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Joanna No Banana
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  • Chronic Illness
    • How to Grieve: Chronic Illness Edition
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    • A Letter to My Chronically Ill Body
    • My Chronic Illness Changed Me & That’s Okay
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    • Top 10 Ways To Increase Shower Accessibility
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        Top 10 Ways To Increase Shower Accessibility

        March 21, 2021

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        How to Grieve: Chronic Illness Edition

        October 15, 2020

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        Imposter Syndrome: Dynamic Disability Edition

        September 6, 2020

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        A Letter to My Chronically Ill Body

        July 18, 2020

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        July 18, 2020

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Category:

Chronic Illness

Pink and white floral banner for my chronic illness changed me & that's okay
Chronic Illness

My Chronic Illness Changed Me & That’s Okay

by Joanna No Banana February 6, 2021

When many chronically ill people become chronically ill, they assume it’s just another sickness that they’ll recover from without any issues. The symptoms arise. Days go by. The doctor either blames it on anxiety or offers some medicine that doesn’t work. Months pass by. Things may be getting even worse at this point. Sometimes years will pass by before we figure out that this is something that’s not going away. It’s difficult to accept this. All of a sudden, our dreams, our goals, and what we’re physically able to do is changed. What once used to be a relaxing shower, is now a difficult task that may need assistance. Meals used to be so exciting but now it’s a difficult chore. Things become so much more difficult and complicated. Our lives are forever changed.

What makes the process of grieving our old bodies even more difficult is hearing comments about how others are waiting for the “old version” of us. As if, we aren’t the same people we used to be. In some sense, I suppose that’s true. We can’t do things that we used to do. We view the world differently now. We’re much more aware of medical gaslighting, accessibility issues, and the ableism in this world. However, that’s not really what people tend to mean when they ask for the “old me.” When they ask for the “old me,” it feels like they’re asking for me without my chronic illnesses. It makes it sound like my new accessibility needs are a burden. That makes me feel like a burden even though I know that’s just ableism.

Our friends and family are also affected by our chronic illnesses to some extent. They may need some time to better understand our current situations and that’s okay too. However, saying things like “I could never live like that” is unacceptable. Implying that our lives are worth any less, either by their words or by their actions, like deciding to leisure travel during a pandemic. If you’re a friend or family member of someone with a chronic illness, we’re looking at you at this time to see how much you value our lives. Do you say things like the high risk should just stay home and everything else needs to open back up? As if this pandemic won’t leave many people chronically ill/disabled?

It’s important for both chronically ill people and their family/friends to accept the chronic illness. Ask the chronically ill person how you can help them. Being chronically ill is expensive. Can you afford to help with groceries? Being chronically ill is tiring. Can you offer to help run an errand for us? Being chronically ill is lonely. Can you reach out and have a conversation with us even when it includes our chronic illness? Ask us what we need. Even just being told that you’re there for us means a lot.

I’m never going to be the “old me” again and that’s okay. While my chronic illness brought a lot of new struggles and difficulties into my life, it’s also morphed me into someone who has a brand new outlook on life. I no longer worry about the little things. I don’t constantly stress out about things I can’t change anymore. I put my limited energy into things that I truly feel passionate about. I’ve met the loveliest people due to my chronic illness. I’ve learned a lot about the medical field and different chronic illnesses. I’ve learned about ableism and disability rights. I don’t want to be the “old me” again. She feels like forever ago. Certain things are harder now but I’m happy with this life as well. Becoming chronically ill doesn’t mean only positive changes, but I’ve found some positive ones in my experience. If you’re chronically ill, I hope you share my sentiment. If you don’t, that’s okay too. Please just remember that no one should be pressuring you to be somebody who you aren’t anymore. I hope the “new you” finds comfort in this.

February 6, 2021 4 comments
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Banner for article How to Grieve Chronic Illness Edition
Chronic IllnessDisability

How to Grieve: Chronic Illness Edition

by Joanna No Banana October 15, 2020

Becoming chronically ill is a life-altering event. Even if there were signs and symptoms earlier in life, once that chronic illness reaches the point of heavily influencing your daily life, it feels like a completely different world. Suddenly, life is less about hobbies, seeing friends and family, and pursuing your career. It’s much more about managing symptoms, making doctor appointments, reading medical journals, calling insurance companies, and so much more. It’s difficult having to deal with these things on top of feeling symptoms like fatigue, pain, etc. constantly. 

