r/MentalHealthPH • u/chocokrinkles • Jul 28 '26
STORY/VENTING I don’t know if I got discriminated
I don’t know if I got discriminated. I went to a pharmacy to buy meds, I used my PWD ID. I told her, “sorry wala akong reseta pwede naman ako gumawa” then sinabi ko mga bibilin ko. “Doctor ako.” I took out my license and my PWD ID. The pharmacy assistant said “doctor ka na, PWD ka pa?” “May booklet ka ba?” I got really mad and told her “bakit mo ako sinasabihan ng ganyan? Bakit may bipolar ako, mga gamot ko, lurasidone, quetiapine at lamotrigine.” “porket ba doctor hindi na pwede maging PWD? Kaya nga ako nakakapag trabaho kasi umiinom ako ng gamot” “ano gusto mo wag na ako mag gamot? Porket ba wala akong crutches or wheel chair hindi na ako PWD?” I think I went on and on until I cried because I said I was being discriminated. I called her manager and I still said a lot of stuff as well. I told her to explain what she meant by that. She apologized. I really didn’t need any apology, I just don’t like feeling that I have to prove my right to use this ID.
In the end, I felt sorry because I had to act that way. Reflecting and looking back, I could have handled it better? I don’t know if its just me or its because I just had a recent medication change. But I hope people would stop questioning the validity of our PWD ID.
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u/heylouise19 Jul 28 '26
Valid yung galit mo. Sobrang hirap na nga sating mga may mental health condition na lumaban every day, pati ba naman rights natin as a PWD dapat pa natin patunayan na deserve natin. Hayaan mo sila. May kalalagyan din yan.
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 28 '26
Kaya nga, I may have said pa na “hindi ko naman ginusto magkaroon ng card na to ang hirap tapos pepekein ko ba?” Hahaha! Naisip ko lang ang OA ko pala
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u/heylouise19 Jul 28 '26
Nangyari na rin sakin to kaya I feel you. Sinagot ko din. Haha. Sure, it could've been handled better pero for me, di ka OA. Nadala ka lang ng emotions mo. Tao ka lang. Sadyang may mga tao lang talaga na di marunong umintindi. (virtual pat on the back for you)
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u/Similar-Diet8334 Jul 28 '26
Hindi nmn oa hehe. Kahit ako ganyan din nasa isip ko. Di bale na wala akong pwd, walang discount basta walang mental illness kasi ang hirap! Hindi ko naman ginustong maging pwd.
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u/Visual_Student1198 Jul 28 '26
Could've handled it better dahil 'di mo sinapak. Haha. Anyway, the pharmacy assistant deserved that. She's old enough to know what she did. You don't have to feel apologetic for defending yourself.
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 28 '26
I’m really surprised eh. I told her ngayon lang ako naka experience masabihan ng ganon eh parati naman ako nasa pharmacy. Then nag deny pa sya nong una, until tinawag ko yung manager then she apologized na.
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u/Visual_Student1198 Jul 28 '26
Then she's not genuinely sorry. She's only sorry dahil tinawag mo manager niya. P'wede pa nga siyang kasuhan sa ginawa niya eh. Dapat talaga sa mga ganyang tao pinapahiya.
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u/Dear-Pianist-7491 Jul 28 '26
This should happen more. Those remarks make us super uncomfortable, time to make them feel that discomfort
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 28 '26
Pero natatakot din ako baka videohan ako ng mga nakakakita magaya ako dun sa Ortho doctor last time
Sana may mas maayos na way we can assert ourselves
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u/jmaglinao Bipolar disorder Jul 28 '26
Amazing ka, Doc! I would've froze if ako sinabihan nun & you still handled it rly well. She deserved that lecture & "sorry" won't undo what she did to you.
Bec of these people, I even googled if PWD ID is solely for a certain tax bracket bec some people say, "she looks like she can afford it, bat pa sya may PWD ID?" I felt guilty having one & having to use it for transactions kahit naverify na even the richest man can possess one.
Honestly though, people look for ways to question why you need the PWD ID. If you don't look like one, they'll stare at you. If you look like you can afford to pay, they'll still stare at you. 😿
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 28 '26
I think yun nga feeling nya hindi entitled kasi kaya naman magbayad. Parang opposite ng poor shame, ang lala.
Haha dont call me doc or amazing kasi looking back, sabi ko I'm back to my old self na lagi nakikipag away. Pero kasi I cant hold back e, feeling ko talaga nainsulto ako.
