Evita: Don't Cry for Me Argentina (Day 19)

We don't want to be pitied, but we aren't always open about telling people how they can help us. How would you like to be helped?

   I hate being pitied, as I feel that it cheapens what I go through. The "Poor Baby" response to my life with chronic migraine really gets on my nerves. However, that doesn't mean that I'm adverse to people's understanding.

Understanding my limitations;
Understanding my unreliability;
Understanding that I'm doing my best;
etc.

  I need understanding for how I've learned to deal with my pain. I often feel that when I say that I've accepted the pain, people misconstrue me, or can't fathom the idea, and end up assuming that I've surrendered to the pain and am going to let it rule my life. On the contrary, that is exactly what I'm not doing.
   By accepting the pain, I'm able to breathe through it and move on to do what I can. When I didn't accept the pain, it was then that I was frozen and couldn't progress.

   So what do I want in order to be helped? To be granted understanding and the patience of others. If I have those, then I will not be as hyper aware and feeling the need to justify every action. Instead, I can just focus on doing my best, whatever that looks like in that moment.


Quantum in me fuit,
Gretchen