Shining A Light TO Show Just What Invisible Illness Is…….

The last few weeks I’ve felt myself disappearing down that shute, you know that tunnel, where all invisible illness sufferers go when health dips……BUT unlike past falls, I don’t stop……I just rest!  I rest, so that I can continue my own healing and my advocacy for all invisible illness goddesses and warriors around the globe.

I’ve had to rest because on Monday June 26, I am launching an ongoing awareness campaign to shine the light on invisible Illness. I’ve been watching videos, documentaries, reading articles, writing articles and blogs all about showing, sharing and bringing the invisibility of chronic illness to reality for those that live with them but also for those that walk this world with ignorance and uneducated thoughts, actions and feelings about how I and many others live every single day.

My campaign is about shining a light on how difficult it is to live with debilitating chronic and invisible illnesses. This is why I walk and talk my daily journey- the good, the bad, the indifferent and just the plain weird! Everyday I want to share a different story, so that greater awareness can be brought to the world. From Monday I will share a series of blogs about a variety of different invisible illnesses, some that I live with……some that others live with and through these stories brought about by conversations, you will see these illnesses in a new and different light. 
I want the light that I am igniting to bring about new conversations between you and your loved ones, friends, colleagues and even strangers. Because you see, when we begin to converse, we can begin to connect better and therefore we can better help each other get through the tough times that these illnesses bring.

On Monday, as I begin to shine a bigger light on invisible illness, I will be beginning with my own story and my newest diagnosis of (FND) Functional Neurological Disorder. Today, as a taster, I am giving you a brief introduction; This disorder occurs as a result of a problem with my central nervous system and my brain failing to send or receive messages correctly. The list of symptoms is very long as you will get to learn and many of them are extremely disabling. Also a lot of the symptoms that I will talk about, are also found in the diagnosis of MS & Parkinson’s Disease making it high level debilitating, life changing and hard to diagnose. Living with FND, sees me experience many symptoms all at the same time. What is difficult with this disorder, is that I have to live with frequency and severity of symptoms with a list of other chronic illnesses as well. So, you see describing what it is and how it affects me is a long process, but it is a process that the world needs to hear and see and that is why I am lighting the flame for invisible Illness.

I would love to connect with you, if you or someone you know, also lives with an invisible illness. 

Please connect with me here or perhaps on one of my social media accounts and let’s light the flame for invisible illnesses;

http://www.facebook.com/TheBarefootGoddessAU

http://www.twitter.com/just_1_goddess

http://www.instagram.com/the__barefoot__goddess

TBG 💋

Tired, Weary, Broken & Fucked Up……..

So what happens when we fall……and we all do!

You know, those moments when we are tired, weary, broken & fucked up!!!!

These thoughts, feelings and actions occur when we live with invisible illness. These are the moments that make us need to keep fighting the pain of being chronically and invisibly ill. Illnesses such as anxiety, depression, autoimmune and neurological disorders fill us with scars that embed deeply into our mental, emotional and physical being. 

Beginning the process of healing and recovery from these debilitating illnesses takes work BUT throughout the process and progress, low energy succumbs and we fall……! We tire and perhaps stumble from all the work that it takes to recover AND it affects us…..and if this happens, we fall and we break!!!! 

When this happens, we feel that we have fucked everything up……all that progress-RUINED!

But these emotions that come and go when wandering a journey with invisible illness are real and we should not be ashamed of letting the world see them! We haven’t fucked up….it’s a stumble and yeah, if we fall, it’s just that a fall…..stand back up – be present and be YOU! Remember even mentally and physically strong people fall! This conversation that I am having tonight is such a strong anti-suicide message, for why fighting is so important to remember when we are overwhelmed with the chronic pain and suffering of these illnesses.

You are saying. . . but at these moments I’m too tired to keep fighting……Yeah, I get it, I’ve felt really tired too and YES I still tire after all my 15 years fighting……but I won’t give up, I don’t give up!

Invisible illnesses are diseases that can take a life time to recover from. They grind away at our inner most core, sucking the life out of us, just as we are rebuilding ourselves up from the ground. The fight becomes a moment to moment battle everyday and as we go, we have to listen to the self whispering, but more than that we have to stand up to our voices and the external voices who don’t recognise our illnesses as illnesses……it’s exhausting, and it’s why we get tired, weary and feel broken and fucked up!

These illnesses, these invisible fucking illnesses never take holidays so every day and every night you have to fight, fight and fight again. You might be finding the biggest reasons in the world to give up, but those reasons don’t need to be your reality. In fighting these illnesses, no one can see or know how hard you’re working to keep going every day. The fight is hard and in the walk to recovery you will feel broken.

BUT, WE NEED TO FIGHT……I know, you are saying, you don’t want too,  sometimes I have said that too, but you don’t get to stop. I’m sorry, but the statistics say life is better than death and I insist you go on living……I am and I do!

But the good news is that when you choose to fight, you choose to take your next breath. Our invisible illnesses want to steal us of everything that we want to and need to experience today, tomorrow and the days after that. But we are  not going to let these illnesses win. We are going to breathe in and out, one breath at a time, each and everyday knowing that this is our best fight and it’s enough, it will always be enough, because I am enough and you are enough!

Being tired is OK. Being weary is OK, feeling broken and yelling that we have fucked up is OK. But by taking the next breath…..after the yelling session, is all we need to do…..because that’s the process of the healing fight.
If you are resonating with my thoughts, feelings and conversations tonight please let me know, by liking and sharing this blog.

 I write about my experiences with wandering a journey with all the invisible illnesses that are part of me because when we share our stories we connect and help each other.

I am a advocate and speaker who has made it my mission to change the way healing and recovery is seen for all that live with invisible illness.

If you would like to connect further, please do so on my social media platforms;

http://www.facebook.com/TheBarefootGoddessAU

http://www.twitter.com/Just_1_Goddess

http://www.instagram.com/the__barefoot__goddess

If you are struggling……that’s ok but remember to find the breath…..breathe in and breathe out so the fight continues.

Much love 
TBG 💋

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