Chronic illnesses are a real bitch. There isn’t much sense in sugar-coating the matter, because that would be a disservice to anyone who, like myself, lives with chronic illness(es); they’re frustrating, discouraging, and relentless, and they aren’t something I would wish on anyone.
Chronic illness as a topic is a rather vast one, and by no means am I attempting to generalize it within this post. Rather, because the spectrum of chronic illness is so broad, I thought it might be more efficient for the sake of a blog post to refer to it in a more inclusive manner.
Personally, I have two chronic illnesses, both of which are autoimmune disorders. I am blessed, however, in the sense that the severity of my chronic illnesses are not extreme, and aside from a few bad days, they are manageable. There are a lot of us who find their chronic illness to be positively debilitating and a hindrance in the context of executing daily tasks and activities, and worse.
Living with chronic illness isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Bad minutes, hours, days and weeks can occur at any given moment, whether we’re prepared or not, and chronic illness certainly doesn’t give a shit about disrupting plans. Its presence can be depressing, anxiety-provoking and extremely influential, so there are days in which life itself doesn’t seem all that wonderful.
Something I personally find to be incredibly frustrating when it comes to chronic illness is a lack of awareness and understanding from people who will never have to experience it. Trying to explain to someone that you’re simply not feeling your best, only to be told that we should toughen up or push through the pain, is all too easy to say as someone who is entirely ignorant to what chronic illness encompasses. If it were that easy, I think a lot of us would be much healthier and happier overall.
ontheedgeofeverything 