1) This idea of "secondary gains" is coming up a lot this week in relation to #LongCovid. I have a few thoughts on it.

#NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride https://twitter.com/TomKindlon/status/1317884385094414336

2) You can tell this concept was created by an able-bodied person who has never experienced the actual impact of chronic illness on their finances/relationships. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

3) Only someone who has never been forced out of work and into dependent relationships could ever see it as somehow advantageous. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

4) In reality, anyone faking or exaggerating an illness for the supposed gains would figure out pretty quickly that there are none, and move on fast. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid #DisabilityPride

5) People with chronic illnesses generally struggle to get on to the DSP, which isn't much to begin with, and come Christmas, the lowered JobSeeker rate won't be funding anyone's fun holiday lifestyle. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid

6) I'm not sure what they think the secondary gain of mobility equipment is; either you need it and it's useful, or you don't and it's not. Using it in public can garner you all sorts of negative attention though, so no particular gain on that front. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid

7) If anything, chronically ill people risk being abused for using mobility equipment inconsistently, as the concept of remitting relapsing symptoms remains a difficult one for many people. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid #DisabilityPride

8) You also tend to cop judgement for "giving up" if you use mobility equipment to reduce pain, or to save your energy for later. Apparently you're only supposed to use it if the task at hand is impossible without it. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

9) The idea that you can come out as chronically ill and start receiving a bunch of positive attention from friends family and carers (if you have carers) it is also a joke. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

10) What you figure out very quickly when you become chronically ill, is that no one actually wants to hear about it, or deal with it in general. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

11) I just watched an episode of Grace and Frankie where Bud started dating a chronically ill woman, and instead of embracing her, his family starts playing a drinking game where they all take a sip and giggle whenever she says says anything "super needy". #NEISVoid #MECFS

12) Super disappointing from the writers of a usually great show, but it demonstrates the reality of what actually happens to you socially when you come out as chronically ill. It's not a shower of empathy and support. It's a soul destroying shit show. #NEISVoid #MECFS

13) More than that, people loose their families to disbelief over chronic illness. It's actually not uncommon for doctors to take family members aside for a quiet word, advising them to stop "enabling" chronic illness "behaviour". #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid

14) Chronically ill people are routinely dismissed, bullied, abandoned, mocked or given "tough love" by family members who have bought into the "secondary gains" narrative. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid #DisabilityPride

15) "Social mystique" and "importance" play no role here either. No one is coming to your parties because they think your weird digestive issues, headaches and having to lie down all the time are cool. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

16) And if you think having a chronic illness is a convenient way to avoid unwanted sexual attention ... please go google "rape culture" and keep reading until you understand why that idea is fucked. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

17) The whole "secondary gains" narrative does function very well as ammunition for family violence offenders who like to gaslight and shame their partners. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid #DisabilityPride

18) People who lack physical and financial independence make excellent targets for certain kinds of abusers too, so denying people supports on the off chance they may be seeking "secondary gains" is a deeply dangerous game. #NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid #DisabilityPride

19) I've been using the #DisabilityPride hashtag on this thread, because in addition to being ludicrous, the concept of "secondary gains" keeps a lot of chronically ill people trapped in a cycle of shame.

#NEISVoid #MECFS #LongCovid

20) It puts us in the position of being judged morally, not for *being* disabled, but for *identifying* as disabled, which is, in effect, a very sneaky gatekeeping method. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

21) Our society is ostensibly set up to support disabled people in very particular ways: the DSP, the NDIS, the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Peoples (which Australia has signed). #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

22) But all of that can be neatly sidestepped if the system both refuses to acknowledge your disability, and shames you for daring to acknowledge it yourself. #NEISVoid #DisabilityPride #LongCovid

23) How ironic that the very existence of the "secondary gains" narrative effectively ensures a total absence of secondary gains. #NEISVoid #MECFS #DisabilityPride #LongCovid