invisible illness – Page 3 – M.E. myself and I

The emotional impact of long-term physical illness

I have no diagnosed mental health conditions, but in the same way that we all have a physical health, every single one of us has a mental health. Recently mine hasn’t been as good as it once was. To put it simply, I have been unwell every single day since September 2010 and no humanContinue reading “The emotional impact of long-term physical illness”

Better in time?

Even if it doesn’t quite heal the pain, time definitely seems to lessens it. Summer camp starts this week. Our family run holiday camps. For me, it marks my 8th season of not being a part of it. For the first few years I struggled emotionally with missing out on an experience I had beenContinue reading “Better in time?”

Savouring it

I apologise in advance if this seems self-indulgent. Perhaps I’m only writing it for myself anyway. It is never me who empties these tea party boxes. I never lay the tea sets on the tables, never hang the decorations or balloons. Never walk down the village hall driveway to put out posters directing people in.Continue reading “Savouring it”

The tea party for M.E. – Blue Sunday 2019

Just a low key tea party this year. That was what I was aiming for. Just a small scale Blue Sunday where I hoped we’d maybe scrape together £500 or so to send off to The ME Association to help them carry on with the vital work they do. I was little dumbfounded then, toContinue reading “The tea party for M.E. – Blue Sunday 2019”

Choice

I found this photo recently. I’m guessing it was maybe 2012? That’s what most of the first few years of this journey looked like. Seeing myself in photos like this used to make me so sad, and there is still an intense fear of full-on relapse, but I can also feel immense pride looking atContinue reading “Choice”

The sky is not the limit

If there’s only one point I manage to coherently make during M.E. awareness week, I want it to be this. You cannot push through M.E You cannot fight it in the same way you might fight other diseases and illnesses. I despise that rhetoric anyway. (If I ever die as a result of an illnessContinue reading “The sky is not the limit”

Rediscovery

When your whole life has been altered by illness, and absolutely every aspect of it consumed by that illness, it can be very hard to know who you are anymore. When I became unwell, I was only just a History graduate. Only a couple of months after the graduation ceremony, my life was suddenly very,Continue reading “Rediscovery”