I read a post called The Bizarre Prevalence of Invisible Illness Imposter Syndrome and the author uses different terms and language to describe what I have felt as well. Essentially it is this pattern: With an invisible disability we mask our symptoms for a variety of reasons. To cope and manage working. So we will … Continue reading Invisible disability and self-imposed stigma we learn from others
Chronic illness: The Disabled line
DISABLED Well. Doesn't that word seem Heavy and filled with more Meaning than it actually has? Other people put more meaning on it that it actually has. Stigma like we are 'lazy' and 'mooching off the system' and 'just don't want to work' and 'most people on disability are just faking it' (because we make … Continue reading Chronic illness: The Disabled line
Self-Image: Me vs. my Body
I am an exceptionally modest person. And I could never figure out where that Came from. I wasn't really that much when I was younger to the point I became. There are the usual woman's body image issues but mine have generally been rather healthy no matter my weight really. But I won't wear shorts. … Continue reading Self-Image: Me vs. my Body
Why do I undermine my pain?
There is a lot of reasons why we develop beliefs about our pain. And how we should and shouldn't behave with it. How we should and shouldn't talk about it. How we should and shouldn't talk about it. And when you experience pain young sometimes that happens without much introspection and then you just run … Continue reading Why do I undermine my pain?
The story we tell ourselves
You know I have been chronically ill since I was a kid, but, oh, it got worse. But the story I used to tell myself was That was my Body, not my Mind. And I could still achieve anything I wanted as long as I paced the body. I thought I would have the life … Continue reading The story we tell ourselves
Self-imposed stigma: weak
We are strong in many ways. How we persevere. How we have adapted and coped with chronic illness. I know this for a fact, logically in my brain when I think about it. But emotionally is another story altogether. Society often compels us to push through the pain in order to function normally. We … Continue reading Self-imposed stigma: weak
