Paediatric IIntensive Care Unit for over 400 days I can really relate to Greg was going through and what foundry was saying. The enormous sense of guilt for at least one of my parents needing to be taking care of me around the clock and them not being able to do things they want to do with their friends and each other, just makes me feel so bad and not wanting to be around so that they could have their lives back. I don’t feel that way anymore and have gotten out of PICU but am still in hospital right now so I still feel they don’t have their live back. Makes me really sad.

[@Jacobk-g7r]

This will resonate with the veterans that find it hard to change from coming home. It’s a struggle. Remember, one small step at a time will lead to miles of growth. Keep it up.

[@nannywhumpers5702]

This video hit hard. I wrote in my journal yesterday how I felt like a bug for the past year. My mate passed late last year. I had spent the last 5 years taking care of him.

[@MurdocsMinion]

I'm currently on disability due to fibromyalgia, and how I had to fight tooth and nail just to be allowed to have enough money to stay alive is terrifying to think about. It took me nearly 5 years. In that time, I have barely scraped by with basic survival, much like Mr. Samsa. I also experience this story from the perspective of dread of the inevitable. Yes, I'm disabled now, but familial ALS runs in my family, and every day my hands get weaker, and my memory gets worse, and I think about my grandmother going on and on about how she was supposed to be dead already. I think about how, sooner than I think, I'm going to need someone to carry me to the bathroom. Everytime I lose control of my hand, and the trembling sends another dish shattering on the floor, I dread the day that I won't be able to clean it up. Disability is a melancholic sort of experience.

[@akimjocelyn4387]

As someone who was on life support due to severe illness I was all too familiar with the nastier aspects that came with the loss of independence, (needing help to go to the bathroom, not being able to move, developing pressure sores, being unable to eat solid food or drink) this really resonated with me. I often felt incredibly guilty, and honestly also felt worse than subhuman and that is all despite the fact that my parents and loved ones were so caring, and strong throughout this period in my life, they really went above and beyond for me, and yet I still felt that way. I can't imagine how bad it would be if I didn't have people like that. luckily this was a temporary period in my life, I was able to get a heart transplant (a heart infection was the root of the issue) and go through physical therapy to become able bodied again. I really think that as a society, we need to take care of disabled people. We need to provide them with all the necessities, so that families no longer need to work those extra hours, as well as free healthcare so that they can get professional assistance in taking care of their loved ones. Furthermore we need to find ways to include disabled people in broader society to end their isolation

[@galaxyjam3742]

Yes!!!! Caretaker families with caretaker's fatigue are not inherently evil for externalising the fact that they are in a way being forced to become somewhat disabled to keep a 'burden' alive. However harsh it sounds. Because the disabled person is only a 'burden' because of the negligence of care for disabled folks and their caretakers from governments and hospitals.

[@TheSecondTrueMe]

I studied as a care nurse for people with dementia and this story really gave me a new insight when I first read it. it's so easy to dehumanize people who tend to dehumanize themselves but when you show even a little bit of care and humanity towards them, you can just see that they feel a bit more human again.

[@ixioxp119]

So, I kinda have the perspective of the family here, I have to take care of my granddad who has severe dementia and while it's sad, and I try my hardest, he is disgusting, he shits himself, he pisses on the floor, he constantly drools as his mouth is always opened. I want to take care of him, but it's hard. Before, I took care of my Grandaunt, she completely lost her sense of self, effectively being a giant toddler that had to be carefully moved from side to side multiple times a day, so that she doesn't get bed sores. Also, again, she had to be cleaned daily, this included cleaning her from excrement and while I was sad she died it was a relief, she wasn't herself, and it took multiple hours each day just to keep her living. It's easy to say that the family is evil here, but I certainly know many people that couldn't do half the things you need to do to care for a severely disabled person.

[@ravenmeyer3740]

We revert to adult infants through no fault of our own. You are caregiving an adult infant. They lose all bodily control and probably you will too someday. They didn’t want to be this way, it came out of nowhere out of their control. Perhaps, put them in a nursing home. I know I couldn’t do it now. I worked in a nursing home when I was young, but we had the facilities to sort of take care of them.

[@runningfromabear8354]

The parents surprised me. My third child became sick at 11 and was diagnosed with life limiting (terminal) cancer. During his treatment we did some renovations to aid his mobility and got him a wheelchair because he was so tired. As he deteriorated we helped him use the toilet and bathe. I slipped a disc in my back and we had to get help from a PSW. It killed me that he kept apologizing. The guilt I felt for him suffering and not being able to protect him from this experience was overwhelming. I hated how uncomfortable people were around him in public. He was yellow and extremely skinny but still a kid. We went to a pet supplies store and puppies jumped on him and he started crying. The owners tried to assure us that the puppies were nice but they didn't understand. He had the realization that those puppies would outlive him. When he died, none of us felt relief. I struggle to picture reaching the point of changing too many diapers or too many injuries that I would feel he was a burden. These parents don't sound like real people living off their son and then failing to be there for him.

[@sugmanots]

Your son was so lucky to have a parent like you there for him. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[@Lovehandels]

There is a horror in it but this is deeply sad too! As someone who has a catheter in the stomach area and every time I look at it, it kind of grosses me out and I'm always worried about the tube getting snagged or dirty ...this video hits harder then it would have.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

...I never thought of it like that. How depressing. Doesn't help that my family has had to take care of elderly relatives. My paternal grandmother and grandfather had dementia and Alzheimer's, respectively. That was not fun.

[@mirushiroi]

my mother and i are the primary caregivers to my grandmother with alzheimer's disease and my uncle with catatonic schizophrenia. for the last seven years, we don't really have a life anymore. i did manage to get into college, and only went on with it because mom pushed me forward, but i can't hang out with my classmates after class, or do extension projects before or after classes, because i have to be back home asap, and i feel extremely guilty for leaving my mom to care for everything alone. it's been seven years since the last time my mom, my dad and i could all go out together, just the three of us; one of us always has to stay behind to care for my grandmother and uncle. my mom feels the most of it, tho. she always has. she's the one that takes care of everybody, and always has been. i don't know how she hasn't broken down, she's the strongest person i know. she had to refuse job opportunities to go back to work with something she loves because of this, she can't go out with the few friends she has anymore, she can't just... go out by herself to do whatever she needs or wants to do, because she has to be home to care for them. dad does what he can to help on the weekends, he works out of town on weekdays my mom's younger brother lives in another city and has his own problems to deal with, but he still helps however he can. but at the end of the day, it's just her and me, now mostly her because i go to school. but it's mostly just us, we take it all. and we have our own problems to deal with on top of all of that.

[@brianmurphie7501]

My late wife had 3 strokes over the course of 8 years before being diagnosed with cancer. While the strokes did not affect her mobility, they injured her ability to comprehend and even basic life skills. I became engaged to the smartest woman I had ever met. By the last couple of years she was half gone. Then there were the psychotic breaks, the rages, the time she had sudden amnesia, taking her back to the mid 1980's as a teenage rape survivor. Loved her still until the end, but there is no question that being her caregiver broke me. Took more than a year to get my depression back into a stable, medicated state. She died a few months after her 50th birthday. Her first stroke was at 42. Without my own family supporting me financially and emotionally, I probably wouldn't be here either. I read the Metamorphosis in high school, like so many others in the comments. Haven't really thought about it much in the 27 years since then until I saw this video. Holy Mother of Ramen was this a gut punch. Thank you for making it. It was cathartic, as well as nice to finally learn the point of this weird piece of body horror literature I was made to read all thoe years ago. It was also cathartic to be able to put this down somewjere and shput my story to the world. Thanks to anyone who made it this far down in the comments.

