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Put an X by the secrets to which you feel you can relate, and always know that if you're struggling, you're not alone! 🩷 |
It feels like having the flu all the time. -Linnie Lin | |
I feel like an alien on a planet where I don't belong. 👽 -Yolanda Smith | |
It feels like you've lifted a car off someone all day every day. 🚗 -Melissa Conder | |
You cannot trust your body to do what it is supposed to do. -Emma Stathopoulos | |
The hair on my skin hurts. -Mary Carlson | |
You feel like you are constantly disappointing people because you have to cancel plans. -Lisa Allison | |
A 3 on a pain scale of 1-10 is a good day. -Laurie Bohanan | |
I may look weak, but I assure you, I am stronger than you could ever imagine. | |
Today I'm as useless as the "g" in lasagna. | |
You know you have EDS when...you have days when moving is NOT an option. | |
You know you have POTS when...you make a cup of tea and your heart thinks you have run a marathon. ☕️ | |
I forgot something, but I can't remember what I forgot. | |
Oh, wow, I had such a great day today. Which means tomorrow I will suffer. | |
When you sit in an uncomfortable position and then somebody wants to throw up because it looks so abnormal. | |
Skin of a newborn, joints of an 80-year-old woman. | |
I am what a person with an invisible illness looks like. | |
My chronic illness is more real than your imaginary medical expertise. | |
Inside every chronically ill person is a healthy person wondering what on earth happened to them. | |
We struggle to do the very simplest daily tasks and feel guilty that most of what needs doing won't even get started. | |
We are not faking it or being lazy; often we make ourselves worse by trying to hide our illness and carry on with life pretending we are healthy. | |
Just because we did something yesterday doesn't mean that we'll be able to manage it today. | |
The question "How are you feeling?" is the most difficult question for us as we can't remember what it feels like to be "normal" and not in pain. | |
It hurts more than you can imagine to have to say no to the things we want to do but can't manage because of our illness. | |
We do things at pain levels others wouldn't even consider moving at because if we don't we won't have a life. | |
"I believe you" are the most powerful words you can say to someone with an invisible illness. | |
I may look great on the outside, but I'm falling apart on the inside. | |
I'm not ashamed of my illness. | |
I feel like I'm a burden to those I love and care about. | |
Sick of crying, tired of trying, yes I'm smiling, but inside I'm dying. | |
Chronic illness doesn't define us. God does. | |
I'm now in a strange world as an extravert who acts like an introvert, because of chronic illness. | |
Having a chronic illness can make you feel inadequate, like you're not good enough. | |
You are worthy of love because you are a human. | |
When no one else is there, God is. | |
Many think suffering is the worst thing that can happen to you and happiness is the best thing that can happen to you. But after living with a chronic illness, I discovered that separation from God is the worst and unity with God is the best. | |
What was meant for evil, God uses for good. | |
If exhausted was a noun, it would be me. | |
She's strong but she's exhausted. -r.h. Sin | |
Our brains are wired for connection, but trauma rewrites them for protection. That's why healthy relationships are difficult for wounded people. -Ryan North | |
While my disease is not life-threatening, it's life-encompassing. | |
My house is messy because I'm too sick to clean most of the time. | |
I constantly worry I will develop a new symptom or a new illness that will take away more of my time and energy. | |
I'm still me inside. I'm still outgoing. I'm still fun. It's just hidden and marred by this invisible illness. | |
I go many days without taking a shower or changing my clothes or sometimes even brushing my teeth. | |
I'm not sure if I'm starting to feel better or if I'm getting used to feeling like 💩. | |
You or others may have noticed your running gait is different that other kids because of how EDS affects your joints. 🏃♀️ | |
I was always extremely flexible as a child, even more so than other children my age. -Grace S. | |
Yes, I may be able to do that. However, I'll likely need 3-4 days to recover. | |
Having multiple illnesses is a full-time job you never get a break from. -Amelia H. | |
You never know what to expect. What's going to happen next? How will I feel later today? Will I be able to walk tomorrow? -Rebecca J. | |
Don't rush your healing, don't pretend to be ok when you're not, and don't apologize for being broken. | |
Throwback Thursday reminds me of when I only had to take one type of medication. 💊 | |
It's ok to not be ok, as long as you're not giving up. | |
You know you have hit your lowest point of having a chronic illness when you start procrastinating your showers. 🚿 | |
Temperature intolerance. I swear it takes nothing to make me sweat or to feel frozen to my core. -Samantha M. | |
One of the most embarrassing things for me is my tendency to have seemingly "random" falls. -Melissa H. | |
Most of the time I get sick after meals, even though I'm very careful about food. -Lauren N. | |
My fingers randomly split open and bleed. -Christa R. | |
The inability to stand for a long time is the most difficult. -Saylor A. | |
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is painful, all. the. time. | |
If you look 10 years younger but feel 20 years older, you might be a zebra. 🦓 #EDS #EDSAwareness | |
This is not the life I ordered. | |
If you avoid new doctors because your medical history is exhausting, you might be a zebra. 🦓 | |
If your joints go out more than you do, you might be a zebra. 🦓 | |
The biggest miracles can come at the most random times. -Michelle Auerbach | |
My immune system attacks itself. What does yours do? | |
When you're first diagnosed, there's a period of mourning. | |
Accepting change is the hardest part. | |
My body image has changed so much throughout my illness. -Brooke Bogdan | |
I didn't want to be different. I wanted to fit in. Because of that, I hid my chronic illness as much as I could. | |
As a blind person, your ears are your eyes. | |
No matter how strong you are, ignorant comments still hurt. | |
Illness can dash your dream of starting a family of your own. | |
I don't work, I don't have kids, and I'm sitting back watching all my friends become established in their careers and start families. -MarlaJan DeFusco | |
"You've had a rough couple of days, huh?" "Try years." | |
I'm not lazy....I'm flaring. | |
I worry no one will want to be with me because I am "broken." | |
I live in a constant state of fear that I won't be good enough for anyone. | |
I find it difficult to trust. | |
I worry that because of my illnesses, people don't look at me romantically. | |
I worry no guy will want to live this life with me. | |
Getting lost while driving to familiar places. This symptom is scary. | |
I constantly wander around my apartment in a daze, because I literally have no clue what I'm supposed to be doing. | |
I hate that my life is passing me by while I'm in a daze, unable to be fully present with people I love and experiences I want to savor. | |
You can be fine one minute and be in good conversation, and then it hits you like a bolt...you can't remember what you were talking about. | |
Skipping whole chunks of a day in a blur, then having completely lucid and efficient thinking another day, then being exhausted and foggy at night again. | |
Forgetting your list of things not to forget when going out. | |
I had a great answer, but I forgot what it was by the time I went to type it out. | |
It never occurred to me that one day I'd wake up sick and never get better. | |
Bedtime: the most anticipated part of the day since breakfast. 🛌 | |
Lupus slows me down, but it ain't stoppin' me! | |
Steroids are my frenemy. 💊 | |
When you have a chronic illness, getting up every morning is a victory. | |
Washing laundry- a must. Drying- understandable. But putting it all away is simply taking things a bit too far. | |
'What can I do to help? Could I come over and vacuum, or clean your house? Could I bring you a meal once a week?" Those things are what I wish for. -Susie W. | |
I wish someone would say, "You aren't a burden. You have a right to simply exist, without needless judgment or shame." -Andrea W. | |
I feel deserted by friends, family, and my government. Literally don't know where to turn. That's my scary. -Jim R. | |
If you don't make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness. | |
Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done. 😩 | |
🩷 I hope you have a wonderful, symptom-free day! 🩷 |
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