Why is it that the world has a very hard time understanding endometriosis and doesn't really qualify it as a huge disability and a disease that causes chronic pain. I have heard many stories of women who have been fired, almost fired and or are having issues with work because their employers don't believe that this disease is as debilitating as it can be. For some women(such as myself) I can have really good days and nobody would ever think that something could be wrong with me physically. But for a lot of women work isn't possible, and if they do work...they take a lot of time off because some days you really can't make yourself get out of bed because you feel nauseous, u can't stand straight because your belly hurts so much, and the pain is so excruciating that even with a huge combination of meds you don't feel any better. And it doesn't help that there isn't an easy way to tell the extent of someones pain because the level of pain that they could be feeling...doesn't necessarily equal out to the stage of endo that they have. Someone who is a stage 1 endo could feel more pain then somebody say like me, who is a stage 4 and my reproductive system is already compromised. This disease doesn't always make sense which is why I think it is hard for a lot of people to be understanding, sympathetic, or even try to 'give a shit' that you have a disease that causes cronic pain along with many other weird, and hard to handle symptoms. I know for me I have gotten lucky with my jobs and have had amazing employers, along with having a great support system. I am not saying that my support system doesn't sometimes get annoyed with hearing me complain about my disease...but they're always there for me when it really counts.
I know that we all need love, support, and for people to take us serious but that isn't likely to happen for everybody. Its sad to say but there will always be those people in life that wont take you serious, will toss you out of their lives because you no longer party/hang out with them, and will never believe that what you are feeling on the inside...can cause so much pain. So you must be there for yourself. Be as selfish as you have to be because in the end...you are the one person that can help you over come this disease and not let it control your life.I know that everyday is a struggle...you're preachin to the choir on that one...but we all need to find ways to live because letting other people control our lives and constantly put us down for our disease is killing us even more than this disease is. I don't mean try to go back to the way our life was before this disease took over, but find things that you can do and enjoy even if you are having a bad day. For me its this blog...for other women it could be reading, knitting, painting, cooking, or even just hanging out with someone who can stand your complaining. Don't let an employer bully you..Standing up to them can be terrifying, but once they start to understand what you go through on a day to day basis...life will get a whole lot easier for you
No comments:
Post a Comment