Never resolves, of course - there is no objective criteria by which it could. This is an opinion poll.
Context: Based on the standards set by most insitutions in the U.S., I do count as disabled - mentally disabled because of multiple anxiety disorders, persistent depression, ADHD, autism, mild/moderate chronic fatigue, C-PTSD, and DID; physically disabled because of hypermobile joints, semi-frequent migraines, and chronic stomach pain. However, I've never outright needed disability accomodations; I achieved a 3.94 GPA in undergrad despite having no accomodations, and have held multiple jobs for months each despite having no accomodations. Is it honest of me to call myself disabled?
I personally think the answer is "Yes, I'm both physically and mentally disabled," but I'm not sure how accurate my assessment is. I've certainly achieved much less than I want to in life so far thanks to depression, fatigue, DID/trauma, migraines, and chronic pain - but I'm also on track to successfully pursue a career in academia, and I'd classify most things about my life as "pretty okay" at the moment. So I'm curious to see what others think.
1,000I started skimming this paper people ITT may find relevant since it seems you are concerned about public perception. It is concerned with developmental influences but the opening summary and conceptual models of disability sections are a good read.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8255380/
I have no experience so I can only speculate what I imagine to be difficult is that if removing barriers to full participation by representing yourself as disabled would indeed outweigh any potential losses, you may a priori underestimate the magnitude of the difference between your “pretty ok” life and what would be realized a posteriori when you are presently weighing the risk of coming out as disabled.
I will note that migraines, stomachaches, and fatigue are often symptoms of mood disorders, which is why I don’t consider them a physical disability. This is not to dismiss your pain—as someone with much of what you describe, I recognize that the experience is real and valid whether its psychosomatic in nature or not.
If you were a brilliant programmer who lost your legs in a shark riding accident, you’d be disabled despite being able to code.
If you were dropped on your head at age six and have an IQ of 60 but were able to make minimum wage digging ditches, you’d be mentally disabled despite being able to dig ditches 12 hours a day.
I think that a spectrum would be a better way of talking about this than a binary but you probably land in the high-functioning disabled region based on how you self-describe.
@JohnSmithb9be I agree that a spectrum probably captures this better! If I was trying to actually measure disability in some way, or otherwise make a market with objective resolution criteria, it would definitely use a spectrum. Part of the reason I made this a poll is that I think actually quantifying disability is very difficult.
I also think "high-functioning disabled" is probably accurate. I can do most things okay, but struggle with some things in particular, and there are things that I probably shouldn't do even though I could theoretically do them - e.g. anything that puts a lot of strain on my joints, or anything that would cause serious sensory issues for me thanks to autism brain.