Yeah, like I said to Christine, the whole "what did you do?" thing irritated me before, but I figured it was my fault for being stupid. But this time, I didn't do anything!
(It's really frustrating, also, that I've been in PT for 4 months and I've been getting stronger and improving, and my chronic pain has decreased, on the whole.)
It's still hard to tell people to shut it to their faces when they ask, but at the very least, I can watch myself and not use that wording to show concern, and hopefully lead by example.
Do you know Ana Mardoll or her blog? If not - she has chronic pain, too, due to scoliosis and has recently gone in for surgery, and the surgeon put two additional metal rods in her back without her permission. She's been discussing what it's like to have chronic pain, to have an "invisible" disability (a lot of people blamed her pain on her weight or depression), and also depression and anxiety recently, as a result of medication she was on to control the post-operation pain. I think reading her blog posts about all this has helped me a lot with my pain (even just the menstrual aches that leave me unable to function for two days a month, but also the back and hip hurts).
Anyway, if my statement about "what did you do?" helped you articulate something for yourself, you might also like to read Ana's blog (if you haven't already tried it out). She also posts about writing, ereaders, and does deconstructions of various things like Twilight or the availability of fast food in hospitals (she's in favor of it, and I think her arguments are sound, even if in an ideal world, we wouldn't have junk food anywhere near a hospital).
Yeah, like I said to Christine, the whole "what did you do?" thing irritated me before, but I figured it was my fault for being stupid. But this time, I didn't do anything!
(It's really frustrating, also, that I've been in PT for 4 months and I've been getting stronger and improving, and my chronic pain has decreased, on the whole.)
It's still hard to tell people to shut it to their faces when they ask, but at the very least, I can watch myself and not use that wording to show concern, and hopefully lead by example.
Do you know Ana Mardoll or her blog? If not - she has chronic pain, too, due to scoliosis and has recently gone in for surgery, and the surgeon put two additional metal rods in her back without her permission. She's been discussing what it's like to have chronic pain, to have an "invisible" disability (a lot of people blamed her pain on her weight or depression), and also depression and anxiety recently, as a result of medication she was on to control the post-operation pain. I think reading her blog posts about all this has helped me a lot with my pain (even just the menstrual aches that leave me unable to function for two days a month, but also the back and hip hurts).
Anyway, if my statement about "what did you do?" helped you articulate something for yourself, you might also like to read Ana's blog (if you haven't already tried it out). She also posts about writing, ereaders, and does deconstructions of various things like Twilight or the availability of fast food in hospitals (she's in favor of it, and I think her arguments are sound, even if in an ideal world, we wouldn't have junk food anywhere near a hospital).
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