- Two people in chairs,
there's a lot of people who'd say, "Oh, my God. How cute." If it's a boy and a girl-- - Do you think it's cute? (laughing) - Do you think I'm cute? - I think you're attractive. (laughing) - Oh, God. I'll take that. (laughing) (mysterious music) - My name is Bjork. - I'm Rain. - I'm Ian Laconney, I'm a dating coach. I have no idea, they didn't tell me. - (sighs) Okay. (laughing) - Wait, so everybody has one? So, y'all can't get mad at me. This was consensual, bitches. - I think so. I have a disability but I
haven't been super involved, honestly, because I think I've struggled to accept my own disability. So I've kind of shied away from it. - Oh, my God. I'm so nervous. Hi, guys. (laughing) Okay I am sweating, I am nervous. I am anxious, and this is
a lot. (nervous laughing) - Hello.
- Hello. - Welcome to the party. - How's it going? - I don't know, y'all tell me. This is crazy. (laughing) Shit, does it make you uncomfortable to have to tell the world? - There's no way you can hide it. - Well, let's talk about it then. - When did you find out
you have a disability? - Well, it was a birth defect. - Okay. - A lot of the stuff that it affects is my balance, sometimes my hands will just randomly stop doing things, so-- - Oh, okay. This is really hard, and I don't want her to have to stand for this long, you guys. - No, you're fine. (laughing) - I got nothing, dude. Nothing. - You were born this way, obviously, so maybe something didn't develop right, or maybe something
developed the wrong way. That's my guess. I can't say that more
scientifically than that. That's what I have to say. - Well, you said "birth defect." I would go with spina bifida because I know a lot of people
with cerebral palsy, and I wanna say spina
bifida to be more out there. - Okay, is that your final answer? - Yeah. Did I get you right or wrong? - Wrong. (laughing)
- Aw. You wanna tell me what it is? - Cerebral palsy. (laughing)
- (sighs) I knew it. - Door number two. (laughing) - I don't know shit about cerebral palsy. - So, that's a neurological condition and it also affects my muscles, so my muscles are shorter--
- Oh, wow. - And tighter than they're supposed to be, and that kind of throws everything off. - Why do you choose to keep walking instead of using a wheelchair? - Well, I actually do have a wheelchair. - Okay. - So, I use the wheelchair for walking more than about two blocks or if I have to stand for a long time. - Yeah. - Like, I'm not opposed
to the word "disability," but that doesn't necessarily mean that I feel like I'm unable to do things. - Right. - You be fucking? (laughing) - Yes. (laughing) The one thing that I have had issues with is initially trying to figure out am I some kind of fetish? - Real shit. Do folks fetishize you? - Yeah. - You should make money off that then. - I know, right? (laughing) Thanks. - Quit whatever you were doing before. (laughing) - I like helping people find new jobs. - Hi
- Hi. - So nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you, I'm Ian. - I'm Rae. - My first impression was that
you don't have a disability, and I'm sure you get that a lot. - You can't tell what's wrong? - Are you in pain right now? - Yeah, I usually get a lot of it in my abdominal area and lower back. - Is it something that only affects women? - Men do not have the necessary organs for this to happen to them. - Is it endometriosis? Because I know there's not
too much research about it. - It's chronic fatigue syndrome. - I can't WebMD this shit. Can I just say sickle cell? Because I'm educated.
- Yeah, you can totally say sickle cell. - What is going on with your body? - Sickle cell.
- No fucking way! (laughing) - I'm gonna go run around
this goddamned thing like I told y'all I'm fucking smart. - No, no. (laughing) - So, was I right? - No.
(sighs) - Did I guess you right or wrong? - You got me right, which was like-- I was shocked, but yes. Good job. I have endometriosis.
- I don't know even know-- - Have you heard of endometriosis? - No, I have not heard of it. - Oh, big surprise. So, endometriosis affects one in 10 women. The little cells that line
the walls of your uterus decide they wanna move elsewhere, so they start growing
on other organs inside the abdominal cavity, other
places in the body as well but they react to hormones the same way, so they shed. - Nope. - Bleed.
- Nope. - Yeah.
- Nope. - Yeah.
