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When I started my blog, I knew from day one that I was going to talk about my disability to help others who do not have my disability understand the challenges of living with a physical disability and to be a support system for other disabled people. My disability has a lot of challenges that I don’t always share, and one of the things that I had to think about when I started blogging about health is what I was going to share with my public audience and what I wasn’t. My bowels do not work properly, and when I started my blog, I originally planned not to write about them because it’s a personal health issue that I wasn’t comfortable talking about. As I became a more experienced blogger, I realized that it’s a huge part of my life that I need to talk about. Topics that make me uncomfortable writing are the most important and often make the most impact. Why do I write about health issues that make me uncomfortable? In this post, I am going to talk about why I chose to write about personal health issues that make me uncomfortable writing.
It helps others feel less alone- When you live with chronic constipation or any other type of GI issue, sometimes it can feel lonely because most people do not understand how embarrassing they can be and think it’s something to make fun of. I write about my bowel problems because it can feel lonely, and sometimes people need to hear from someone who gets it. Writing about my bowel problems makes me a little uncomfortable, but it’s so important we talk about them because, even though some people may think it’s gross, it affects so many of us in the disabled community. People with GI problems need more support because sometimes you find yourself in embarrassing situations that are out of control, and it can be comforting to know that you aren’t the only one going through these challenges.
I know my body better than any doctor– People sometimes think that doctors tell you everything you need to know to manage constipation, but the truth is, doctors don’t tell you every constipation remedy, and a lot of the time you have to figure them out yourself through trial and error. Doctors will tell you what laxatives they think you should be using to have a bowel movement, but these things don’t always work, and sometimes I have to do something slightly different than what my doctor advised I do. My doctor may be able to give you a better science lesson about my disability than I ever would be able to, but advocates spend their entire lives figuring out what works and what doesn’t because we live with these challenges and have no choice. I write about my bowel problems because I have been struggling with constipation my whole life, and I know how hard it is to navigate incontinence because I live with it. Disabled people don’t need to attend a lecture on how to prevent constipation because we have likely tried all the weird remedies with hopes of having less pain. I blog about things that make me uncomfortable because I know my body better than any doctor, and even though the remedies that work for me may not work for everyone, it may help some people who aren’t getting a lot of help from medical professionals.
We need to normalize stoma’s- Most people with Spina Bifida will need to use catheters because bladder and bowel issues are common, but not everyone will have a stoma. A stoma will change your life for the better, but some people may feel embarrassed to get one because there is a lot of stigma and there are a lot of things about stoma life that doctors won’t tell you. A stoma is not something that everyone is going to want or need, but we need to start normalizing stomas to help people who would benefit from them to not feel embarrassed to get one. Doctors often will tell you only the positives of a stoma because they get paid a lot of money to make one, which is why it’s so important that, as advocates, we normalize stomas to help people understand what it’s like to have one. We need to normalize stomas, not because we shouldn’t be looking for cures, but because many people in the disabled community benefit from them, but are scared to get one. There is no better person to educate people on the realities of living with a stoma than disabled people themselves.
It helps improve my mental health- Before I started blogging about personal health issues, I would get very embarrassed when I had an accident but now since I have been blogging about personal health issues for a while, I don’t get embarrassed as easily. If I can give complete strangers details about my bowel regimen, I shouldn’t feel embarrassed when something happens around loved ones. Writing about personal issues helps others, but it also helps me because I have gotten support from people in my community that my family can’t give me. At first, blogging about personal health issues felt weird because there is always the thought in the back of your mind that people don’t care and are getting grossed out. Blogging about personal issues has improved my mental health because living with a stoma is more than just physical, and it affects your mental health as well.
It is a big part of my life- I have a lot of neurological and orthopedic issues, but I spend a vast majority of my time dealing with bowel problems and it felt so wrong to leave out the one part of my health that I struggle with the most.
Blogging about personal health issues can be hard because a vast majority of people do not understand what you are going through, but it helps to not think about the opinions of others and to just write. I chose to blog about my chronic constipation because out of all the challenges I face, managing bowel problems is the most difficult, and doctors don’t always give you suggestions that you haven’t tried. It is stressful to live with bowels that don’t work properly because not everyone understands that you can’t cure yourself by eating better, and the only people who truly get how hard it is are disabled people. Writing about personal health issues makes me uncomfortable, especially when I start thinking about how my family reads my blog, but when you are vulnerable, people appreciate that and feel less alone. Disabled people do not always have great support systems, which is why it’s so important we talk about personal health issues because you know who needs support. Do you write about things that make you uncomfortable? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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