Tag: mental-health
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What Mental Health Awareness Means to the Chronic Illness Community
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which means your feed is likely filled with soft green ribbons, gentle reminders to breathe, and quotes about self-love. I’m not poo-pooing those efforts. Any awareness is better than no awareness, but if you’re chronically ill, those pastel platitudes can feel more like a slap than support. Because when…
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Creating Your Chronic Illness Support Circle
When you’re living with chronic illness, the phrase “you’re not alone” is tossed around more than a football on a Friday night. But being surrounded by people doesn’t necessarily mean you feel supported. In fact, some of the most isolating moments happen in rooms full of people who don’t get it. Support is not about…
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New Study Shows Lasting Impact of Being Dismissed by Healthcare Providers
As a patient advocate and author of How to Be a Badass in a Broken Healthcare System, I often find myself navigating the complexities of medical appointments with a sense of purpose. Yet, as I approach a new patient visit in the coming days, a familiar anxiety settles in. Despite my advocacy background, I can’t…
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Quit Doing This One Thing in Your Medical Appointments
I used to think that if something was wrong with my health, I’d just go to the doctor, they’d figure it out, and I’d get better. Easy peasy. That belief lasted until 2019, when my body started glitching. Pins and needles, tingling, and patchy numbness in my hands and feet started one morning and wouldn’t…
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3 Truths About “Why Me” Moments
Hi, friend. I see you over there, drowning in the existential soup of “Why me?” And listen, it’s valid. Chronic illness hit you like a meteor, and now you’re just trying to figure out how to dodge the next one. I get it. The thing is, I care about your “why me” because it’s part…
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Are You Medically Gaslighting Yourself?
Ever felt uneasy or unsure about your health journey? Patient insecurity is a real challenge many of us with chronic illness face, but awareness is key to overcoming it. After years of fighting to be heard by medical professionals — to be seen as more than a normal lab sheet, I developed patient insecurity that…
Little Engine Patient Advocacy 