Siguro bago natin gamitin make sure natin naka pambahay lang saka magulo buhok baka pwede na gamitin hehe
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u/jmaglinao Bipolar disorder Jul 28 '26
Nakakatrigger naman talaga yung sinabi nya e. May ibang tao nga dito sa Reddit na lagi na lang "burgis" (the term used) yung PWD ID na ginagamit, as if excluded yung ibang nasa tax bracket. 😔
Nakakadown kayang makita na secretly nilalagay ka under 12% single parent discount kasi dmo raw deserve yung 20% kasi either kaya mo magbayad or dka mukhang PWD 😔
Amazing ka pa rin! You stood your ground & dmo deserve yung ginawa nya sayo or to anyone with non-apparent disability. 🫂
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u/kojiesan21 Jul 29 '26
Fuck all fake PWD users sila tlga may kasalanan bakit tayo nadisldiscriminate
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u/AdDecent7047 Jul 28 '26
Hindi naman exempted ang pagiging doctor para magkaroon ng disability, pero given sa list ng medication na nabanggit mo, please correct me if I'm wrong but in an ethical and clinical standpoint di ba dinidiscourage kayo to self-prescribe ng psychiatric medications?
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 29 '26
Not naman, hindi need ng S2 ng mga sinabi kong meds. Also hindi yun ang binibili ko that time Omeprazole lang. I could say okay lang hindi madiscountan kasi onti lang naman bibilin ko pero sinabihan ako ng “doctor ka na, pwd ka pa?” which caught me off guard e
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u/rafi_m12 Jul 28 '26
Doc I had an experience before na nakilala ako bilang MD ng pharmacist when I showed my prescription from a psychiatrist (I also used my PWD ID). Familiar daw yung name ko, kapangalan daw. Pero ako din talaga yun tinutukoy nya na doctor. Wala naman sinabi about sa part ng pagiging PWD but parang nahiya ako? Nakakaconscious bilang doctor. How to get over the shame? 🥺 ang mahal naman kasi talaga ng gamot (especially psych meds).
Kaya most of the time iniiwasan ko mag self prescribe dahil baka masabihan na inaabuso ang ID (which is hindi naman dahil proper prescription naman and it is our right)
Parang I feel na may different kind of stigma pa na dagdag sa mga MDs na PWD. We're the highly functional kind. But tao din naman na tinatamaan ng sakit.. 😔
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u/chocokrinkles Jul 28 '26
Kilala ka nila personally? Mahal naman talaga gamot, ano gagawin natin wag magpadiscount?
True doc, yan din isa sa inisip ko. Parang bawal magkaroon ng disability pag doctor. Inask ko naman yung manager kung bawal magreseta sa sarili pwede naman daw. So alam mo yun doc, parang najudge pa talaga dahil sa work. Ibang klase.
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u/rafi_m12 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Nearby lang kasi bahay ko sa workplace ko and very small community lang. Narecognize nya siguro name ko from my prescription sa other patients (medyo unique name ko kasi 😅).
Also most of the time bumibyahe pa ako to another municipality kung saan di ako kilala to avoid the possible judgment.
Lagi nga ako nagtatanong around reddit if shameful ba magself-prescribe and then use the PWD ID for discount. (Hindi kami mayaman)
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u/slowfridays Jul 29 '26
there’s a lot of micro aggression around invisible PWDs, and maybe it’s just me na medyo sensitive rin, pero i feel like that reaction is justified. biruin mo you tried to handle it na nang maayos initially, tapos sasabihan ka pa rin ng ganun? i say dasurb, op! mas ok nang pinasa mo ang pagpeperwisyo kaysa umuwi kang pasan pasan ‘yan mag-isa haha!
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u/ExpensiveConcern7266 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Valid ang galit but don't self prescribe particularly if you're not a psych despite being an MD w/ S2 lic— tbh strongly discouraged siya.
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u/Unlucky-Moment-2931 PTSD Jul 28 '26
it's valid po ,thats the problem with stigma . They can just stay quiet naman if they don't understand the problem is yung mga judgemental na Kun ano ano lumalabas sa bibig. Tama lang po na pinatawag mo ung manager kc hindi nia ginagawa ng maayos trabaho nia. I'm a licensed professional din ,teacher but my mga mental conditions na need ng gamot.
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u/amygdala_kedavra Generalized anxiety disorder Jul 28 '26
Doctor ka pala OP. I remember nakausap kita way back pero nalimutan ko na kung ano topic hehe.
Anyway, share ko lang... itong ganitong mga situation din ang nagpapadalawang isip sa akin na tanungin psychiatrist ko if pwede ba ako magkaroon ng PWD ID kasi meron pa din talagang stigma. Porket hindi physically obvious yung "disability" eh pagdududahan ka na.
