There’s a corresponding video to this blog post here.
This week I had to miss two days of work for my chronic heart condition. Currently I’m still trying to figure out what is causing it to flair because I’ve been sleeping most of the time. The sleep doesn’t seem to be helping.
Thursday was our first day of classes, and while waiting for lunch before work I almost passed out. Not a fun time. Friday I had to get some minor fillings done (didn’t need novocaine) and was still having some pretty bad symptoms so I missed work again.
The hard part about having an invisible illness is that, sometimes, taking care of myself doesn’t necessarily mean laying in bed. It means doing something enjoyable, not thinking about my jobs (I’m about to start a 3rd one), not worrying about producing content, being in good company whether that’s my best friend or my pets or family, and just lowering my stress so my heart condition doesn’t flare.
Unfortunately, not many people understand this. A lot of superiors don’t have empathy to a situation where you aren’t bed ridden, and even when they do it’s still something I worry about just from past experience.
Ultimately though, my health comes first. I will never force myself to work if I know it isn’t healthy. I don’t want to ruin my health just for a day of work; especially since missing one day is better than missing a week because I didn’t rest and got worse.
Having a minor chronic illness that lets me live a relatively normal life, and having to trade a minor inconvenience like someone’s lack of understanding, I can easily and happily live with that. But I am constantly aware of the situation and always want to help raise awareness. If you’re in a position to advocate for someone with any kind of illness, well… it’s always appreciated.
The attached photo is my newest tattoo which I talk about in the video link at the top of the page. Thanks for reading!
Lock, Stock, and Spoonies 