One major thing that can help is learning to grieve your past non chronically ill (or less chronically ill) self. Grief is a natural response to losing something or someone. In this case, you’ve lost who you were and who you thought that you would be. When we’re young, we’re rarely taught to plan for chronic illness even though it’s quite common. It’s difficult when our life plans are forced to change. However, grieving these changes helps to protect your mental health which is crucial.

The five stages of grief as explained by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross are known as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. How do they apply to chronic illness? The versions of these differ for every individual but let’s talk about some common versions of these stages. 

Stage of Grief #1: Denial

It begins with denial. You may start by denying that you’re chronically ill. It must just be a bad cold or the flu that’s been bothering you for a bit too long. You question if maybe it’s stress, lack of sleep, dehydration, or your food that’s causing you to feel this way. It’s not like it can last forever, right? But then it doesn’t go away. You try to change up your life a bit and perhaps you feel a bit better, but you’re still not feeling great. You continue trying to figure this out.The home remedies don’t make it go away. The medicine you get from the doctor isn’t much help either. It starts to get frustrating which leads into the second stage of grief.

Stage of Grief #2: Anger

You’re starting to feel angry. Angry at your body for suddenly not working like it used to. Maybe you even exercised several days a week and ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, but now you still feel absolutely horrible! That feels so unfair. You’re now angry at the doctors who keep gaslighting you. You’re getting mad at the doctors who listen but don’t provide any answers either. You’re trying out different things. Some things can help but it can get so overwhelming. It gets extremely frustrating to have to deal with this on top of everything else going on in your life. 

Stage of Grief #3: Bargaining

This stage showcases hope. You believe things can get better. You may start to bargain with the universe, religious figures, nature, your body, etc. If you just do x, y, and z, then you deserve to be healthy, so then you’ll be healthy, right? The fault in that argument is that you never deserved to get sick in the first place. Being chronically ill isn’t a reflection of your character in any way. Anyways, during the bargaining stage, you start to fantasize about how different your life can become in a better way. It feels like things can become so much easier soon. 

Stage of Grief #4: Depression

When you have a moment of realization that the bargaining didn’t change anything and that the fantasy of your body functioning differently isn’t coming true, it’s common to feel depressed, especially when you don’t have a strong support system, both with family/friends and with your medical care team. You wonder about the worth of your life and may see yourself as a burden, but you’re not a burden. You’re just someone who functions a bit differently in this world due to your body. That doesn’t make you a burden. (You can check out an article about not being a burden here.)

Stage of Grief #5: Acceptance

At some point, you learn to accept your chronically ill body, your current situation, and the way it impacts your life. Acceptance comes step-by-step. When you allow yourself to feel anger, depression, and any other negative emotion in the grieving process, you’ve allowed yourself to figure out what exactly is making you feel certain ways so you’re more equipped to deal with those negative feelings when they emerge in the future. Yes, they’ll emerge in the future once again. A new symptom, a new diagnosis, a realization that you’re unable to do something that you really want to do (it may need to be grieved more or maybe this specific thing wasn’t grieved yet) can cause the process to start over once again. However, it’ll generally get easier over time. As time passes, you’ll learn to better manage your symptoms, figure out which meds/remedies work best for you, learn to rest more, and find better support over time which also helps the grieving process.

Everyone grieves differently in their own way and at their own pace. You don’t have to follow any specific path or formula. Whatever you feel is valid, no matter if it’s positive or negative. Try to be kind and patient with yourself throughout this difficult ongoing process. At the very least, remember that you’re never alone. There is an entire chronic illness community who understands having to grieve chronic illness. We have lost a lot, but at the very least we have gained a wonderful community.

October 15, 2020 2 comments
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Banner for Imposter Syndrome Dynamic Disability Edition featuring a wheelchair and workout equipment
Chronic IllnessDisability

Imposter Syndrome: Dynamic Disability Edition

by Joanna No Banana September 6, 2020

What is imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which a person doubts themselves. Usually, this refers to someone doubting their success and fearing being exposed as a “fraud.”