[@galaxyjam3742]

Growing up a disabled child; My parents got my a book titled something along the lines of 'My First Kafka'. I can still remember it to this day so damn clearly despite having issues with disassociation. I don't know why it was marketed at children when our current society likes to hide such terrors from them normally. Maybe they thought it was too fantastical and that no child could understand it. Eitherway, I did. Maybe because I'm disabled, maybe because people treat children like they aren't human yet. Maybe both. I distinctly remember being goddamn haunted by that end scene where (as far as I can remember), he was left to waste away, his family moving on without him. I remember being terrified. Because I had often (and still do) lay down on my bed, back down belly up (like a beetle), and watch the world outside pass. That feeling of 'wasting away' whilst the world moves on. Being left behind. All kinds of disabled people feel it. Wheelchair users watching their friends go on rollercoasters. Chronically ill (and hospital bound in general) folks watching life go by from their hospital windows. Those with learning disabilities watching their peers thrive whilst they are poked and prodded at by the education system like a bug. Those with non physical disabilities watching from their bedroom window watching the neighbourhood children playing on the street almost in awe at their energy. I remember as a child wanting to join them. But I couldn't. I couldn't explain why, because even though my body was physically capable, I just couldn't. I remember sometimes they'd notice me, and I'd hide behind the curtains, almost in shame. I remember when I did go outside, trying to talk to my peers and them looking so confused, like I was like a bug with human clothes. I remember seeing other children make up scary stories about an old lady who used to stare at us from a window, and whilst I joined in (I've always loved writing scary little stories), I never made fun of her and always wrote empathy and tragedy into my little myths about her. I remember people genuinely asking me if I was high. I remember having coca-cola poured on me. I remember people looking at me funny because I either stood and stared or failed to communicate. This came across as really on the nose and almost pompous but that is because I can not think of any other way to describe how POETIC it feels because it is so simultaneously such a mundane and overwhelming feeling. Its written dramatically because even when I have been able to be 'normal' it still feels like theres a language barrier between me and those around me. Also that 'Existing as a disabled person comes across inherently selfish' thing HAUNTS ME VIOLENTLY. Especially as my disability isn't physical so there is NO PROOF that I ACTUALLY NEED stuff to BE SAFE. Its just my word. That allows people to call me selfish if I get too inconvenient, and once one person 'finally says it', other people always seem to chip in. It only takes one slip up from me before people admit I'm a burden. Add this on top of my mental illness, and me NEEDING to be comfortable in order to be safe, and me being fun-loving and excitable, and me being opinionated and emotional, and suddenly I'm the elephant in every room. Even denying myself pleasures that are offered to me is not seen as me being selfless for refusing to take up MORE resources, its seen as some kind of proof of my two faced selfishness. Of my hypocrisy. So if I ask to be taken out for a nice dinner? Or for a pretty dress? Or for a loving relationship? Or friends? Or if I call people out on these behaviours which TECHNICALLY aren't their fault (Because its actually the fault of the system that abandoned me and my people in the first place leaving us to become scapegoats and resource drains)? I have to live with seeing the pain in my families eyes every time I get excitable or want to talk or whatever. I have to live with the fact that my family would be less tired without me. I have to live with the fact that I feel like I'm abusive to everyone who is dumb enough to care about me because I am genuinely draining to be around for most people even if I didn't have breakdowns and impulse control issues and attachment issues. It is HUMILIATING to be such a burden, to have people look at your family with pity. And it is HUMILIATING to seek comfort for these issues the only way I can, by seeking attention and comfort from my already tired family, only to be met with defensiveness, apprehension, and guilt. I wish I was physically disabled sometimes because then I'd have proof that I'm not selfish and childish and a crybaby.

[@CadaverTheRat]

I feel every word of this. I wish disabled people of any kind could stop being treated as selfish or inhuman for not being able to function or provide normally. I wish people believed us and loved us - not "despite it" but through it all

[@galaxyjam3742]

@@CadaverTheRat I'm so glad that my words were significant to you. Also, for reading all of that you must have the patience of a GOD.

