Darkness Needs Lightness for Balance…
All of my recent posts have been extremely ‘heavy’, so to speak. First, there were the two knee injury series – one on resources for post knee surgery, and the other on things you can do whilst bed bound. Then, there was the Antiphospholipid Syndrome A to Z resource, which included a few other topics such as medications, women’s health, the latest APS research and all the major organs in the body that the autoimmune disease can hit.
Researching and writing those articles consumed a lot of my brain power and energy, which comes in limited edition as a person with multiple chronic illnesses. Then, I landed in hospital with more new diagnoses just a few weeks after school re-opened…..
…Or Maybe It Just Needs More Darkness!
So I decided to do this post for a bit of fun, and to take a break from the dreariness of it all. A metaphorical digestif, if you will. This post is part of a TikTok trend (I should really get on it some time soon, shouldn’t I?), “Tell Me Without Telling Me”. I learned about it from a post by Caz over at invisiblyme.com, although I can’t seem to find the original post now. Many of us who live with chronic illness endure our days with chronic pain, chronic fatigue, brain fog and other unnameable unpleasantries.
Humour has always carried me through the darkest periods of chronic illness, especially when faced with mortality. Morbid, dark humour is my favourite. It somehow lightens the whole situation, and makes things seem less scary or foreboding. To be able to laugh into the face of death takes away some of its power, and lightens the load. It gives me the strength to carry on.
What about you? What sort of humour do you enjoy the most, and does it help you through the dark days? Check out these “Tell Me You’re Chronically Ill Without Telling Me You’re Chronically Ill” memes I made, and let me know if you can relate to any of them in the comments below!
*Disclaimer: This article is meant for educational purposes, and is based on my personal experiences as a patient. I am not a doctor, and nothing in this article should be substituted for medical advice. Please consult your own doctor before changing or adding any new treatment protocols. This post may also contain affiliate links. It will cost you nothing to click on them. I will get a small referral fee from purchases you make, which helps with the maintenance of this blog. Read our Privacy Policy page for more information. Thank you!
“Tell Me You’re Chronically Ill Without Telling Me You’re Chronically Ill” Memes – Can You Relate?
- Autocorrect keeps ‘correcting’ your medical words to something incorrect. No way you actually meant “antiphospholipid” or “encephalomyelitis”.
- Sometimes you wish you were older, just so people would stop questioning the reality of your illnesses because you’re ‘too young’ to be that sick.
- You drill your travel companions on emergency protocols like an army sergeant, just in case you get a seizure or something cool.
- Superfoods and kale juice can land you in the A&E/ER at best, or kill you at worst.
- Your girlie pouch in the bag contains emergency medication (make that medicationS). Maybe lipstick and mascara – if there’s space.
- You can read a medical article in a minute and actually understand all the jargon.
- Choosing the ‘physician’ rather than ‘consumer’ version of medical articles to read.
- Spontaneity means getting prepared to be spontaneous. Unless of course, it’s a trip to the ER.
- You also have a ‘grab and go’ bag even though you’re not pregnant, for that said spontaneous trip to the A&E.
- Also, you don’t just have a backup plan, but the backup plans.
- When the #1 item on your Christmas wish list is simply – less pain. (A girl/boy can dream?)
- Your hands have a ‘daily quota’, so you use other body parts to compensate. Hey, shoulders are more efficient for opening doors, non?
- Gross isn’t gross – it’s important medical information that needs to be described in great detail to doctors so they can diagnose you properly and relieve you of pain.
- You develop naked body confidence, after needing to undress or spread your legs for the doctor/lab tech/whichever medical professional for the umpteeth time. It’s just a body.
- You need to dismantle your sushi because you can’t open your mouth wide enough to take a bite.
- Cutting up steak also requires careful planning and execution. If in company or if your hands are too painful for the day – abort mission and order a miserly salad like you meant to instead.