What is a dynamic disability?

A dynamic disability, as coined by Brianne Benness of No End in Sight, is a disability which fluctuates in severity from one moment onto the next. 

For many of us with chronic illnesses, we have moments, days, weeks, etc. where we feel capable of performing certain tasks. However, there are also times when we feel physically incapable of performing those same tasks. Our capabilities are dynamic. They’re constantly changing. 

It’s difficult to attempt to predict the severity of our symptoms in advance. One small change in our environment or in our bodies can quickly change our level of what we can do and to what extent.

The relationship between dynamic disability and imposter syndrome:

Being dynamically disabled can cause some disabled people to feel as if they’re a “fraud” for calling themselves disabled. This tends to occur when there is a moment or phase of the disabled person feeling capable of doing tasks. They don’t feel as limited by their body, so they begin to question if they can even use the word “disabled” to describe themselves. Can they? Absolutely! A dynamically disabled person is still disabled even on their “good” days. There is no test or check list that is required to call yourself disabled. If you have days of pain in any way (such as headaches, joint pain, muscle pain, etc.) but you don’t feel that pain on other days, then you may have a dynamic disability. If you have very poor mental health days but feel great on other days, then you may have a dynamic disability. If you can dance sometimes but other times you can’t get out of bed, then you may have a dynamic disability. There are many different ways in which a dynamic disability presents itself. If you feel that this term of “dynamic disability” describes you (or may potentially describe you), then it’s a term that you should consider using. 

There is an entire disabled community that’s open to you no matter if you use that term or not. Calling yourself “disabled” makes it easier to find other folks who are struggling with the same or similar issues as the ones that you’re experiencing.

Personally, just learning about terms such as dynamic disability and invisible disability (a disability which cannot be easily seen physically) has been extremely helpful in finding “disabled” as the proper term to describe myself. If you’re dynamically disabled, please remember that there is a term for you. You and your experiences as a disabled person are valid!

September 6, 2020 3 comments
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The Difficulty of Weight Change Caused by Chronic Illness Banner held by a woman
Chronic Illness

The Difficulty of Weight Change Caused by Chronic Illness

by Joanna No Banana July 18, 2020

Chronic illnesses can affect the body in an extremely wide range of ways, but the one that seems to get a lot of attention is weight…

Chronic illnesses can affect the body in an extremely wide range of ways, but the one that seems to get a lot of attention is weight changes. Weight loss and weight gain can severely impact not only the way that we view ourselves but also how others perceive us. When someone’s weight changes due to their chronic illness, it’s very likely that their weight is not within their control. Medicine, birth control, restricted diets, and much more are linked into this complicated situation. Something to note is that this is a common experience for those with chronic illnesses. Whether you lost or gained weight outside of your control, it’s a difficult experience, especially when those around you react in certain manners.

Personally, my chronic illnesses have caused me to lose weight. My mast cell activation syndrome heavily crossed out many foods on my safety list. I have allergic reactions to most foods. My histamine intolerance further decreased that list. My SIBO makes it difficult to even drink water sometimes. My weight loss isn’t pretty or inspirational. It’s a lot of pain, both physical and emotional. It’s being proud that I was able to eat something without any reactions but then my stomach wanting to throw up. It’s eating food that should be safe, but then having an allergic reaction. It’s not being able to go to any restaurants due to airborne reactions that can put me in a flare for a week or even longer. As someone who has dealt with an unhealthy relationship with food in the past, this experience has been extremely emotionally triggering. Those old disordered thoughts of “not being worthy of food” creep their way back into my mind. So when I have someone point out my weight loss, especially as an accomplishment, you can only imagine how much it further allows my mind to creep into that narrative. Whenever this happens, especially if someone knows that I’m sick, it feels as if they’re saying that my worth as a slimmer figure is better than the much healthier body that I used to have. In my heart, I try to explain to myself that’s not the case, but it still hurts. It’s a struggle for me to keep my weight up. It’s a struggle to not faint from lack of calories. I’m trying my best every single day to help my body thrive as much as it can. My chronic illnesses that cause my weight loss aren’t “lucky” or something to be desired. It’s a constant physically and emotionally straining struggle.

