This is a newsletter about disability and capitalism by Jesse Meadows.
Sluggish is a pejorative: sluggish markets, sluggish progress. Historically it’s been used to refer to sloth and laziness, deadly sins of Puritanism. Recently it’s been applied clinically, with the not-yet-official diagnosis of “sluggish cognitive tempo” — symptoms of which include day-dreaming and mind-wandering.
As a disabled person, slowing down and honoring my body’s rhythms meant I literally had to become more sluggish, and it’s been a crucial part of accepting all the queer things about myself that the world would have me hate. So I’ve decided to reclaim this word.
Sluggish is about embracing the slow, the weird, and the squished underfoot.
I write about the politics of mental health, the narratives that shape our dis-order, and the culture that makes our brains. I also love to go off on tangents about nature, history, and sense-making through art. (It’s all connected, though, I promise.)
Free public posts go out on Mondays (usually) and posts for paid subscribers go out on Fridays (most of the time). Paid subscribers also get access to audio & video content, my ongoing Critical ADHD Studies project, and a discord server (SlugChat!).
12/16/2022 edit: I am currently on a slowed down winter schedule, doing one post per week with extra notes, links, and readings at the end for paid subscribers. Twice a week posts will resume when I begin to thaw out in the spring. See: my thoughts on seasons.
Here’s a few of my favorite things I’ve written:
You can also find me on IG and Twitter, or get into my podcast Disorderland with Dr. Ayesha Khan.