[@strigiformthunderstorm]

Chronically ill and I joke about feeling like the roach from The Metamorphosis a lot. The disgust, resentment, and fear are so real. Most people don't even want to think about your reality because it threatens the idea that if you do the "right things", nothing can destroy your life out of nowhere. You end up walking this surreal line between complete isolation and constant performance in order to manage the emotional responses of able bodied people around you. So many people get sick and lose their partners, friends, and family over it. Lose their careers, their hobbies, their independance; all the things that previously made up their identity. You become a perfect abuse target/scapegoat, especially for people who you're dependant on. Not everyone survives it. This is part of why community is so vital for disabled people.

[@Geeky_Riley]

I am kind of facing this. My mom raised me to be dependent on her. But when her mother became dependent, she pushed me away. Finally tried to teach me to be productive because she couldn't mentally handle two people needing her support. When I still struggled, she let me move in with the first guy that expressed an interest in a long term relationship. He seemed to understand at first that I was a horrible combination of sheltered, autistic and depressed. I did what I could like dishes but suddenly I was told I was a drain. Suddenly I was made to feel like I had to try and function like a normal person. No work my way up there. I had to be able to do stuff like him. Told if I could hold a job, even if it was 99% just standing in one spot and talking to people, I wasn't disabled. That I was using it as an excuse. I was made to feel bad that I couldn't do what him and his friends felt I should be able to do. I just got out of this situation so I'm still recovering mentally. It hurts to feel like a drain. I want to be independent. I crave it! But now I'm being told to sit back and focus on my health. I feel like a burden even with people that love and care for my wellbeing above all else. Point is...I can relate to this story on feeling like I'm just taking. That it's hurting people. No one should feel like this. It-feels-like-crap. I'm happy to improve myself but I wish a voice didn't scream at me that I can do more when I sit down.

[@poppin2249]

My disability makes it impossible to work full time as I can’t control my emotions , (panic attacks and tears), because of mental illness, as soon as employers find out I’m fired from my job. I feel less than human and a parasite. I hate myself and wish I was no longer a burden.

[@SharpestLiVES13]

As an only child, my mother and I were the primary caregivers of my father when he could no longer walk. We loved him so much and did everything we could to best care for him, but there were so many difficult, frustrating moments when we would ask ourselves: how long is this going to last? I couldn't finish this story. It just hit close to home, and even if my father already passed away, it still hurts for me to think that there were moments I would wish "this would all be over".

[@kjg498]

I read The Metamorphosis as one of my choice books for a Summer Reading assignment. I remember being particularly confused, but also saddened at Gregor's fate. Looking back, this is probably the most interesting summary of the story I've seen.

[@AntoinettexKitten]

It sucks when you're physically capable but your brain is so much in control that it makes you feel like you can't do anything. I developed a weird chronic pain at 16 after my abusive boyfriend SAd me when I tried to leave him for my current boyfriend of 15 years now. After i went to the hospital and got treated i still couldn't walk or even wear clothing on my lower half. The police didn't care when I finally got to give my statement and the doctor to back me up. After i was healed physically I was still in pain. Probably because of the stress of being disregarded as well as the trauma. 15 years later im still in pain. When my sister had my first nephew 2 years after my assault I was talking to her about how it felt during and after because our mom had me and my sister's via cesarean section so i couldn't talk to her about the pain. My sister said it felt like how I always explained my injuries but the difference was that she got something beautiful from the pain while all i got was trauma.

[@grimmcorvid5713]

If skmething grinds my gears its people blaming me for my disability. "You think you have it hard? I have to take care of you! I have it harder!"

[@risacooper]

I remember being out with my mom and aunt and uncle. My mom can't walk that far anymore, so for holidays or day trips we bring a wheelchair. We were out crossing a bridge, when some people that knew my aunt and uncle walked up and started talking to us. And when I say us, I mean me, my aunt and uncle. It was like my mom wasn't even there. The wheelchair was facing away because we'd been pushing it, and the people just stepped behind her and completely ignored her. I kept myself out of the conversation and walked in front of my mom so she wasn't completely separated. We exchanged a look. It was both "wow they're rude" and "yeah this was to be expected". And it pisses me off that that behavior was "something to be expected". My mom doesn't have a mental disability, only a physical one, BUT EVEN THEN they have no right just treating her like she's not there. People don't realize how different they treat people with disabilities until they have it themselves.