For those who gain weight due to their chronic illness, they’re also treated in a way that hurts them. Pointing out something that they can’t control, especially talking about it in a negative manner, is extremely damaging. I took certain medications that I needed to be able to function at all. Guess what? I gained weight daily from them no matter how little I ate. That’s just how some bodies respond to certain medicines. Stop pointing out what you think is wrong about someone else’s body. Even if you’re not doing it to be inherently rude, it’s still likely to come across in a harmful manner. Not everyone is able to follow some sort of weight loss plan, especially when chronic illnesses are involved.

A lot of people deal with chronic illnesses that affect their weight and other aspects of their appearance as well. Weight is an extremely sensitive topic for many people. Calling those whose bodies are forced to lose weight as “lucky” or those whose bodies are forced to gain weight as “not trying hard enough” promotes extremely problematic ideas about the worth of human beings equating to how slim they can become. Your weight doesn’t determine your value. In general, especially when you don’t know the person extremely well, it’s best to not point out changes about their bodies. Allow people to embrace their bodies as you never really know what someone else is going through.

July 18, 2020 1 comment
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Banner for article A Letter To My Chronically Ill Body
Chronic IllnessDisability

A Letter to My Chronically Ill Body

by Joanna No Banana July 18, 2020

To My Chronically Ill Body,

I want to start by apologizing. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the ways that I’ve treated you. For all the times that I didn’t give you what you needed or even what you wanted. Sure, sometimes those two things seemed to go against one another, but it was all one and the same in the end. Sometimes you just needed a chocolate bar! I wish I would’ve understood you better back then. I wish I was calling you my friend. Treating you with kindness. Instead, I poked and pricked at every part of you for being too big or too small. Always too much or not enough. I always wanted to change you, but you were working perfectly fine that entire time. 

Now, it’s a different story. Nowadays, my dear chronically ill body you’re not doing the best, but I’ve learned to understand that you’re doing your best. That’s enough for now. It has to be. I’m trying to help you. I’m researching medical journals daily, reaching out to others, and trying my best too. I hope us trying our best will be enough so that we may both feel better soon, but even if it’s not, that’s okay too. You taught me that.

From now until forever, I promise to love you properly. I’ll gently pat our bruises and kiss our painful joints. I won’t blame you for days in which you keep us in bed. I refuse to get angry for all the times that you keep us from going outside. The flowers will still be in the garden tomorrow. We will try again.

I don’t know what life will throw our way, but we’re in this together.

Thank You For Trying Your Best,

Your One and Only

July 18, 2020 0 comment
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About Me

About Me

Writer & Reader

My name is Joanna. I’m a 24-year-old chronically ill and disabled blogger whose goal is to help build our wonderful community.Read More!

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Recent Posts

  • Top 10 Ways To Increase Shower Accessibility

    March 21, 2021
  • My Chronic Illness Changed Me & That’s Okay

    February 6, 2021
  • How to Grieve: Chronic Illness Edition

    October 15, 2020
  • Imposter Syndrome: Dynamic Disability Edition

    September 6, 2020
  • The Difficulty of Weight Change Caused by Chronic Illness

    July 18, 2020

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Queen of Allergies | MCAS EDS
"You should go see a doctor for that!" Have you he "You should go see a doctor for that!" Have you heard that one before? 🙃

Yes, we would love to get the proper care we need, but unsolicited advice like that doesn't help the situation for chronic illness patients. Oftentimes, it can imply that we're not trying hard enough to "get better" and that there is an easy solution that we haven't even tried.

There are a couple of reasons why a chronically ill patient wouldn't be going to doctors often, such as not having access to the type of specialist they need or insurance not covering the appointment. 

Another aspect that comes into play is medical trauma. 

Also, a lot of chronically ill patients may not feel comfortable going to certain doctor offices, hospitals, etc. unless they absolutely need to due to sheltering from the c to the nineteen.

On top of that, many of us are very busy with school, work, running other errands, taking care of our health in other ways, etc. and going to doctor's appointments constantly may not be the best use of our time and energy.

Everyone will be different in regards to what they need to do to take care of themselves and that’s okay. 💛

How do you feel about going to see doctors? Do you go often, rarely, or somewhere in between? I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment below!

