WEGO Health Blog

Earlier this month, we asked you to think about how your condition influences your relationships and how you really feel about that. We received a lot of responses – making me realize just how important this topic is to Health Activists. The challenge of relationships is, go figure, not made any easier by adding the challenge of living with a chronic health condition.

Let’s take a peak at the results and see how people voted:

How you feel about dealing with your chronic condition and relationships. (Click to enlarge)

As you can see, the top results demonstrate that struggle that I mentioned back when I explained our February Theme. Conflict! The inherent difficulty that comes with having a good relationship is possibly made even more difficult by adding a chronic condition to the mix. The work involved in balancing, handling, and understanding both at once isn’t easy either. The number one response to our poll question was that you feel ”Burdened; sometimes it’s a lot of weight to carry.“ The second most popular response was “Conflicted, there is so much going on.” Particularly for those waiting for diagnosis confirmation, new treatments, and the daily regimen involved with managing chronic conditions (or pain) – being overwhelmed by everything makes sense. Sometimes when a lot is happening, the hardest part is focusing on one thing and being decisive. But, at least, our third most popular response is slightly more optimistic, making light of the hand we’ve been dealt, feeling “Like being entrusted with an epic quest; this is a challenge.”

What I found most interesting were the write-ins for our “Other” option. Here are a few comments that people shared:

“Bored! I get tired of explaining and people not get it.”

“Frustrated. No end in sight!”

“Apprehensive, because I don’t know how someone new will respond.”

“I feel positive thinking is the only way to battle and overcome this problem!”

“Nobody gets it and that’s ok.”

Do you agree with these comments?

This has been an important exercise – but we can’t end on a note of uncertainty or stay in that state of conflict. So let’s look at what we have here. An opportunity to pause and see there is common ground here, across conditions. The list of chronic conditions is long and diverse, and yet, this poll shows that people of different conditions feel pretty similarly. As commenter Jay said, we “need to add “All of the above” as, at some point, I’m sure everyone feels every one of the options.”

Something I’ve heard Health Activists say is that they are relieved, blessed, glad to have their communities because finally they know (and feel) that they are not alone. They, now, know people who really get it, who understand. And, with the internet, they now have access to these other people who can relate. The online space has truly offered something wonderful for those who may live with a rare condition, may live far from in-person support groups, or may not be able to leave home. That’s huge. It is why support networks, health blogs, and forums have become so popular. And while you may not need one more relationship to add to your lives – the relationship between you and your community is an especially unique and beneficial one to nurture.

Why not bring back this topic to your community and see what others think? Sometimes putting feelings into words (or quirky analogies) alleviates them. What do you think your community would select as their most prevalent feeling toward dealing with their condition and relationships? Join the discussion here!