[@aceofstripes1125]

As a part-time caregiver for a stroke, survived family friend, this is something I needed to hear. Thank you.

[@steelesauer7430]

I have chronic migraine syndrome---something which disabled me for a seven odd years, but I've been able to treat so that I can live a mostly normal life now (though I still have to live with monthly migraine attacks and frequent aura and prodrome). It was so severe that for many years I contemplated taking my own life to make it stop. Most of the time, if I mention it, people only think of the surface issues: a nasty, dizzying headache and a couple days in bed. What they don't realize is that chronic migraine syndrome as a disability is isolating and ugly: days in the ER with IV painkillers, vomiting and diarrhea, abysmal hygiene because you're in too much pain to clean up after yourself or your environment, having to forfeit jobs and education and even relationships with friends or family, the lack of any real meaningful sleep, and more. People are repulsed when they actually see the beetle. They never stop to think that they might someday become one, too.

[@retosius7962]

I myself am a caretaker for my mother, and this resonates with me in so many ways. I have cared for her for most of my life, and have felt the burdens for so long. but, I also cant leave her go. I know she needs help, and I couldn't bear the thought of her suffering. this is why I both understand and despise gregor's family. I appreciate you posting this video, gave me something to relate to.

[@zebracorne]

My own understanding of the Metamorphosis is how Gregor identifies with how people treat him - his boss, his abusive family - to the point that he finally breaks and becomes what the others see him as. This mechanism is commonplace in dissociative disorders, leading to the creation of animal or monstrous alters. I say that Gregor's family is abusive because they are perfectly able to work and they have enough money on the side but they still relied on his work, pressured him to work untill he broke. Moreover, Kafka has been abused by his own family and treated this way and called "cockroach" or something by his father. Gregor's story is completely a symbolic autobiography of what Kafka experienced.

[@owloftheinkwell9925]

Can I just say the thumbnail is horrifying, the legs growing out is just creepy in a good way.

[@kozykenma8004]

I’m glad to see other people with this take on the story. In school, my professor basically just talked about how the story was about the family becoming free from Gregor’s unconscious need to control and have his family depend on him. I always thought it was crazy that Gregor was seen as the “monster” in the story by actually becoming a “monster,” rather than his family for eventually abandoning him when he could no longer functionally care for himself.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

As someone who has be “a little different” for a lot of their life, I get this story and the message. I’ve always had, shall we say, a comprehension problem. More of less a for of dyslexia. Strangely this has lead me being part of special programs when I was in school. When you’re one of “those kids” you often get treated differently because, well, you are a bit different. Sure you might not be some sort of bug creature, but you definitely stand out with your learning or social problems. Strangely enough you’d be surprised how this actually gives one a unique perspective on life. Sure it might seem irritating if your one of this “normal people” but those people don’t take a moment to think how it’s like for these outcasts. Not until one day they end up, for whatever reason, in the same spot Acceptance is often the word, but it’s strange how often is actually happens. Sometimes almost natural to do the opposite. Even if you don’t mean to. So I whole heartedly agree that if taking a moment to understand can go a long way

[@Mirai_the_weeb]

I have degenerative bones disease and I'm in the same spot. My whole life is my job, and I'm at the point I've got at most 5-10 years before I have to use a wheelchair (right now I use a walker). It was something that's gradually gotten worse, and I thought I'd be fine but, now not so much. I'm only 22 years old too. The only community that you could join at any time is the disability community

[@Spinosaurus_guy]

I actually have a story like this. My mother once fell on her knee during an obstacle course. Turns out, in that same knee, she started developing arhtosis. The fall speeded the process up, and a few years later, she needed to get surgery. After that, she had to stay at home for 2 months... and it was really sad. She would actively ask for people to not wash the dishes or other chores so that she didn't get the feeling that she was useless. Sometimes she even cried... Luckely she's better now.

