Ugh, now I know why you reacted so badly to my postings about hunter-gatherers having optimal human health. The only advice I can give you is that your mind is still healthy. Is there any reason you couldn't be a lawyer or academic?
My mind isn't healthy, I just do a very good job of hiding it.
I typically don't interact with people during the bad moments and it shows during mentally intensive activities so that's something I try to avoid doing around other people. Most of it is tied to my physical health, though, if I'm to be honest. There's the stereotypical "brain fog" but there's also the fact that my health puts me in a position where there'll be bouts of intensified pain or nausea, or cramps, throughout the day at random moments making it difficult if not impossible to commit to anything for more than 20-30 minutes.
I've always found it difficult to describe. The best analogy I have for it is an uncontrollable itch. My brain feels itchy, and using it more makes it itch more. The moments where I can be sufficiently fluent or reasoned in a significant capacity (like the superbly long post you quoted) are few and far between. It's a big part of why my "at home" career as a writer has petered out and my portfolio has become outdated. I can't keep up with the brain power that's consistently needed day-in day-out.
One of the biggest consequences I've found is losing the ability to parse out complex systems in my mind. It used to be that I could imagine a system (like, say, a machine) and take it apart mentally to see how it works or to figure out how to fix it if it's broken. I could have my thoughts branch out into several different directions and have it all make sense to me at any given moment, lending me the ability to understand complicated ideas easily. This is no longer the case. My mind is mostly restricted to singular paths of thought now or, if there requires branching out, I have to do it step by step repeatedly if I hope to hold onto the understanding I've gained.
It's why I don't get into heated, extended debates here on CFC and it's also why I don't bother talking about things I don't have a vested interest in. It used to be that I could soak up knowledge about things I don't care about, but these days it's hard enough to hold onto knowledge about things I
do care about. My ability to churn out 300+ word detailed arguments is essentially nonexistent at this point unless you catch me on a good day, and even then it's unlikely that I would be able to do it more than two or three times before that opportunity passes. It helps if I have an emotional reason to get something produced.
Which part of Canada do you have in mind? You need to research this carefully, as some provinces cover different things, and sometimes for different age groups. And if she needs disability benefits, those also vary wildly from province to province. Here in Alberta, you're lucky to find a regular family doctor at all; some people have said that if I had so much trouble with mine, why didn't I just switch doctors...
Because there's nobody to switch to. Unless it's an emergency, I'm more comfortable with female doctors who actually have some clue about some particular issues, and my doctor is finally listening to me and taking everything seriously. She knows now that I do my own reading on things, and I was proved right when it really counted.
I'm not trying to discourage you - just being realistic. While it's true that a serious illness won't usually bankrupt people here or result in them losing the house, it can happen if the medication one needs isn't covered by the province, or if you fall through the cracks in other ways. In my case, my dad was in the hospital but once he was waitlisted for a nursing home, they started charging $$$$... and sending me the bills (after a dementia diagnosis, the patient is deemed no longer competent to make decisions, sign contracts, make financial arrangements... which meant that I was unable to pay certain household bills since the accounts were in my dad's name and they wouldn't make changes without his permission - which he could no longer give).
So do your research. Most things work out, but all it takes is one crazy catch-22 situation to make life very difficult.
Valka brings up good points,
@demiurgenext. While going to the hospital and seeing specialists won't bankrupt you here as it would in the US, there are still many costs to healthcare in Canada. There are many services that aren't covered by the provincial insurance, as well as medications and equipment. I've spent probably $2000 in the last two years on healthcare.
Understood. We have a lot of family in Canada, so we aren't going into this blind. We'll almost certainly be in Ontario. It will also save us a huge amount on tuition - my wife pursued her PhD at UofT, and still has a lot of contacts there.
Ontario is the best choice for access to disability.
Vancouver is where I needed to be but Ontario is ahead in many respects when it comes to healthcare and the benefits surrounding that.
Luckily, disability in BC (once you finally get on it) does provide some dental coverage per year. Not much but enough to get everything checked out and tinkered with every year.