For more content like this follow @joannanobanana 

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #MastCellActivationSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome
Double tap if you agree! 💛 It's so frustrating Double tap if you agree! 💛

It's so frustrating when people try to compare others with the same disability to ourselves. 😫

Just because we have the same disability, it doesn't mean that we are exactly the same. We can have different levels of how symptoms affect us, different additional disabilities, different levels of access to the proper healthcare professionals, different financial situations, different support systems, and so much more!

It's not fair to any patient to compare them to others. 💛

Sometimes we may even do it to ourselves. We think about how someone else has the same disability but they thrive better than we do, but instead of comparing we should be glad that they're in a position to thrive. We are a community and the more of us that thrive, the better. Also, a lot of our interactions are on social media which tends to be a highlight of peoples' lives anyways.

Everyone is comfortable posting different things on social media. I appreciate the people who post their lows. I appreciate the people who post their highs. I appreciate the people who post both. Everyone should feel comfortable sharing their stories however they would like and receive support from their community.

How do you utilize social media to talk about your disability (including chronic illnesses which include mental illnesses)? Do you talk about the highs, the lows, or both? Comment below! ⬇️

Personally I talk more about the lows but imagery wise I like to show days when I'm feeling better which are happier and more creative.

For more content like this follow @JoannaNoBanana

#Disability #Disabled #MastCellActivationSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #POTSAwareness #ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll
#AD Everyone deserves a proper education system wh #AD Everyone deserves a proper education system where students feel accepted and represented.

In order to accomplish this goal, it’s crucial to have books in schools that represent all different types of students.

I wish when I was a student that I would’ve been exposed to more history, culture, education, etc. from all different minorities. 

When I was younger I never even had the understanding of the word “disabled” to know that I was already a part of this community. I wish I would’ve been taught about how disability can look like so many different people and learned more about disabled historical figures.

I remember when I immigrated to the US as a child and some classmates held that against me, such as a student refusing to let me sit by his desk because of the accusation that I would steal something simply because I’m an immigrant. Those types of moments can be extremely disheartening to a child and lets them know about how poorly people might treat you outside of the classroom. At the very least, the classroom should be a safe space. 

Hate is something that is taught by omitting representation of minorities. Let’s teach love and compassion instead. 

Let’s advocate for schools to teach about all minority groups as much as possible, so students can feel represented, accepted by their peers, and understood by the world as much as possible.

What do you wish that you would’ve been taught in school regarding minority groups? Comment below!

#Disabled #Disability #Disabilities #DisabilityAdvocacy #DisabilityRights #HonestyInEducation #EdScare #BannedBookChallenge #LetThemLearn #WeSayGay #DontBanBlack #AmericansAgainstCensorship #KnowBetterBeBetter
#AD As a chronically ill and disabled person worki #AD As a chronically ill and disabled person working for others has always been a struggle due to lack of accessibility and lack of understanding.

Fortunately, I'm finally in a place where I can work for myself and focus my time and energy on topics that I'm passionate about such as disability advocacy, allergy awareness, and much more. I'm excited to make more content that can help others and help our community. I'm also excited to work with amazing brands! That's where @glew.ee comes in!

Glewee offers a transparent and honest experience with paid partnerships to help influencers be paid for their work. Working through this amazing platform helps me connect with the right brands and get paid so I can focus my time and energy on my passions.

If you're disabled and/or chronically ill, do you work at this time? If so, do you work for others or for yourself? Which do you prefer? Tell me all about it in the comments! 🙂

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #MastCellActivationSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #POTSAwareness
Everyone is different in their own way in regards Everyone is different in their own way in regards to their health struggles, including mental illnesses or other chronic illnesses. 

No one except the person experiencing the illness can ever really know how much illness affects that person. No matter if it's one illness or multiple, it can be disabling. 

There is a hesitancy for a lot of people who are ill to call themselves disabled. I think a part of that is internalized ableism. Another part is comparing yourself to others and thinking you're not "sick enough" to be disabled. 

Disability is an identity that's complicated, but to make it simple for just a moment in regards to those experiencing any illness: if your illness/disorder/etc. is affecting your daily living and making something that you do to survive (eat, breathe, sleep, think, etc.) difficult, then you're welcome in the disability community.

