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A Safe Haven / General Discussion / Re: Venting, Venting and More Venting.
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on: October 30, 2015, 12:50:24 am
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As a young woman who is wheelchair-bound due to a debilitating disease, one of the worst things I've ever been told by others (healthy, able-bodied people) is, "I know how you feel."
With all due respect, no. Just no. You have no idea how I feel.
You have no idea what it's like to fall on the floor, sit there, and cry because your legs refuse to work.
You don’t know how a simple act of getting off the couch to go to the bathroom can be as tiring as walking all day. Without any breaks.
You don't know what it's like to be awakened from a deep, restful sleep by uncomfortable –and sometimes painful– leg spasms in the middle of the night.
You don't know what it's like to struggle every day with the worry of spilling, dropping, or breaking something because your hand might have a muscle twitch or spasm at the wrong time.
You’ve never cursed at the world for having a body that doesn’t work right.
To those of you who have never had to live with any of these chronic impairments, please do not tell me that you know how I feel.
Because you truly have no idea.
I know your intentions are good, and your heart is in the right place. I know that you only care and that you want to express sympathy. I understand that, and I appreciate it. But I personally see it as condescending; I feel like it makes a mockery of what I struggle with on a daily basis.
To be blunt: it is an insult to me.
I am not going to say that I speak for everyone with chronic illness on this, because that is not my place to do so. But I am speaking for myself, and I am speaking loudly: don't tell me you know how I feel.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL.
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