Hello everyone!
I wanted to make a post on here about something personal I can connect with our class regarding "body markers" and how they can influence our sense of belonging in a space. We were given the opportunity to discuss this in class on Thursday but it is a difficult subject for me to talk about, so I will post it here in hopes that someone will feel inspired by it and take something away from it.
I have fibromyalgia. My body does not work that way that able bodies do. Basically I am in pain all the time, and pain makes people exhausted. I have to get a substantial amount of rest in order to do simple tasks that others do not even think about, such as getting myself to our Social Geographies class each week. The interesting thing about my condition is that it is not something people can see. One cannot look at me and see that I am disabled. (I'm not sure if fibromyalgia is technically considered a disability, but it certainly is debilitating in my everyday life.) However, it still marks my body because I feel like it separates me from the rest of the world. In this day and age, we are obsessed with productivity. If we are not doing something all the time, we are looked down upon. This causes me to feel out of place among my coworkers, class mates, and even my loved ones. They do not understand it because they can't see it. But it is real, and the impact it has on my life is real.
Hopefully someone in this class is able to read this and feel a little less alone, because I know chronic pain is a common condition that people do not like to talk about. I just think if we are all a little kinder and more understanding, the world would be a better place. Not all bodies are able to do the same things, and that's okay! I am including a small reading in here to add a little more insight on this topic. Thanks so much for reading. :)
https://ct.counseling.org/2016/04/the-tangible-effects-of-invisible-illness/#
I have fibromyalgia too so I 100% agree that it’s something impacts my daily life but is not something that people think of when they hear “disability”. Which can be really annoying especially when I get the “oh come on your being lazy”, or it can’t be that bad” when in reality I can’t even remember a time when something on my body wasn’t in pain. People see me taking that walk to class, or working for a long time and they assume that I’m perfectly healthy but what they don’t see is that when I’m taking breaks it’s because I’m in so much pain that I can’t stand or that my body is exhausted after just simply moving from one side of campus to the other (no matter how many breaks I take) . And when I explain why I’m having problems a lot of people assume that it’s just an excuse because fibromyalgia is one of those things people think are made up for some reason. Like you said it’s like being completely separate from the world and other peoples realities because we haveto think ahead of time and adapt to out surroundings due to this illness, I really feel bad when I’m out and can’t keep up with my friends or have to leave and they see me as the whiner. So it’s not only physical repercussions but emotional. These “invisible” illnesses are hard because they are usually pain based and cause lots of judgement from others, I’m really passionate about this subject and advocacy for it not only because of my illness but also because my mom has Sickle Cell Anemia and I’ve seen the people who think of her as just another able bodied person and expect more out of her then she can give and then judge her because of it. All of that is to say that you are not alone and I really hope others start to take into account that not all disabilities are visible but that doesn’t mean that they are not valid.
ReplyDeleteAlly,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your story! I feel that this not only takes courage, but it gives us all a lesson to learn. I am so sorry you have to go through this pain in order to do everyday activities, it is admirable and I myself would have never known. This is a great learning experience for everyone, some disabilities are ones we cannot visually see. In that manner, we never know what others are going through. If we all are empathetic and kind to those we meet, others may feel more included and respected. I feel that if a condition is impacting your everyday life, then it is considered a disability, but there is no shame in that! We all need specific and special things in order to do our daily tasks, some different than others. I do not think that you should compare yourself to others when it comes to productivity. We are all in our own paces and there is nothing wrong with needing to take things at a slower pace for your own body! (: Thank you so much for sharing your story, it definitely gave me a better insight into what others are going through.