When people say that something shouldn't be a disability just because they don't define themselves as disabled, then they take away potential resources, accomodations, and much more for others who are struggling because of that illness/disorder/etc.

If you're someone who says something like that phrase above from my tweet, please consider that your words are hurting others and that perhaps you identifying yourself as disabled might actually be beneficial for you in some way, such as getting accomodations and finding people with shared life experiences.

(PS. Mental illnesses are also chronic illnesses but I wanted to specifically include mental illness here because people often seem to forget that mental illnesses are included.)

Do you consider yourself disabled? If so, when did you start? If not, is that something that you're considering? Let me know in the comments below!

For more content like this follow @joannanobanana 💛

#Disabled #Disability #MentalIllness #MentalIllnesses #ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll
Take the knowledge of your fertility into your own Take the knowledge of your fertility into your own hands!

#AD #Sponsor Fertility is a sensitive topic for many people, but it's also something that's really important to discuss. 

People worry that maybe they have a fertility problem, but they don't know who to go to. A lot of the tests at the doctor's can be extremely expensive so testing might seem out of budget.
It's also a very delicate topic, so it's great that you can find out the right info from @modernfertility for the fair price of $159 in the comfort of your own home. (Get $20 off by ordering yours through https://bit.ly/3MjRI1I ) (Link in bio!)

With just a prick of the finger and sending over your package to the lab, after a couple of days, you can log into your dashboard which showcases fertility metrics and so much more such as thyroid levels! 

Even if fertility isn't your primary goal, it's still beneficial to learn more about your body!

Many of us who are chronically ill worry about our fertility due to our chronic illnesses, daily medications, etc. The Modern Fertility test is an amazing tool that allows people to learn more about their own body so that they can plan their futures in the way that best works for them and their bodies.

I'm also so happy to share that the Modern Fertility test is now available in New Jersey!

Also remember that while this information is important, no matter the results, you are still a wonderful human being.

For those who feel comfortable sharing, have you ever worried about your fertility? What other metrics about your own body would you like to learn more about?

#modernfertilitypartner #chronicillness #chronicallyill #mastcellactivationsyndrome #ehlersdanlossyndrome
Can you relate to this? 🙃 It can be so difficu Can you relate to this? 🙃

It can be so difficult to deal with the highs and the lows of chronic illness.

We may also refer to this as “dynamic disability.”

In one moment we feel relatively okay. We feel like today will be the day where we get some errands completed and have some fun, but then our symptoms reappear or worsen and then our entire day and night changes.

This is why it’s so difficult to make plans!

We want to be invited and we want to go, but there are things stopping us. We don’t know if we will feel okay enough to attend. I’ve cried many tears over this and I’m sure that I’m not the only one, so much love to anyone who can relate. ❤️

Being on this rollercoaster of symptoms is difficult to manage, so remember to be gentle with yourself. 💛

What are some things that you’re hoping to do on your next low symptom day? I would love to know! Comment below! ⬇️ 

For more content like this follow @joannanobanana 💛

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #Spoonie #SpoonieLife
Double tap if you agree 💛 When you’re chroni Double tap if you agree 💛

When you’re chronically ill, there are many ways in most people tend to not understand the things that we go through.

One of those things is being stuck in bed.

It doesn’t mean that we want to be here. It doesn’t mean that we are necessarily relaxing. We might just be resting as needed. Resting as in trying to preserve our energy and possibly gain some back but not finding the process to be something that we prefer to do. It looks like the same action but it’s actually quite different.

Also, not having the capability to get out of bed by ourselves can be mentally and physically draining. Not going outside for weeks, months, or even years at a time can take a heavy toll on mental health. Alongside that, being constantly in bed can cause physical symptoms such as bed sores.

Do you ever experience being stuck in bed? If so, do others understand that it’s not necessarily your choice to be in bed? 💛 Comment below! ⬇️ 

Follow @joannanobanana for more content like this! 💛

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #MastCellActivationSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome
Double tap if you can relate 💛 All too often p Double tap if you can relate 💛

All too often people expect chronic illnesses to be cured with a couple of doctors appointments and some medicine (either pharmaceutical, holistic, or both.) 🤔

However that’s not usually the case. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The chronic part of chronic illness means that it’s a long term illness. That doesn’t always mean life-long but it usually does.

