The Cripple Chronicles

Hi friends 

This episode is a long one, I thought it might be when I was recording but it ended up much longer as it is something I am passionate about, something that I live through and experience on a daily basis. I am not one to get political on the podcast as the current political landscape feels like hell to try and direct what is going on. 

This is an episode about reforms, what these reforms ACTUALLY mean, austerity, poverty, the benefits system that has been built upon suspicion instead of support. In the last episode I did some more editing, finding some b-roll and adding in some extra clips - for this episode I actually had a lot of things that I could add in - but this episode may have ended up being closer to 3 hours, so I've decided that all of the other things I have to say will be discussed within the next episode.

I have listed materials I used for research below, as well as where you can follow me on socials and get in touch if you have anything you dont wanna say in the comments section. 

Resources used;
Want to fact-check the mess? Curious if I made it all up? Here's where you can see the stats and studies I mentioned in this episode, so you can scream into the void with evidence.

Scope's 2024 Disability Price Tag Report (£1,010 per month extra costs)
https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/extra-costs/disability-price-tag/

Joseph Rowntree Foundation – UK Poverty 2023 (nearly 30 percent of disabled people live in poverty)
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2023

JRF – 7 in 10 low-income disabled households go without essentials
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/going-without-essentials-depth-cost-living-crisis

Resolution Foundation – Disabled people £2,800 worse off on UC
https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-long-and-winding-road/

Citizens Advice – Over 60 percent of UC claimants have debt deductions
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/policy/policy-research-topics/welfare-policy-research/the-deduction-trap/

BMJ – Universal Credit linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3345

DWP – £37 billion cut from welfare system between 2010 and 2021
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/cumulative-impact-tax-and-welfare-reforms

NHS England prescription charges (£9.90 per item)
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/prescription-charges

Free prescriptions in Wales (2007)
https://www.nhsconfed.org/news/wales-celebrates-10-years-free-prescriptions

Free prescriptions in Scotland (2011)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12930321

Free prescriptions in Northern Ireland (2010)
https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/free-prescriptions-introduced-ni

Ministry of Justice – Over 70 percent of PIP appeals are successful
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022

National Audit Office – Problems with PIP assessments
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/personal-independence-payment-assessment-process/

DWP – Fraud rate for PIP is 0 percent, DLA is 0.1 percent
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2022-to-2023

UC fraud rate between 10.9 and 13.9 percent
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2022-to-2023

(all other resources linked in YT description I ran out of space here)


📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Follow me: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + TikTok

🎶 Music Credits:
Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez
Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL

Hi friends 💜

In this episode, I’m taking you back to the late '90s and early 2000s, growing up in Scotland in a kind of poverty that wasn’t always visible, but was always there. It wasn’t food bank queues or charity handouts. It was extension cords running through the house, a kitchen that never got finished, and learning how to blend in at school so nobody asked too many questions.

I talk about what it felt like to always be playing catch up, to count pennies for basic things, and how those early experiences still echo through my life now, especially as a disabled adult on benefits. I also talk about the emotional side of poverty, the silence, the shame, and the grit it takes to keep going when you don’t know what’s next.

This isn’t about pity. This is about truth. If you’ve ever felt the weight of financial insecurity or grown up pretending things were fine when they weren’t, this one’s for you.

Don’t forget to follow, share, and if something in this episode resonates. I’d love to hear from you.

Videos + materials used for episode;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0mvtGfr-Sg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofsncCF9O_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8PIVJicYDw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9UlLGAywqU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adi6rVGAbyU&t=64s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1lYI-WNJf4

https://www.gov.scot/publications/poverty-income-inequality-scotland-2019-23/
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2022
https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/news/uk-nursing-students-report-mental-health-struggles-070922
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/student-nurses-facing-high-risk-of-burnout-study-finds-15-07-2022/

📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Follow me: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + TikTok

🎶 Music Credits:
Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez
Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL

Hi friends 💜

Thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of the Cripple Chronicles podcast. a space where I talk openly about life with a disability, navigating mental health, and finding acceptance after trauma.

This episode is about that overwhelming feeling of failure. When you're doing everything you possibly can to cope, but it still feels like you're not doing enough. It’s something that shows up a lot when you’re disabled, especially when society holds you to impossible standards.

You’ll hear some reflective clips I recorded back when I was newly disabled and not coping well. I also talk about what it felt like to live with my fused leg before my amputation, and how internalised ableism and shame creep in even when you're trying your best.

Acceptance is messy. It doesn’t come in one neat moment of clarity. It comes in the everyday struggle to show up, to adapt, to stop equating your worth with productivity or physical ability.

So if you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at disability, or just life in general, you are not alone. This one’s for anyone processing big changes and learning to be gentle with themselves along the way.

📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Follow me: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + TikTok

🎶 Music Credits:
Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez
Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL

Hi friends! 🌻

Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of the Cripple Chronicles podcast. This episode was a bit hard to put together with not wanting to be on camera - but hoping this isnt the norm.

Today’s episode was a tough but important one. I talk about emotionally immature parents — what emotional immaturity looks like, how it impacts childhood development, mental health, self-worth, and how it affects adult relationships later in life.

