Audio Enabled – Why I Acted Immediately

Today, I received an unexpected message from a reader: ‘Can you record the blog as I have double vision from PSP?’ For a moment, I was taken aback. Then, true to form, I swung into action. Within an hour, I had enabled audio recording on my website and now this blog is being written.

Why the rush? Three reasons came together today:

1. Someone asked for it – and that’s reason enough.
2. My own vision reached a point where I made a questionable decision about glasses.
3. A personality test reminded me that I’m impulsive.

Reason 1: A Simple Request

Someone with PSP, struggling to see, took the time to write to me. I also know that some caregivers have told me they read the blog to PSP people who can’t read it themselves. That alone is enough motivation.

Reason 2: My Vision Struggles

This morning, I went to the synagogue in my electric wheelchair without my glasses. It was a decision made because of my annoyance at my vision.  I have two pairs of glasses: prism for near vision and regular prescription for distance. Switching between them constantly is exhausting. The prism glasses barely help, and the long-range ones make short-range vision worse. Since I don’t drive and spend most of my time indoors, they’re only useful for TV. It’s frustrating and I spend so much time shuffling between the two pairs especially as I look at the TV and the phone like most of us do. My vision keeps getting worse, and as I type, the screen is clearly blurred. I realized that at some point I may well need audio myself. That made the need feel urgent and personal. It is a selfish reason but if I don’t embrace accessibility then I can’t really ask people to do it for me.

Reason 3: Impulsivity Confirmed

Why did I spend $29 on a personality test? Because I’m me. I was reading a research paper* on personality and resilience in chronic illness. It used the Big Five Personality Test, so I took it. My results? High openness and agreeableness, low neuroticism, average extraversion, and lower conscientiousness. I knew it intuitively but these traits help me adapt and stay resilient, but impulsivity can be hugely risky with PSP. One careless moment could lead to disaster and as I have proved in this article I am hardwired to rush to action. So, I overcompensate with strict routines like diet and yoga – I have to work at this as this Achilles heel is my biggest challenge and risk.

The research reminded me that personality shapes how we cope. I didn’t need to pay to learn that, but I enjoyed it. It’s who I am. I would without question do it again and I am sure, that some reading this simply can’t understand what I am doing…we are different.

The Bottom Line

I installed audio because there’s a need, I feel it personally, and I don’t wait around. That’s why I’m writing this post immediately after – I couldn’t leave it until morning.

(Note: This is a trial on the English version only. The free plugin allows five posts a month, which is limiting given my obsessiveness and my need to fill time and connect with others. I’ll test it and upgrade if the feedback is that this actually works so please let me know. If anyone knows a better, affordable way to add audio – legally – please share. I have enabled this post and the one on toothpaste as a starter and will try to enable the next three English versions and then upgrade).

*Reference: Profiles of personality and resilience in chronic pain: utility of the CD-RISC-10 to discriminate between resilient and vulnerable types (J. Soriano & V. Monsalve). Their descriptions of the categories are Neuroticism (N) (vulnerability, anxiety, depression), Extraversion (E) (gregariousness, excitement seeking, positive emotions), Openness ( O) (fantasy, values, tolerance to the unconventional), Agreeableness (A) (straightforwardness, trust, honesty) and Conscientiousness (C) (order, dutifulness, self discipline)