Maybe you know someone living with a chronic illness or disease or maybe that person is actually you but there is a strong possibility someone in your life is affected by a chronic illness. There are a lot out there, such as arthritis, diabetes, COPD, asthma, psoriasis and many more. There are also a lot of things to take into account when living with a chronic disease/illness, like managing time around treatments, ignoring one pain to focus on another, not being able to do certain things or eat certain foods. It can be difficult to handle at times and for some those times are most times. Sometimes it's going to feel like you're all alone even though you know there are people out there with the same illness or disease but it won't matter because they aren't you. Since chronic means long-lasting or even lifelong, the struggle is constant.
For teens with chronic illnesses it can be difficult to explain to your friends why you’re tired constantly or why you can’t play sports even though you look healthy or even why your skin has strange scaly looking flakes on it. And with someone who doesn’t have one of these illnesses/diseases, like psoriasis for example, it’s impossible to make them understand the issue. It can be embarrassing for a teen to have to explain these things so you just don’t, which could make situations more uncomfortable because it’s basically lying to your friends.
People will look at you strangely when you say your joints hurt (arthritis), because hey, wait a second, you’re not in your sixties, how can you have arthritis? But you do and when you try to explain, especially to an adult, they likely won’t believe you, no matter how much you elaborate. If they do believe you, you’ll watch their face change from curiosity to pity and no one enjoys being pitied. Days feel longer than 24 hours and at the end of the night, bed is your best friend even though, a lot of the times, you can’t fall asleep ever because, with a chronic illness, often comes chronic pain.
Hospital walls are almost as familiar as bedroom walls. Classes are missed because doctor’s appointments are more important than lectures. Treatments can be extensive and expensive. They take up time after school/class and on the weekends and insurance is a blessing not in disguise. The pharmacist knows everything and has the prescriptions ready as you’re walking up. Carrying around medications, even two or three bottles is normal and hearing those pills rattle might even be comforting for you because it’s reassurance that you’re going to be OK.
Living with a chronic illness is an absolute struggle but there is hope, just like there is in any situation. Sure, physical therapy isn’t fun and neither are treatments and hospitals and blood work, but it’s possible to find good in anything bad. You can talk to your family and friends and explain how it feels but only if you're comfortable with yourself enough to be vocal about it. It’ll sound cheesy but there are support groups for almost any chronic illness, whether it’s in person or online. In any situation, there is hope. Living with a chronic illness can knock you down but it will definitely build you up.
