“Pain is soul destroying. No patient should have to endure intense pain unnecessarily." #chronicpain #spoonie

“I have grieved many times for my life with regards to #chronicillness…I grieved for the life I had before becoming ill and the life I had planned…for the loss of my career due to illness…I thought I was over it—that I had accepted my life.” buff.ly/40hJctZ @me_illness

“With #fibromyalgia, I have basic high-level pain with #fibrofog that makes my head feel cloudy… I can’t seem to grasp any thoughts no matter how vital… Often I have crackling electric pain that feels as if it shatters my spine.” buff.ly/40IkweL #chronicpain

“Nobody can really “get” what any #chronicillness, pain condition or other #disability is like, how it feels or how it truly impacts life unless they’ve experienced it for themselves… Even then the experience is unique to the individual.” buff.ly/2tTxET6 @InvisiblyMeBlog

“#ChronicPain prevents me from concentrating… Then there are the really bad days—where my bones feel like glass and nerves like molten wires. When the pain is so much I want to cry… I can’t move or get out of bed—they’re completely debilitating.” buff.ly/3TiUbiS #EDS

“Fatigue from pain is a different kind of #fatigue that you will never understand without living with it. People who are fatigued from pain don’t have the energy to do basic tasks… You can’t sleep and make it better.” buff.ly/3ClvwoA @sarahlynn358 #ChronicPain #Spoonies

“People who are not familiar with #chronicillness often don’t understand that energy levels in people with chronic illness are different from able-bodied people — and our usable hours in a day are different as well.” buff.ly/HwU2pVS #chronicpain #invisibleillness

“Don’t take it personally when I have to cancel plans. Understand that I don’t cancel plans because I want to. It’s because I have to. I want to go but sometimes I just can’t and I already feel guilty about that.” buff.ly/4fn6SC5 #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain

“Never in my life did I think that taking a shower would actually be hard. It’s an exhausting activity that usually requires me to sit or lie down for a while afterward to recover.” Challenging Decisions buff.ly/3BhyPw8 #ChronicPain #Disability #ChronicIllness

“After the CDC guideline, the agency turned a deaf ear to a chorus of complaints that it was forcing #patients on long-term #opioids into rapid tapers that resulted in uncontrolled pain, withdrawal and even suicide… [as illicit] opioid overdoses doubled.” buff.ly/3UkMpp3

“It’s exhausting trying to get people to get it, and usually comes with judgments, assumptions… Unless it’s a very close friend or someone who needs to know…I just say ‘I have 3 #autoimmune diseases’ and leave it at that.” buff.ly/3Cycr29 @CreakyJoints #chronicillness

“Being #chronicallyill—you never wanted the condition to affect you—let alone someone you dearly love… There’s so much guilt in living with #chronicpain it can be overwhelming… For someone who was once self-sufficient, it’s hard to accept you need help.” buff.ly/3Ad2ean

“#ChronicPain is nothing like pain from a surgery…it’s relentless… It’s with you every moment, every second of everyday. It took me—a hardworking overachiever—and it broke me. Years later and I am still trying to put the pieces of my life back together.” buff.ly/40kn16y

“When I lost my job to #chronicillness it hurt more than the physical pain…I lost a huge part of my identity when I lost my ability to work. It took a major toll…I worked so hard—to have my career cut short at 27 was so painful.” buff.ly/42UoPCM @aChVoice #mentalhealth

“It can be exhausting and overwhelming… you keep going because you simply do not have any other choice. There are days when you feel isolated… You can constantly feel like you are not meeting other people’s expectations.” buff.ly/vJN4iGp #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain

“#Fatigue as a symptom is not the same as being tired. When I wake up in the morning—no matter how well I’ve slept—my “battery” is only charged 25%. Imagine starting every day with your body only 25% restored by sleep.” buff.ly/4fxxSPe #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #pwME

“If I were honest with you about how my body feels when I wake up, you would likely think it’s not possible to feel so battered every day… I’m stuck…trying to have my imperfect life with #ChronicIllness fit into our world of perfection.” buff.ly/40vI1ra #ChronicPain

“When I was first diagnosed with IIH… Some days, I felt determined to overcome any obstacle… Other days, I was overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty… What helped me cope was processing these feelings, rather than trying to push them away.” buff.ly/3Coc1LG #chronicillness

“The thing most people don’t realize about chronic pain and illness is that I’m not just dealing with the pain itself, but the results of the pain… #ChronicPain is not just a condition. It becomes a way of living—not even living, a way of surviving.” buff.ly/3ABln6h

“People who see us ‘able’ to carry out activities are oblivious to the pain involved, aftermath or inability to repeat that activity. The swift flare from ‘normal’ pain to being entirely unable to speak can also be perplexing.” buff.ly/3XV4FYt #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness

“As the world outside continues to turn, I remain laid up in the one thing that eases any physical pain. The mental pain it causes however, hurts much more.” What It's Really Like to Stay in Bed All Day Because of Pain buff.ly/852oyDu #ChronicPain #ChronicallyIll