- That said, you can knock back a fistful of pills like a pro. They should really have a Major League
EatingPill Popping championship, because you would totally rock that. - You also have a ‘pill swallowing method’ where various parts of your mouth cavity serve as storage and launching devices.
- You have chronically ill internet friends who ‘get you’ more than people in real life. These are people you can discuss body parts, bowel movements and pain with all day without judgement.
- Monitoring your energy levels at events has become second nature, especially after you’ve had to make Titanic drama level exits a couple times.
- A shopping spree consists of pyjamas, compression clothing, ice and heat packs, hot water bottles, and mobility aids.
- Your ‘savings’ amount to a grand total of… $0. Those pesky medical bills really need to ease up their enthusiasm for a bit…
- You want to read that 1000-page book but fret, because you know it’s a trade off with pain in your finger and hand joints. (Thank goodness for Kindles!)
- Essential to do on arriving home from ‘the outside world’ – wiping your phone down with a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe.
- You glance or glare passive aggressively at anyone who coughs or sneezes on the street (or the elevator…gross).
- You’re grateful that the pandemic normalised mask-wearing (speaking for Asia, at least).
- The chemist is like the adult version of a candy store where you restock your OTC supplies.
- When you know the actual medication name – not just the brand name – better than the pharmacist or doctor. No, it’s not just Clexane or Lovenox, it’s enoxaparin to be precise.
- You run a mini pharmacy at home that takes up at least a few shelves. People come to you for medical supplies for minor ailments, or to ask you what their symptoms could be indicative of.
- That mini pharmacy extends to your bedside table, where you keep emergency supplies for immediate access.
- When the GP panics just as much as you, and just directs you to the nearest ER.
- You have a weighted blanket to help manage your anxiety… except you regret buying it because it’s basically a giant paperweight when your swollen hands can’t pull it up at night.
- You hold your bladder in and calculate your toilet breaks like an arithmetic problem, in order to save your knees some pain per trip.
- You also need 5 minutes to mentally prepare yourself just to sit up, when you need to use the toilet at night.
- You can prattle off tongue-twister medical conditions and medications off the tip of your tongue like poetry.
- Your bottle of concentrated peppermint essential oil has saved a drunk friend or two from puking.
- You have two homes. The second being the hospital. Even the staff know you by name.
- The fear of boarding public transportation is real. Often you avoid the disabled seat even if no one is sitting in it, for fear of being accused.
- Same goes for disabled toilets. When you’re actually out with your walking stick or mobility aid, you feel vindicated just standing outside. Look at my mobility aid, goddamnit.
- Home is where the… medications are.
- Your calendar is fully booked for the rest of the year with doctor appointments. Maybe you can squeeze a friend in somewhere, but probably not.
- Your handwriting is like a 4 year-old’s scrawl because your hand trembles, either from illness or a medication side effect.
- When you rupture your tendons, but assume it’s ‘just a dislocation’ that your hypermobile friends online can teach you how to pop back.
- People think you’re cold and arrogant, no thanks to your resting pain face.
- Your idea of a fun, wild night out with friends is chilling on the couch at home, playing board games. Maybe one glass of wine tops, and with a wine wand.
- You’re absolutely shocked when/if you wake up to a pain free day. You poke and prod your body all day in disbelief, and wonder if that’s how ‘normal’ people feel every day?!
- You now consider work stress as a luxury problem, and dream of being stressed out about work, instead of rotting in bed all day long with pain and fatigue.
- You understand that ‘just be happy’ is a bullshit platitude and attitude on life, when you live in chronic pain. So you seek a life with meaning instead.
Conclusion to the “Tell Me You’re Chronically Ill Without Telling Me You’re Chronically Ill” Meme Series
Could you relate to any of these memes as a person with chronic illness or disabilities? I’d love to hear which you could relate to the most in the comments below! And if you have a good chronic illness meme of your own, I’d love to hear it too, and perhaps add it to this post (with credits to you, of course)!
Wishing you a low-pain day, and one filled with laughter 🙂
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