Negapositivity


You said I need to stop being so negative all the time - that I need to concentrate on the blessings in my life and stop wallowing in my illness. 

I don't think you understand.

When I talk about how my illness is affecting my life or post something about it online, you read it as whining, while I'm merely stating what I'm experiencing that day. Just as you post about what you had for dinner, how much exercise you got, how cute your dog is, or an anecdote from your most recent adventure, I sometimes talk or post about how much rest I needed to make it through the day, requests to my body to please be kind, or my most recent adventures at the doctor's office. 

This is my life. 

My life, every day, is managing my health  ...and doctor appointments - so many doctor appointments.  I need to manage my levels of activity and rest, balance that with household chores, homeschooling, volunteering, child-wrangling, and everything else involved in living life. And then there's dealing with my dietary needs, my kids' dietary needs, and my kids' health issues. 

It's not that I don't see the blessings - I do and appreciate every single one of them - it's that sometimes the blessings in my life come in the form of a day of rest, medication, a kind doctor, or that I have a community of support who comes to my aid when they know I'm not doing well. Your perception of my misery may just coincide with my perception of the myriad blessings in my life.


If things in my life are bad enough that I'm constantly talking or posting about feeling ill, perhaps instead of assuming I'm not appreciating the good in life, you could offer support or kind words to increase the good that is my life.

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