![]() ![]() What have you had to break free from?Ī few years of creative work have dropped recently in journals. This is a privileged struggle, but it is also so common in different ways. Like curiosity and pushing the limits don’t complement each other.Ĭircus, and then finding beautiful long form essays in places like Outside, or Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, then the academic & creative writing from Leslie Heywood has helped me see myself as more of a whole person, not fragments of expectations. Perhaps this shouldn’t have been difficult, but it had been presented to me as an either/or situation. It has taken me years to understand that I can be an artist and an athlete. An athlete, a writer, trying to figure out where a person that loves both can fit. I talk about limits like I haven’t been an athlete since I was in elementary school. It wasn’t as fast as I wanted, but damn it was fun to run and problem solve through ugly terrain with a friend. ![]() When I think about it, I think about how finishing the helped me turn off arbitrary limitations swirling in my head. Would you add anything to this list? Tell us in the comments.Time to meander through artistic and athletic identity, as I often do. An alternative to this is just compliment me like I wasn’t chronically ill.Īlternatives: “It looks like you are having a bad/tricky day, is there anything I can do to help?” I want to be well but I’m not even on those days when ‘I look well’ I’m still in pain. When I get told I look well, it feels as though it’s said as a compliment which further reinforces the stigma and guilt felt around having a chronic condition. Chronic fatigue and painsomnia nights with an endo belly on top, it’s a solid look lol! I have often worked hard to manage, so trust me I feel much worse than I look! I’ve heard both far too many times, please stop telling me when I look bad, I already know. “That’s a really rough time, you’re dealing with a lot, I’m sorry.” ![]() I was in a lot of pain on a lot of painkillers.Īlternatives: Comment on how bad it is, acknowledging that you hear us e.g. This felt like an emotional slap in the face, it felt like people thought I was pretending/attention seeking/etc. I had people close to me say this when I was struggling with symptom management, I just wanted to be believed and supported. Often having to fight to get medical professionals to listen and believe us. I wish I was exaggerating, but endo properly sucks! Please bear in mind that the average diagnosis for endo takes 7.5 years and a surgery. Endo can cause intense pain, pain every day. I’m trying my absolute best to function, but I am sick (sucks but true).Īlternative: Express sympathy/concern for them without the comparison.Įrrmmm…yup it is. ![]() Please don’t compare people with endometriosis! There is no correlation between the stages of endo and the symptoms experienced. “My sister/cousin/neighbor’s cat has endo which is much worse, and they seem to be coping much better.” So, adding on extra things is often not an option!Ģ. Also, being sick is hella expensive as it is: prescriptions, loss of pay or work through sickness, etc. I’ve worked hard to accept my endo, and I still have a long way to go. Not throwing a pity party, just plodding on. “You could be better if you just tried harder.” I wish relief on all people with endo.īut what I hear when unsolicited advice is given is… Don’t get me wrong, but I’m so genuinely happy for your sister/cousin/shop lady who also has endo who “cure” it with clean eating/yoga/acupuncture/etc. When said without being asked! If I ask for advice obviously that’s a totally different scenario. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |