Did you know there are people who can leave their houses, and then not spend days afterwards recovering from that? Strange, mythical beings who can do multiple activities a day? Mind blowing, isn’t it?
I know, because I used to be one of them; free to roam around in a body that did exactly what you wanted and needed it to.
My ‘new life’ with a chronic illness has become so normal to me that I can forget that, actually, the vast majority of people don’t have the same restrictions placed upon their lives.
It’s not ‘normal’ to be incapacitated for days, after leaving the house for 2.5 hours.
Every now and then I am remember, or am reminded, that it is actually unusual to have to block off days or weeks after doing A Thing.
I feel lucky that I’m not always consciously aware of the difference between my life and theirs. I’m just plodding along okay, immersed in a little bubble on the internet where everyone is just like me.
And then there will be a more lucid moment where I stop and realise that actually, *this* isn’t the norm.
People around me can get up, get showered, go to work, come back, look after their children, maybe even go out for the evening, and then go back to work the next day. Absolutely wild.
That is so baffling, as someone who is still feeling unwell after going out for 2 1/2 hours five days ago. And while this is all normal to me now, it isn’t the norm by any stretch.
Weird, huh?
NB: I don’t actually think there is such a thing as normal anymore. It’s far more nuanced. But for the purpose of this post it’s much clearer to write in black and white terms.
'M.E. myself and I' by Anna Redshaw 