Build cognitive ramps for the mentally disabled

My name is Kristy. I've suffered for decades ever since I was a little girl from disabilities which are less visible than other kinds. Although it is easier to see the ramps, for example, that some physically handicapped individuals need to access resources, disabilities which are perceived to be mental are also real and deserve equal consideration and respect. With the help of Berkeley, California street artist's drawing of a brain in a wheelchair that I came up with, I've launched a fundraiser for a suite of short and long-term projects to help mentally-handicapped people acquire the psychological ramps we need to navigate the cognitive style for which our system was designed around the world.

My primary goal is to raise money to help individuals (such as myself) change Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) law in California, and other places around the country and world as well as for the journey to Switzerland, a country that allows foreigners to make use of their MAiD program. The most basic form of psychological security an individual can have is the subjective experience of a decision to exist in this world. Since none of us can opt to be brought into this world, this choice can only be accomplished by having reasonable access to a free, peaceful death. Forcing individuals to be held accountable for lives they are not motivated to carry out is as socially irresponsible and harmful as leaving them in a room with no windows or doors to escape. Note that people have the freedom to encourage an individual not to use the option (Nudge, don't Judge). Furthermore, Medical Aid in Dying not only exposes the abuses happening in the underground world of assisted suicide, but gives women absolute control over their own bodies.

Since I recognize the temporal longevity of such a dynamic public awareness campaign -- in the meantime -- I ask for subsidiary funds for all of us to pay for needs for myself (and others like me) such as housing, food, transportation, etc that only exacerbates the suffering in this world to be without security. The most pressing one being an abscessed tooth for which I need a root canal.

It may sound ironic, but one of my other goals is to inspire the investigation of exposure to monetary stimuli as a potential risk factor in developing neurodegenerative disease, such as Parkinson's (Here is the link to a poster I presented of this research <https://www.canva.com/design/DAFe5X4w6oI/eRR2gJJ3lEs69WCvBliQUg/edit>). Even if dedicating time to incorporating the investigation of money into neuropathology gradually rules it out as a potential risk factor, subconsciously taking for granted that it is innocuous to everyone’s neurological health is academically naive and socially irresponsible. Understanding how monetary stimuli affects the brain reveals important information about neurophysiology. Moreover, to convince people that being stimulated by money is safe for them is equally, if not more vital. Framing this project as a public health threat recasts money as a potential pollutant to the cognitive environment (like a pesticide) or even to the status of a product itself – like a cosmetic – to be subjected to a rigorous process such as that overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. Moreover, this research calls into question money as an androcentric approach to achieving gender equity.

This perception of money also intentionally draws attention to the “neuroplastic surgery” that is being socially performed on individual brains to “glamorize” everyone’s financial behavior according to streamlined protocol. Paraphrasing an Indian philosopher, to possess the capability to adapt to the mainstream is no measure of psychological health. On that note, better results may be achieved in dealing with the mental health crisis around the world by focusing more on addressing issues in the system instead of focusing on fixing each individual expressing symptoms of distress.

In any case, to fuel thinking about non-monetary economies (as simple as random acts of kindness!) – as well as consider alternative economic perspectives that challenge related features of the mainstream (i.e. competition, privatization, etc) that are hailed as superior is important to recognizing the ripple effect on everyone in our economic system as a result of neglecting cognitively diverse approaches. In general, diversity is accepted as positive and promoted from dietary consumption for individual well-being to income sources & investment portfolios for financial health, hiring of employees for a company to thrive as well as those focused on the issue of climate change who are concerned about the impact of a loss of biodiversity on ecosystem survival.

Appreciating differences that are less visible and accommodating them can even help heal political wounds. Perhaps learning to empathize with subjective experiences of the world that are different is the medicine needed to heal a polarized nation. To use an analogy, left-handed people are not less intelligent or less capable than right-handed people, but can have more difficulty navigating a world engineered by the latter simply because, for example, their natural way for reaching for a doorknob is the reverse. Imagine how much more difficult it is for people to thrive in this world with a way of thinking and acting that is different from those who cognitively engineered our educational, economic, and political system.

Some additional questions we will consider are the following: Does a pecuniary-centric economic system waste human potential? Can economic equity be achieved with a tool that privileges a particular cognitive style? Is it ultimately reasonable to continue on an economic path that increasingly attempts to quantify how valuable people are or what they do is worth?

Fundraising to support this intensive analysis of money as a contributor to neurological disease may seem hypocritical, but is unavoidable in order to identify a cognitive blindsight in research for a disease that is rising faster than any other neurological disorder. In any case, we expect the hypothesis to be developed with ongoing revision and expansion. Above all, we look forward to facilitating diverse communication styles to contribute to this process for an idea -- how money affects cells and genes in the brain -- that is hopefully worth sharing! In any case, please sign up as "A Better Exit" supporter <abetterexit.org>, join the facebook group for which I'm admin <https://www.facebook.com/groups/690269122571428>, and you can also read the petition I originally started https://www.change.org/p/legalize-dignified-death-choice-for-physical-mental-suffering If you need more information or have any questions, feel free to reach me at [email redacted] or (510) [phone redacted]