Returning twitch streamer with cerebral palsy after 4 years

OneArmedGambit

Hi guys, this might be a long post so please bear with me (I'll put a TLDR at the bottom if i remember lol)

When I first started streaming my main issue was back and leg pain and due to cerebral palsy I was born without the use of my right hand. And despite all that I wanted to stream and it helped keep my mind off the pain and not really giving my disability much of a thought as I had ways of playing one handed with the Razer naga mouse. Things were going well, I made twitch affiliate but shortly after my aches started getting worse and I had a total hip replacement at 30 which helped with the pain immensely and the plan was to take a short break from streaming. Fast forward a few years and my disability got worse and was rushed to ICU last year. Coming home I notice i slump to my right (cerebral palsy side) and it is very noticeable, but I recently got the itch to start streaming again and I've done a few streams but seeing myself slumped to the right by quite a bit has knocked my confidence a lot but I don't want to turn off my webcam as I don't want people thinking I'm ashamed of who I am. So I was wondering if any of you would mind coming to say hi and keep me company next time I go live over at twitch.tv/onearmedgambit I usually go live Mon-Fri at 8pm GMT of if you don't think you can make it I'm posting my streams to youtube and you can see part 1 here https://youtu.be/YWpiqJbWXQ4

TLDR: Disability has gotten worse and I slump to the right a lot, confidence knocked but I want to stream again with webcam on as I don't want to hide myself. Just need a bit of friendly support.

Take care! 

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @onearmedbandit  

Thank you for sharing your story with us. Many disabled people can sometimes find themselves feeling quite self conscious, especially if the  nature of their condition has changed. So you're not alone in feeling that way.

One thing I personally find helpful when feeling self conscious is to think about how I'd react if the tables were turned, and the other person had that characteristic or feature. Generally, I wouldn't notice, or be at all bothered!

I'll tag @Alex_Scope in here, as she's a fellow gamer. We do have some other gamers here on the community, so hopefully they'll find your post soon too. 

What games have you been playing recently?

Alex_Alumni

Hello there @OneArmedGambit and welcome to the community As Tori mentioned I am a fellow gamer, and I also have CP, although I lean to the left and it impacts my legs more than my hands. 

I can understand how you feel about seeing yourself on camera, and I think the advice Tori has shared is very helpful. For much of the time when I watch a streamer, I'll be focused on the game screen, or having it on in the background while I do other things. 

It can be challenging putting yourself out there in such an open way, but I also think it shows a lot of courage, and that you just want to connect with others who might enjoy the things you do too!

What kinds of games do you play?