Managing Relationships with Chronic Pain

I find it’s helpful to be as open as possible about your health with people. You don’t have to give them your entire back story but if you’re not feeling well or experiencing certain symptoms just say so. It will definitely make some people run away but it’ll also help you identify who can be a supportive partner for you. The right person will do research with on their own or ask a million questions so they can better understand your day to day life. Since I’ve started taking this approach to dating I’ve made many more honest connections. Some are just good friends now but currently I’m dating someone who goes out of his way to understand what it is I deal with and that it’s not something for him to “fix”. He asks if I need something and then helps if I do or leaves me be if I need that. Just be open and as honest as you feel comfortable with. It may seem difficult at first and you will experience rejection but I honestly feel that since I got sick and started just openly acknowledging it in day to day situations the connections I have made are better and more genuine than before I became ill. Please reach out if you ever want to talk

I try to remember that I am not my condition. I think people respond to how you view yourself. And then the people closest to you, while they might learn more about your condition than most people, unless they have it, will never truly understand. There will be hard times but always reach for being your best self and things sort of work themselves out. It sounds easy but it's a lot of work. If connection is something a person wants, I believe that person has it in them to do the work necessary. It just so happens to look a little different for us.