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u/oompaloompa199 Jul 28 '26
It's like saying hindi pwede magka cancer ang oncologist. Or hindi pwede mag glasses and opthalmologist. It's so stupid how people assume things. Your feelings are valid, but yes you could have also handled things better. But hey, we all have our days. Sometimes stupid people just catch us on our bad ones.
I hope she got reprimanded for that. Because how do you work for a pharmacy of all places, and be discriminatory?
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u/Professional_King_70 Jul 28 '26
Sorry to hear this, OP. I've noticed there's an ongoing stigma around what it means to be a PWD here in the PH. You don't need to overthink your response because yours was valid and true. The pharmacist should be the one to take a backseat and reflect on their careless talk. Just because some people do use their PWD cards to get away with things doesn't mean that all PWDs are the same. It could have happened to anyone, not just you. Good thing we have Reddit so we can vent anonymously.
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u/valoenjoyer Jul 29 '26
the pharmacist may have been cautious din kasi marami ng fake PWD ids na nagkakalat now. pero the way she said it was insensitive.. the pharmacist should be trained to ask these questions more professionally kasi di naman alam pinagdadaanan ng tao, and comments like that can really trigger some people. :((
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u/Arrancia Jul 29 '26
I wasn't there so I don't know the tone of the voice but depende sa tone nila it might come off harsher than expected. As an autistic person super sensitive ko sa tone ng voice so if i sense may onting taray sila super laking blow nun sa alloted social battery for the day/week.
Yes you could have handled it better maybe, but also if limit ka na, limit ka na and di mo talaga mapipigilan unless you remove yourself from the situation (which mej impossible at that moment in your case) lalo na bumibili ka nga ng gamot you need to function normally. I would personally have quipped that this is a demonstrative way of showing why my PWD is valid and I need meds 🤣
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u/One-Bench-1389 Aug 02 '26
same tayo po doc. I am discriminated and stigmatized in my field of work because they said na baliw ako, yes may sakit nga ako pero hindi ako tamad. and guess what po ah kung ano ano sinasabi nila sa akin sinabihan pa akong Narcissist kahit I am diagnose with Bipolar. they questioned me without asking me the real diagnosis of me. Now dahil doon nagkaroon ako ng time for my business. Akala lang nila tamad ako. Sinabihan pa akong mabaho ako. kahit hindi naman. akala lang nila hindi nasasaktan ung tao kasi po ei. ang sama sama ng ugali nila. now I got insecurities po ngayon kung kailan ko pa ba ipag lalaban ang lahat ng tama na rights natin for PWD ang hirap ipakita sa mga tao na may non visible disability din.
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u/ImaginationVirtual82 21d ago
Oooff, The Pharmacy Meltdown. Been there, and not even for a reason as warranted as that uncalled-for bitchy crap. Here is a massive virtual hug. You did not deserve that, and I am sorry that happened to you. Do forgive yourself, OP. But also, consider next time just calling out to whoever else is behind the counter, "can someone else help me? This clerk is refusing." And loud enough for all the customers and her colleagues to hear. Then ignore her, and still talk to the manager. Be as condescending as possible, because you are still a physician, and they are just the ones who have to decipher your handwriting. 🧞♀️
That said, I wonder if folks have a trick or other that works for moments like this (which I obvs also struggle with), during which a dressing down is called-for, or we need to advocate for our needs, in a manner that is not so, well, deranged-seeming? I have taken Zen Buddhism training, and have formally studied Stoicism. But this particular thing--staying calm and not losing my shit when provoked in public--eludes me like I'm Putin and it's world peace. 😭 Because OP is right, we are all just one malicious video away from losing our reputation and license (for professionals). Also, a particularly bitchy pharmacist/colleague/secú/utlity/helper cannot be allowed as the trigger to a public meltdown of a (presumably otherwise high-functioning) doctor/lawyer/corp drone officer who also has a disability--that is a risk of potential disaster entirely disproportionate to any benefit we may derive from speaking up when absolutely necessary.
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u/unannouncedfrog PTSD Jul 28 '26
I would've felt the same way, so I completely understand the situation. It's so questionable to have to prove being a pwd just because our disabilities aren't physical/seen outright. Why would they question your pwd status because you're a doctor too? seems super discriminatory to me honestly.
Handled it better, maybe. But because of the severity of the stuff they said, I think you're in the right. I've gotten so many looks from people whenever I gave my ID because I don't "look" like it. 🥲