[@zoobiefish2288]

I can somewhat relate to Gregor Samsa as an autistic person. I understand autism isn’t a physical disability and I don’t mean to say mental disabilities are entirely comparable to physical ones. I know very well that I’m privileged to have an able body, and I acknowledge that mental and physical disabilities each come with their own unique challenges that aren’t fair to compare with one another. That said, I do notice that in order to be seen as “tolerable” or even “acceptable” in society, I often have to hide my autistic traits-which usually means I have to pretend to be an entirely different person, as my autism makes me who I am. I am proud of being autistic and I love that I have a unique perspective on the world, and the advantage is that I can often notice details in things that go unnoticed by neurotypicals. However, the moment someone sees me meltdown from sensory overload, or the moment I have to hide away at a party because it’s too damn loud, or the moment I start crying and covering my ears because the sounds of the construction site across the street hurts like hell, I’m now a burden. The fact that I pass as “normal” so well but have extreme anxiety and struggle to live independently, can’t drive, and can’t even work because my understanding of social cues is just too limited, often gets me scorn from people who barely know me and even my own family members. Again, it’s a privilege that I can talk, I can go to university, and by all appearances I can pass as “normal” just enough to get by. But it’s incredibly draining and disheartening that I have to wear this sort of mask just to be treated respectfully. One thing I’ve even noticed is that if I mention in passing that I’m autistic, whomever I’m speaking to will “dumb down” their vocabulary and speak to me as if I’m a child. Sometimes I’ve had people just be outright cruel to me the moment they found out I was autistic, like I wasn’t worthy of their respect. So like I said in the beginning, I relate to Gregor in the sense that I experience a lot of barriers in my life and get treated poorly even by loved ones. I at least have my functioning body though, and I realize that’s a privilege many don’t have.

[@lerneanlion]

I have a question: If Gregor actually left, somehow found a better place for himself and even a family of his own, will his family still wanted him back?

[@annahoffman5189]

This hit me. I myself had my own “bug” transformation. The part about the isolation disability gives you is very real. It’s so hard to have friends when your life revolves around your health. The guilt I feel over canceling hang outs adds up. And people get sick of it pretty quickly. I talk openly about my struggles, and people have empathy, but not for long. As much as our society preaches acceptance, not many people are accepting of things they deem burdening.

[@mickmash13]

I work as a caregiver, & I also have a disability. Isolation of disabled people I work with (who need 24/7 care) and their families is a huge problem, as is caregiver fatigue & burnout. I have a physical disability affecting my joints & mobility. It can be incredibly frustrating to feel trapped and stifled by your own body & feeling like an inconvenience. I can't do everything I want because of my own body causing so much pain. Anyone can become disabled at any time. Whether from age, injury, disease, or a medical condition, you can become disabled at anytime. It's not a moral failing. It's a fact of life.

[@onidaaitsubasa4177]

This story made me cry, this is the first I've heard about this book, had the main character in the story been born in modern times, perhaps he could've become some sort of streamer, using text to speech to talk to his audience and fans, something that would've filled his life with purpose and a way for him not to feel like a parasite on his sister or those around him, maybe even a way for him to keep some human dignity, technology has really helped a lot of isolated disabled people to help live more independent and fulfilling lives and even given them a way to socialize in ways they never could've in previous generations, the isolation and seeing his family forget about him was really the sad thing, a lot of people with disabilities whose families have been so supportive, and have had modern technology to help them, including a very successful and popular Vtuber, wouldn't have such a positive outlook on life without those two factors.

