This is the face...
This is the face of chronic pain, autoimmune conditions and invisible illness... Its the face in a crowd.
When you're not watching us, we are hurting, sleepless, aching, itching, fighting, screaming, crying, limping, researching, self medicating(and many more descriptive words which ill add later) on... lemon juice, turmeric, nuts, berries, fancy salts, workouts, fads, fruits, veggies, organic products, overpriced water and everything under the sun to make ourselves feel...alive. We're infusing and purifying our environment, with oils, aroma, ions. Were downing, chlorophyll, magnesium, vitamin C..XYZ.. sleeping on fancy pillows and mattresses, testing experiment therapie$....Alkaline, ionized charcoal, tar, ointments, eucalyptus, coconut, topical treatments, syringes, drips are part of everyday language. Our bathrooms are filled with bandages, blood, hair, skin flakes, chunks of skin, scales. Our beds, and clothing are soaked with concoctions, prescribed and DIY from watching countless youtube videos and scanning support groups.
When you're not watching us, we are hurting, sleepless, aching, itching, fighting, screaming, crying, limping, researching, self medicating(and many more descriptive words which ill add later) on... lemon juice, turmeric, nuts, berries, fancy salts, workouts, fads, fruits, veggies, organic products, overpriced water and everything under the sun to make ourselves feel...alive. We're infusing and purifying our environment, with oils, aroma, ions. Were downing, chlorophyll, magnesium, vitamin C..XYZ.. sleeping on fancy pillows and mattresses, testing experiment therapie$....Alkaline, ionized charcoal, tar, ointments, eucalyptus, coconut, topical treatments, syringes, drips are part of everyday language. Our bathrooms are filled with bandages, blood, hair, skin flakes, chunks of skin, scales. Our beds, and clothing are soaked with concoctions, prescribed and DIY from watching countless youtube videos and scanning support groups.
We're bombarded with trial offers, oils, diet plans and quick fixes almost daily by well meaning friends and family and unsolicited emails.
We don't want to bother you with how we really feel.... because were 'whining', 'attention seeking', or 'making things up'...
When were asked how were doing were "Ok" "Fine, or "Doing great!" because were are tired of being shot down, tired of being talked down to, tired of fighting, and spending a fortune just to feel 'normal again' We know the 'Why don't they just get over it?' look all too well. We are mocked, ridiculed, belittled and not believed by the medical community until there is hard measurable evidence. Yet we continue on sometimes barely... Often forced to hide like a hermit, internalize our pain, and how bad it really can be because after all life goes on and someone always has it worse than us!
Perspective
Perspective
Perspective.... *sighs*
Next time you see a smiling face... Think about the effort it may have taken them to smile at you and send some goodness back.You never know whats behind a bright and shiny smile.. I hope you take a moment to think about that person next to you. If that person is you, as much as you may feel alone and isolated in this world, there are others just like you, just wishing they are believed and their pain is validated. Your pain is real.
Happiness is a choice...and to many, it's a choice we make... once we walk out that door..if we are fortunate enough to get that far.
To the warriors out there I salute you, I stand for you. As I continue to search for my own answers.... The battle wages on, keep your armor up!!
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