Oftentimes, there is no cure, but there are potential treatments that help as much as they can. The success of those treatments depends on a large majority of factors of which most are out of the hands of the patient. We’re dealt certain cards and do our best to take care of our health. 

Also, referencing my prior post, medical trauma can make it difficult to not only have appointments with healthcare professionals but even discussing these topics can be painful and traumatizing for some patients.

Patients are doing their best, so please try your best to be understanding and compassionate of others.

Do the people around you understand your chronic illness? 

Have you had trouble with people not understanding that your chronic illness isn’t easily curable? 

I would love to hear your insight 💛

Follow @joannanobanana for more content like this! 💛

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #Spoonie #SpoonieSupport #ChronicIllnessAwareness
Share this post to help raise awareness! 💛 Unf Share this post to help raise awareness! 💛

Unfortunately so many of us can relate to the experience of being gaslit by a healthcare professional.

What is medical gaslighting? It’s when a healthcare professional discredits a patient’s experiences, concerns, etc. by downplaying the things that the patient says.

It definitely sounds like an uncomfortable situation, but it’s so much more. It’s traumatizing for the patient to go to the person that’s supposed to help them and be treated in that manner. 

Also, medical gaslighting is dangerous. When a patient is dismissed, illnesses that could’ve been caught, treated, and potentially even cured (depending on the illness) may transform into something much more dangerous. On top of that, the negative experience may prevent the patient from seeking care from other healthcare professionals who may have been more open to working with the patient in a proper manner. 

It’s also crucial to point out that this issue disproportionately affects minorities. The more minorities that a patient is part of, the more likely that they are to be dismissed. 

If you feel comfortable sharing, what is your experience with medical gaslighting? How has medical gaslighting affected you? Comment below! ⬇️

Follow @joannanobanana for more content about chronic illness and disability! 💛

#Disability #Disabled #ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #MedicalGaslighting
Double tap if you’ve noticed the increase in foo Double tap if you’ve noticed the increase in food prices! 

Food prices have increased dramatically over the last 2 years alongside other costs of living.

We’ve encountered food shortages for a wide variety of products. When these foods come back to the shelves, they may even be at a much higher price tag.

CW: restrictive diet

As someone with MCAS, my diet is limited. Nowadays I can eat a lot more than I used to but I remember back when one of my three safe foods wasn’t on the shelves. The fear of not knowing when or if the food comes back was extremely anxiety inducing.

I know many people with a chronic illness can relate to dealing with a restrictive diet. It can be mentally, physically, and socially draining. Food shortages and price increases make it even more difficult.

Have you or someone you know been personally affected by any food shortages or food price increases? Comment below! ⬇️

For more content like this follow @joannanobanana 💛

#ChronicIllness #ChronicallyIll #MastCellActivationSyndrome #Dysautonomia #POTSAwareness
#AD Luna is my 17 year old senior tortie cat. 💛 #AD Luna is my 17 year old senior tortie cat. 💛

She is the kindest soul and most clever girl in the world. Anytime I’m dealing with health issues, she comes by to keep me company. Such a sweetheart 💛

I always want to make sure that I’m taking care of her as much as I can. I want to give her all the treats in the world but I also want to keep her diet healthy. Luna is also very decisive in her food likes and dislikes so it can be difficult to find healthy food that she enjoys.

Fortunately Luna absolutely adores the wet cat food called Feed Meow from @iandloveandyoupet 💛 Her absolute favorite is the tuna flavor. 😊

I’m so excited for her to have these three awesome flavors to look forward to, especially since they’re made of whole foods and include important vitamins. 

Get the Feed Meow line at iandloveandyou.com (available soon at chewy.com and amazon.com) 😊

Do you have any cats or any other pets? I would love to hear about them! 💛

#Cat #Cats #SeniorCat #CatFood #CatsOfInstagram #MeowfromILY #MyILYPet #iandloveandyoupet #hbtfeedmeow
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About Me

About Me

My name is Joanna. I’m a 24-year-old chronically ill and disabled blogger whose goal is to help build our wonderful community.

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