This past week was rough. Not gonna lie. At least, healthwise. I was in more pain than I’ve been in in . . . maybe a year? On top of that, my laptop broke, which definitely hindered writing. Between the two, I decided to stick with an easier blog post this week and just have some fun. Hopefully you laugh and feel validated. You’ll have to let me know which ones are relatable. 😉 

Hailey Hudson did a version of this post when she guest posted a few years ago, and it was so much fun, I thought I’d make my own. Without further ado, you know you have a chronic illness when . . .

• • You know your doctor’s life story
  • You personally know all of your doctor’s other patients and their dignoses (I promise I’ll get to that book recommendation eventually, Mary!)
  • Your doctor’s receptionist shows you pictures of her granddaughter every week
  • You’ve memorized what every of the hundred or so supplements you take is (and the dosage)
  • You can tell the difference between vitamin c and magnesium capsules
  • Your friends don’t come to you for relationship advice anymore, they come to you for medical advice
  • You receive Christmas gifts from your supplement companies
  • You know way too much about the human body
  • You diagnos people’s problems they don’t know they have in your head and struggle to keep it to yourself
  • You not only notice medical mistakes in movies and TV shows, but they drive you crazy (your liver is on your right, not your left, people!!)
  • You struggle to have compassion on people’s petty problems
  • You learned a whole new language after getting sick (was literally trying to figure out how to translate medical talk into English for a friend today)
  • You know what a “spoonie” is
  • You’re an expert at long distance friendships
  • You don’t bother doing your hair anymore
  • You hear “I’ve never seen it like this before” from medical professionals frequently

You Know You Have A Chronic Illness When . . . (What YOU Said)

I asked you all on Instagram what you would add to this list, and here is what you said:

• “You have to give yourself a pep talk to take a shower . . .and then rest afterwards.” @tabitha_319 Yes! A shower used to be the most difficult part of my day. When I asked my dad for ideas for this post, he said, “You know you have a chronic illness when showers are like a car’s oil changes: few and far between.”
• “You struggle to keep up with you peers (physically, academically, etc.)!” @kennavoy_
• “Breathing is exhausting.” @lifewithoutalatte
• “You have mini essential oils in your purse.” @wildrosejournal Oh my goodness, YES. Except I have a special pouch I carry around with me everywhere with like 20 full-size oils in it.
• “You’ve memorized each family member’s footsteps and way of closing a door, listening from bed.” @aerelien Yes yes yes! This is soooooo true. 
• “Perfume and candles are poison.” @aerelien It’s funny, when someone in our family says “they smell strong/bed” what we mean is, they smell like soap, shampoo, perfume, cologne, etc.
• “It’s easier to name the foods you can eat than the ones you can’t!” @aerelien I’ve been on the other end of many interrogations, this is so true. I have a specific memory of having this discussion with Bailey Darnell when I first started AIP. My fellow Young Life leaders enjoy guessing what in the world I’m eating when I bring my own food to our team dinners every week.
• “You’re literally too tired to move.” @aerelien Yep, she literally means literally.
• “Your friend complains of an ailment and you have exactly what they need to take care of it.” @jess_kinda_life Haha, yes! I specifically remember “treating” someone’s altitude sickness not long ago.
• “You have to carry more than one bag just to go to the grocery store because you have too many medical supplies.” @jess_kinda_life For Christmas, my family bought me a bigger backpack. That’s definitely helped. But I joke about having to carry a “diaper bag” around. (I promise, I don’t actually use diapers, though I know many chronic illness warriors need to.) I refuse to let anyone carry it for me, though, because I don’t want to risk being seperated from much-needed medical supplies. 
• “You carry at least two changes of clothes with you everywhere you go.” @jess_kinda_life
• “Stay at home orders due to COVID-19 didn’t change your life much.” @rachelundy
• “It takes you two hours to ‘wake up your legs’ in the morning.” @jess_kinda_life
• “You drop something in the shower and everyone comes in to see if you’re okay.” @jess_kinda_life I totally relate to this one. Recently, I was giggling at something and my brother went to get my mom because he thought I was crying.
• “You and your friends can laugh when you have a seizure.” @abbycjenkins I don’t know about that, but it is hilarious to watch my friends first shock when I joke about my illness . . .but it quickly changes to them joking about it too. One instance in particular comes to mind when a friend joked about my illness in front of new people we’d just met and they didn’t know whether to laugh or defend me.
• “‘I’m tired’ is a loaded statement.” @alathiahayes.author
• “You can’t ever tell if you’re actually sick sick or just normal sick.” @alathiahayes.author YESSSS. Seriously. And especially with the virus going on right now, everyone keeps freaking out if I tell them about my symptoms.

Honorable Mention:

When I was trying to find a picture for this blog post, I searched “tired person” in Pixabay. (When I looked up medical related stuff, most of what came up was COVID-19 focused.) What popped up was this guy pushing a tire. Tire… person… okay, maybe, but not quite what I was looking for. I sent the picture to a few friends to make them laugh, and one replied with a final ‘you know you have a chronic illness when . . .’

“You feel like you’re pushing a tire across the pavement, and not the easy way.” @the_shulze Definitely relatable.

Hopefully these made you laugh, reminded you that you aren’t alone, and if you didn’t have a chronic illness, helped you understand us a little better. (Though it may have made you just further confused.) 

Share which ones you related to most below . . . and if there are any you would add to the list. 😉 

Happy Monday,

Sara