[@arturouribebertolotti1169]

congratulations, you just made an already extremely sad story became even sadder. But truth be told, this, like many people here in the comment section, it reminds of some personal experiences. The case being that I was in both roles of the disabled and the caregiver. Maybe it wasn't as extreme as other, but this is the only perspective I can give: Six years ago, before the pandemic, I suffered through a time of depression (including suicidal ideation). I think it wasn't a clinical case, although I'm not so sure, but more a circunstancial process in regards to stuff in my life. The thing is, I barely got out of bed, I didn't find meaning in my dreams and aspirations, and I loose all motivations for activities; I couldn't even get the luxury to cry about my situation because I felt that I didn't get the right to cry because it wasn't really an awful situation. And through all that I felt like a parasite sucking out resources, time and even happiness of my family. Thankfully, little by little, I went on, changed parts of my life that felt like initiator of my problems, and also found some help. I don't think I'm 100% recovered, but I can safely admit that I'm better than I was before. And now, six years later, recently I filled the shoes of the caregiver when my dad was hospitalized for a week and then have to recover for a month in bed due to an illness of his age and some bad health choices that are common. My father, is a little like Gregorio, someone who put a lot of himself in his work almost to cover his entire identity, solely to provide for us. Thankfully, me and my siblings are of working age and, although we don't get much money as him, we try to aliviate the financial weight he put on his shoulders. But, when he became ill, one of the core activities he does, his work, was canceled; and even his most precious hobby couldn't be done. This, of course, put him in a unhappy mood, although not like crying or getting angry, but a little of what I felt during my worst years: desinterest, lack of motivation and even not seeing an end to the unhappinnes or suffering. The only activity he did was to watch TV, and he wasn't even that emotionally invested in the content; he just watched the news of what was going in the world which sour the mood for everyone in the house (even I see a lot political things, but even for me this was too much). All of us tried to motivate him to take new activities, like read a book, or play all together a board game; but he refused every time, saying that he's not one of doing those things and that he's content with just watching TV, but we all could see he wasn't. Then, I say to him one thing that I regret: you need to put some effort if you want to enjoy things... or something like that. I don't know if I say that because of frustration or because I thought that I was helping. Many times I heard that kind of phrase when I was in my most depressed moments, even from the professional help that I could find where I live. The thing is, I always hated that, because it feels like the person didn't acknowledge that it was bloody difficult to do that and it wasn't like I didn't try to find some joy in life, but I felt like I was battling my mind to just stay in this world... and now I just say that same thing to my dad. The thing is, I don't even know if what I said helped or damaged him. Maybe it was actually useful because saying that works, or maybe it could work with his case only. Or maybe it actually didn't help at all and I just hurt a loved one. I'm not even a mental health professional to know what was the result of that action, and after my experiences I kind of distrust some of them (also, the country where I live doesn't use many resources in these problems). So that decision will kind of hunt me know. Sorry for the long comment, but I just wanted to say that I can see and relate in some extent to Gregorio and to his family, although the last ones I still borderline hate them.

[@rhov-anion]

My husband had to become my caregiver in my 20s, just a few years after we got married. 15 year later, I know I am extremely lucky that he stayed with me (I've seen friends leave their spouses for less) although I hear a lot of negativity from his family. Every time his parents fly in for a visit, they leave me feeling intense guilt. I have burst into tears many times as I wondered how much better his life might have been if he never met me. As someone who had depression and suicidal thoughts long before being diagnosed with a disability, this feeling of "He would be better off without me existing" can become overwhelming.

[@The_Pickle-Man]

"That's so Kafkaesque"

[@bethmarriott9292]

All other things aside, Toph's clapback every time the Gaang forgot she was blind was peak quality

[@ayom5600]

This hurt to get through, to feel so seen from 100+ years ago. And the analysis helped finally get through it thank you for the words of kindness and thoughtfulness behind this video!

[@shayerahol6434]

I loved this video. Anyone can become disabled at any time yet people will push us away like we're monsters, human sized beetles. People need that separation because it's so horrifying to them that at any time they'll become just like us that they'd rather pretend we don't exist. I was an unpaid caregiver and I am a disabled person myself and it gave me a lot of perspective, feelings, etc. I think one thing able-bodied people don't understand is most disabled people don't want to need help. Most of us only start asking for it after we've hit below rock bottom. A lot of able-bodied people act like we're burdens who choose to be burdens. But we're not burdens and a lot of us would rather be independent but have no choice in the matter.