Invisible Illness Ness

So, in my last post I spoke about my recent diagnosis and the difficulties having an invisible illness can cause in someone's life. Today, I want to talk about another type of invisible suffering. That is anxiety and mental illness.   To me, anxiety has been the basis for much suffering in my life. Like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, I don't remember a time when I wasn't anxious. Sometimes, I feel as if I was born hyperventilating ... The most ridiculous thing about this? I'm one of the most bubbly, outgoing and sociable people you'll meet. In my 29 years, I've tried and achieved many things that I don't think most people would even consider.  Some of these things are experiences I couldn't put on my resume but are still as equally important in my life. Working as an exotic dancer at a gentleman's bar was one of these experiences. While not my proudest moment, it was during my time there that I learned so much about myself and human natu...

I'm sure there are many people who can relate to my story. Invisible illness is not uncommon, but it is unnoticed by much of the world. Because many of us look 'well' and act 'normally', our illnesses are not considered serious enough to warrant attention or empathy. I hope that by sharing my story, others will share theirs and awareness will continue to rise.  Me, in one of those annoying selfie images               I have always been sick. From food intolerances to rare infections, I don't actually remember a time in my life where I was well for more than a week.   Now at 29, after all the years of high anxiety and physical illness, my body has succumbed to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.  Whether these are symptoms of the years of illness or causes of it, who knows? I suspect the latter though.  The thing with these illnesses is, they can go undiscovered for years. In primary school, my mum took...