- Wait. Holy shit, you got period in your stomach? - Yeah, and it doesn't have a way out because it's not going
out through the hoohah. So, then it like--
- That's bullshit. - Sits inside. - Whoa. - Creates cysts. - Did y'all know people could do this? That their bodies go
through shit like that? I didn't know people could
go through shit like that. I'm gonna see that shit
for a while in my head. Of course you can. - Hello. - Hi. - How's it going? - It's good, I don't
want you to be nervous. I guarantee you there's
nothing you're gonna ask me that hasn't been asked or said. - Alright, mental or physical? - (sighs) Both. (laughing) - Does it affect you day to day? - Yes. - Is it noticeable? - What you hear is related
to my disability, yes. - Is it a... Obviously I can see the
symptoms manifesting themselves. - And I'm holding them back,
which is kind of painful. - Does it cause you to--
(sniffles) - I'm sorry if this is offensive. - It's okay, no. - You're the first person who I've felt like I might offend. I don't know why, but-- - Trust me, I've heard it all. - I'm sure, yeah, but is it gonna cause you to sneeze? - No. - So, I feel like I already think that the physical might be Tourette's because I've seen you tic twice. And then you've--
- Girl, how you know I'm not doing the Bankhead Bounce? - And then your breath--
- How do you know I'm not? How do you know,,, - First of all--
- I am not? - That's a age check. So, I'm sticking with Tourette's. - Is it Tourette's? - Is that your final answer? - I think that's my final answer. - If I had to guess, I would say some sort of sinus condition. So, was I right? - You were wrong. - Obviously. - So, was I right? - You were so right! - I have Tourette's Syndrome. - Tourette's, okay. - I would have never thought, with what I know I from TV and
movies and all that stuff-- - What do you know from TV and movies? - Just the way it's depicted. It's blurting out random stuff. - Yeah, that's one of the
biggest misconceptions. - What are some of your tics
that present themselves? - (coughs) Kind of a vocal thing. That you hear right there, and sometimes if it's really
bad it's hard to walk. It can get so bad that it's hard to chew. - Right - It's hard to breathe. It's hard to swallow. It's hard to sleep. It hurts, and I can feel the tics coming. - Yeah - The force is so strong that I've broken bones, and I've--
- Whoa! - My ribs are always out. - Is there any treatment? - Medications. - Have you tried any of them? - Yes. - Do they work?
- Dozens. No. I end up with every side-effect, and so It's kind of a question of do I take the medication to
make the world comfortable - Or do I just--
- Or do I not take it, and I'm comfortable. They're gonna be staring at me anyway. So, I might as well just say, "I have Tourette's Syndrome," right? - Well, thanks for sharing
and answering my questions. - No problem. - Yeah, nice to meet you. - You too. - What's up?
- Hey. - You're not gonna stand on that, right? - No.
- Okay. Okay, you're gonna rest your leg. Okay. Cool, I thought she was gonna stand on it, like, "I'm gonna be your height." I was gonna say, "Get your ass down." (laughing) (laughing) - Do you laugh when you're nervous? - Yes. - I am!
Can you just hold your horses? - So, obviously, something's
going on with your leg. Is it your leg or is it your hip? - Neither. - Is your walking limited then? - Walking is limited but more
so standing in one place. - Are you able to exercise? - No, not anymore. - I'm so puzzled. Chronic fatigue seems
like the answer, but-- Sure, that's my final answer. - I don't know what this would be called, but maybe your nervous system just has a hard time communicating
with another system. I don't know if that-- - Is that your final answer? - I don't know if that's
like really vague, but I think that's my final guess. - Okay. - Tell me what goes on
in this beautiful body. (laughing) - You were right for
one of them, actually. - Oh, really? High five!
- Yay. (laughing) - I think that's the first one. - Yeah. - So, the first one is
chronic fatigue syndrome. - Other ones are postural
orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. - Okay, that sounds
something like heart-related. - Yes. Basically means when I'm upright, my heart rate goes up really fast, and that causes my
blood pressure to lower. And my last one that I'm gonna talk about today is narcolepsy. - People have told me
they think I'm narcoleptic because I fall asleep mid-conversation, but I don't think I have
a clinical diagnosis. I just get bored.
(laughing) And I fall asleep.
- Yeah. You probably know of narcolepsy. Everything that's supposed
to happen normally, like your sleep-wake cycles, I don't even have a sleep-wake cycle. It's basically always, "Go
to sleep, go to sleep." So, certain emotional responses can make you kind of lose muscle tone in certain parts of your body. - Oh, so you can literally fall over? - No, most people don't fall over. It's just a weak feeling. - Oh, okay. Well, thanks for sharing. - Thank you
- That's fascinating. - Hello. - I'm Shawn. - I'm Bjork, nice to meet you. - Man, you are built. - That's my disability. - That's your dis-- (laughing) - Alright, mental or physical? - Mental. - What do you do for work? - I am a mechanic now. I mean, I was a mechanic then, too. - Where did you used to work before? - I was in the Air force. - Oh, you're a veteran!
