Are you confident enough to express your feelings and opinions whilst respecting those of others? Are you able to say ‘no’? Do you think your opinion matters? Can you recognise unhealthy communication styles?There are three main types of communication, Passive, Aggressive and Assertive. My communication style changes depending on the situation but I know I’m…
Category: chronic
Stigma and Chronic Illness
Do you know how difficult it is to live with a chronic condition? I don’t just mean the pain (physical and/or emotional), the fatigue, the lack of sleep or concentration; I mean the judgement, the discrimination from other people, the constant questioning. That look you get from someone when you’re out in public and you…
You’re Suffering but Family and Friends Can’t Read Your Mind
You’re in pain, you’re dealing with emotional issues, you’re falling apart, and you desperately want someone to help you but you haven’t asked anyone…how can they know? The luckiest of us have people in our lives that can read our facial expressions and know we’re not being honest about pain or distress, but even they…
Getting The Right Wheelchair For You
Surely, it’s easy to pick a wheelchair, right? It’s just a seat with wheels, how hard could it be? There are many different types of wheelchair and to get the right one, that is comfortable, going to last a while, and be suitable for your individual needs, you need to consider a few things.As a prolific…
I’m Disabled and I Wear Make Up, So What?
I’ve wanted to write this post for a while, in fact, I’ve changed this first sentence numerous times. How else do I introduce this post when the title says it all? I’m disabled and I wear make up, what’s the problem? If you’re not disabled or never experienced anything that I have, I urge you…
Chronic Illness is Hard Enough: All I ask for is Empathy, Part Two
First of all can I just define what a chronic illness is as there seems to be so many people that have never experienced anything more than the flu or acute pain who think they’re experts on what it is like to live with a chronic condition. If you’re one of these healthy little experts…
Bag Haul from Grindstore: Backpacks and Chronic Life
A few weeks ago Grindstore had a 10% off Back to School sale and I had to take advantage. Many of you know that I spent three weeks in hospital recently and during my treatment my Occupational Therapist suggested I use a backpack. I alternate between two crutches and a wheelchair due to my disability and…
All I ask for is empathy
It’s hard enough being a 28 year old disabled woman without the insensitive comments of abled people, but factor in the dickheads of society and their ludicrous questioning, things can get very awkward, very quickly. I don’t deal well with comments regarding my health. To this day, there are certain people that say extremely negative…
Chronic Illness Sufferers Be Heard: #SufferingTheSilence
Suffering the Silence is an online community for people living with chronic illnesses to share their stories. They are an amazing movement that are breaking the silence by giving sufferers a voice and a platform to tell others what it is like to live with their condition/s.As soon as I read about #SufferingTheSilence here, I…
Week Three: Stanmore Pain Management and Rehabilitation Programme, Part Eight
| Day One | That was my last night in the hotel; I can’t believe I’m already in my final week of rehab. I arrived at Stanmore at 9 am and unpacked my things ready for the weekend review. I completed the majority of my goals but didn’t download WorkRave as I was being stubborn…