I share some of my personal experiences navigating family dynamics, including the role of addiction, parentification, and emotional neglect. My goal isn't to place blame, but to understand how these experiences shape us and what healing can look like when we choose to break the cycle.

There are discussions of alcoholism, domestic violence (DV), and estrangement, so please take care while listening if these are sensitive topics for you.

📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Follow me: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + TikTok

🎶 Music Credits:

Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL → Free Download / Angelz
Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez → Free Download / Stream
Chapters:
00:00 - 03:26: Introduction
03:26 - 07:31: What is Emotional Immaturity?
07:31 - 09:13: Real Life Examples
09:13 - 13:46: Addiction and Parentification
13:46 - 16:43: Emotional Context + Impact on Adult Life
16:43 - 20:57: Parents are Humans, Not Heroes
20:57 - 25:17: Increase in Estrangement via Social Media
25:17 - 29:52: Impact on Identity and Living Life
29:52 - 35:07: Navigating Distance and Estrangement
35:07 - 38:15: Closing Thoughts

Topics covered in this episode:

Emotional immaturity in parents
Breaking the cycle of generational trauma
Going no-contact with family
Setting emotional boundaries
Healing after childhood emotional neglect
Parenting, addiction, and complex trauma
Choosing yourself and your mental health
Living with disability and mental health struggles

Hi friends! 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of the podcast. I hope you have enjoyed this episode of this podcast even though it is a shorter one. I wanted to take a little bit of time to sit down and just chat through what was going on in my brain again. If you like please follow so ya dont miss my weekly upload!

Chapters:


Email: [email protected]
Socials: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + Tiktok

Music: Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL https://soundcloud.com/zimplmusic 
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 
Free Download / Angelz: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/zimpl/angelz 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/sNWkFgciVaw

Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez https://soundcloud.com/filo-starquez 
Creative Commons — Attribution - NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 
Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/filo-starquez/reflection 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/cwyzT4Vhx3w

Hi friends! 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of the podcast.I decided to sit down and share what I know about the UK governments current proposal to cut and freeze benefits in the UK like PIP, UC and ADP. Stuff like this makes me increasingly anxious especially because I already have a difficult relationship with money. I dont want to live life in poverty but it feels like I dont really have much of a choice.

I also know there is a proposed plan to not stop benefits something like 'right to try' where people can attempt working without reduction in benefits however there is still not a lot of information on this and Disability Charities like Scope are worried this could be a smoke screen and blending the line between in work benefits and out of work benefits which will impact disabled people.


Email: [email protected]
Socials: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + Tiktok

Music: Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL https://soundcloud.com/zimplmusic 
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 
Free Download / Angelz: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/zimpl/angelz 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/sNWkFgciVaw

Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez https://soundcloud.com/filo-starquez 
Creative Commons — Attribution - NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 
Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/filo-starquez/reflection 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/cwyzT4Vhx3w

Hi friends! 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of the podcast. Sharing some feelings about my prosthetic and my mobility and some challenges that I have had since getting my leg back. I recorded this when I was feeling some avoidance and not really wearing my leg but in the past week I have been able to go to physio and also put it on a few more times. it can be hard adjusting and having these kind of hurdles but just gotta keep plodding on.

Email: [email protected]
Socials: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + Tiktok

Music: Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL https://soundcloud.com/zimplmusic 
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 
Free Download / Angelz: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/zimpl/angelz 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/sNWkFgciVaw

Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez https://soundcloud.com/filo-starquez 
Creative Commons — Attribution - NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 
Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/filo-starquez/reflection 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/cwyzT4Vhx3w

Hi friends! 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of the podcast. I hope you have enjoyed this episode of this podcast even though it is a shorter one. I wanted to take a little bit of time to sit down and just chat through what was going on in my brain the past few months. Definitely some more of this kind of content coming as well as other things as I figure out the overall 'vibe' of the podcast. If you like please follow so ya dont miss my weekly upload!

Chapters:


Email: [email protected]
Socials: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + Tiktok

Music: Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL https://soundcloud.com/zimplmusic 
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 
Free Download / Angelz: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/zimpl/angelz 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/sNWkFgciVaw

Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez https://soundcloud.com/filo-starquez 
Creative Commons — Attribution - NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 
Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/filo-starquez/reflection 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/cwyzT4Vhx3w

Hi friends! 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of the podcast. I started to watch Salem Tovar's video about the wild side of healthcare tiktok and I decided I would so some reaction content while I got ready to record (which fell through because of a pain flare up)

To watch Salem's full video please go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Y9Dbtzo8Y

Clips are cut down for commentary purposes for full context and commentary from Salem and Penny please go to above linked video.

Chapters:


Email: [email protected]
Socials: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + Tiktok

Music: Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL https://soundcloud.com/zimplmusic 
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 
Free Download / Angelz: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/zimpl/angelz 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/sNWkFgciVaw

Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez https://soundcloud.com/filo-starquez 
Creative Commons — Attribution - NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 
Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/filo-starquez/reflection 
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/cwyzT4Vhx3w