- Yes. - So you probably have PTSD. - Why would you immediately go to that? - Because veterans, that's-- - Veterans are people
from all walks of life-- - I know that, but it's like, fuck. Veterans get treated like shit. - Yes. - Is this because of some trauma? - Yes. - It's PTSD. - Yeah.
- Okay. - It was!
- Yeah. (laughing)
- Okay. - I have mental health problems myself, and so, I guess, I know that it's not just Air force people
that suffer it, obviously. - What would you like
folks to know about you? - Don't tiptoe around me. - What you mean by that? - You get people who have
no idea how to react, don't know what to say, and they kind of just on egg shells. - Do you feel more control of it now? - No. (laughing) By no means. You find ways to manage it
and plan your day accordingly. - Thank you for sharing and
for serving our country. - Absolutely, thanks for your support. - Hello. - Hey. - I'm Bjork. - I'm Lonnie, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you. So tell me how your disability
affects your daily life. - Because of it, I don't really do much. If I'm not working,
I'm just kind of alone. I want to be alone, but also
I kind of hate being alone. It really-- - It's like a fight? - Do you have to take any
regular medication for it? - Yes, I do. - So, what happens if you don't? - If I don't take my medication, I guess, the easiest way to put it is, I might not be here. - Are you in pain? - Not physically. (laughing) - Aw, sweetie! (laughing) Let's hug, we should hug. I'm sorry that you're in pain. Okay, I wanna say depression. - I've struggled with anxiety, so that's what I would think. - I have Borderline Personality Disorder. - Oh, okay. - Yeah, so it's an umbrella. There's a lot of things under it. I mean, I still have anxiety. I still have depression. - Like I have a--
- Just in the extremes - Yeah, yeah, it's always in the extremes, and I had a friend who, I loved her and then she'd do one
thing that'd piss me off, and I'd suddenly was
like, "I fucking hate her. "She's the worst. She's such a bitch." Or something like that. - I never would have guessed. So, thank you for sharing. - Yeah, of course. (laughing) - Hello, boo. - Hello. - You look strong than a motherfucker. - Have you been this way your whole life? - Actually, what do you mean by this way? - Have you not been able
to walk your whole life? - There was a small window
where I was able to walk, but I've always had a disability. - Okay. - Can I catch it if I touch you? - No.
- I'm just teasing, - Does this have to do
with your spine at all? It does?
- Yes - I think I know what this is, but I can't remember what it's called. I'm so blanking on the word, it's hurting my feelings. (laughing) I think you have a problem
with your spinal cord. - I wanna say muscular dystrophy. That's the only thing that comes to mind. - I'm going to my Rolodex because
I do watch Grey's Anatomy. I'm not a fucking idiot. I'm gonna say spina bifida. - You are dead on. - No fucking way! - Do you know other people with it? - Yeah.
- Yeah. Are you like best buds
with those people or-- - In general, I've always really kind of gravitated away from
people with disabilities. - Why? - There's always been that stigma that I've never been in special
ed and stuff like that. - Yeah, I feel like,
"Oh, they're gonna see me more that way if I'm
around people like that." - Exactly. In 2014, I did this pageant called "Miss Wheelchair Washington" and I was crowned Miss Wheelchair Washington. - You were crowned Miss
Wheelchair Washington? Wow, so I'm in the presence of royalty? (laughing) Do they have a Mister
Wheelchair Washington? - No, but we had actually
discussed having men and women. I thought that was pretty awesome. - What do you think my chances are? - Pretty good. - Yeah, pretty good? Alright, cool. (laughing) Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you. - It's always great because y'all like to challenge my perception about life. And I got some right. - I have distanced myself
from people with disabilities and when I see somebody with
a very visible disability, I think it brings up my own insecurities, but this was really great
for helping me realize that and continue to work on that. - I get anxious, and
so it's happening now, but, yeah, I have severe
anxiety. (nervous laughing) It is something that
keeps me away from a lot. So, yeah, I mean, it affects my life, but I guess I just feel like some
people have it worse than me. Ugh, hold on, can we pause? I'm gonna cry. (laughing) - [Bjork] Thank you, sorry. (laughing) (mysterious music)
