Category: empathy

For the last month I’ve had a few flares and consequently have been placed on a “low-dose” of prednisone for about 20+ days now (in addition to my usual drug regimen). I’ve noticed, once again, a few things… (see “The $10 cure-all“)

First, my emotions and ability to reason are entirely out of whack. I find myself reacting with a degree of intensity and agitation to things that are completely out of the scope of what is normal for me. Almost like an out-of-body experience where I think, to myself, “Why am I so angered/saddened/frustrated by this?! This is not normal.” (My mom always says that “Normal is a setting on the dishwasher.” How right she is.)

Second, I find myself hyper-frustrated that it is so difficult to express the anguish this drug imposes — with its emotional warpath — to anyone who is unfamiliar with it (not to mention the physical ramifications). I know I write often about the importance of empathy in a chronic illness sufferer’s network, but it feels far more important when you’re right smack in the middle of a flare.

My colleague Rodrigo Martinez shared a really interesting visualization by Symplur on the rise of patient communities on Twitter, and I have to believe that experiences like my own are a large part of the reason for this growth. Symplur calls it the “virtual water cooler” and I couldn’t agree with that epithet more. I may not be able to rationalize the “why” something is happening or “how” I am feeling exactly, but I can find other folks dealing with a similar predicament — and let them know that they’re not alone. Now to tweet, “Is this normal?”