The time between the first symptoms of an illness, and the day you receive a diagnosis are strange. A lot of worries, appointments, trials and errors. People often tell their "diagnosis story", I wrote about mine, but I feel like the little details and the emotions you go through when you are searching for a [...]
Tag: lupus
Lupus and Facing the World of Work
I wrote about my experience undertaking a postgraduate degree not long after I was diagnosed with lupus. With the degree in the bag, I have just completed an internship - my first experience of full time work since my diagnosis forced me to quit my teaching job. Of course, 5 months as an intern does [...]
Being Healthy in your 20s vs Being a Spoonie in your 20s
To be young, wild and free... Often a person is diagnosed with chronic illness when they are young, such as teens or twenties, aka in the "prime" of their life. This not only means you tend to be the youngest person in the doctor's waiting room by a generation or two, but it also means [...]
Moving Countries with a Chronic Illness
I'm a British girl, who has been living in Europe on and off the past three years (we Brits have a weird thing where we don't always view ourselves as European, but that's a whole can of Brexity worms). I was living in Spain when I was diagnosed with lupus, and had to quit my [...]
Embarrassing Spoonie Moments
Ain't it fun being a spoonie? After juggling all the daily meds, doctor appointments, "normal" symptoms and worrying symptoms - sometimes it gives you an extra kick and you're left feeling red faced. Eventually you learn to shrug these things off, even laugh at the slightly ridiculous things that can only come with being a [...]
Bonjour From Brussels
Life can feel surreal at times, and these next five months I doubt will stop feeling surreal for me. I've finished my degree (minus two final essays), and I've started an internship in Brussels with the Greens. (Why I always end up in cities beginning with B I don't know...) And by Greens, I mean [...]
Here’s to the Chronic and Single
This was just sitting in my drafts, but why not publish it on the day people love to hate - Valentine's Day? My current date is a stomach bug (thanks travelling) - and I'm about to spend a long weekend with strangers in a hostel, wish my belly luck! I was reading a lovely article [...]
How to Help Charities as a Spoonie
If there is one thing having a chronic illness gives people, it is compassion. A desire to be more considerate of others, and to help when you can. Sadly, as any spoonie knows, putting in more effort than what is required of you in work/school can be too much. But if you still want to [...]
Lupus Travel Tips
I love travelling. I was lucky growing up to go on amazing holidays with my family, and I started travelling with friends in undergrad to discover new places, new cultures, and new food. When I was diagnosed with lupus I had to forget travel plans for a while, and one of my biggest concerns (except [...]
A Little Taste of Nature
I've had a bad day for chronic fatigue, so I decided to go on a walk with my camera to capture the beautiful autumn colours to try and see if the outside would help energise me as it sometimes does. It didn't, I had to get the bus back and I've been napping since, but [...]
Inside a Mind 