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This is why I hate it when people say “I am…” as opposed to “I have…” when describing their condition. I have epilepsy, but I am not an epileptic.

My mom has kind of instilled in my head that it does define me

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I like person first language when it comes to certain things, such as “I am autistic” and I like being defined that way, as it helps people understand where my mind is at a lot of the time. However, I prefer to talk in ways such as “I have Ehlers danlos and fibromyalgia” when it comes to my physical health - as although I struggle with them, they’re not who I am.

A lot of the time, it's easier to identify with my diagnoses so others understand better. However, these issues are actually something I deal with and not really a large part of me as a human. I'm not crazy or sick, I just deal with chronic illnesses.

For me it controls my whole life so yeah it kind of does define me and I feel dismissed when people prioritise my person over my illness as it puts the pressure of not succeeding at things on my own shoulders when they’re actually out of my control, I’m disabled and that’s fine I’m working on it and yeah my life is worse than most peoples lives and if I could choose to not be disabled I actually would it ruins my life but I can’t choose that so yeah it does define me. I can’t overcome it in anyway, there are certain things I can’t do it really controls all aspects of my life.

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I have to disagree. It has completely changed me as a person, and I've had to adapt. My illness stops me from doing certain things I'd like to do, and keeps me cooped up inside because of my fear of leaving the house. Not everyone is like that, but my illness controls every aspect of my life

I absolutely agree and this is something we don't talk about enough. Yes, the fact that I am chronically ill does define me to a certain extent. But, bipolar doesn't define who I am, nor does IBS or any other chronic condition that I have. It makes it vastly more difficult to live my life, but it does not define me and I refuse to allow it to define me.

It defines me in the way I act and the things I do, always. I interact with the world in a different way than able bodied and neurotypical people, and that's okay ❤️

I agree the issues I have does not define me as a person they are just something I have to deal with

I think my disability does define me. It controls every aspect of my life. It's not necessarily a bad thing but everything I can do/think/say/feel is intertwined with my disability

it shouldn’t define me, but at this point because of how bad it’s been lately i think it does. i’m currently attending therapy and trying more treatments and it’s a thought i need to break out of. i hope i can look back on this one day and agree that my illnesses don’t define me

My disorder does impact my daily life, but it is not the sum total of me. I have way more going on, both positive and negative, that affect my life to limit myself by saying, "I am bipolar." Saying "I have bipolar disorder" identifies one of my struggles and also leaves room for all of the other parts that I have. Empathy, anxiety, talent, PTSD, patience, chronic pain, a sarcastic sense of humor, an eating disorder are a few more things that I have. They are a part of me, not a description of me.

I know that this is true... But some days (the real bad days) I have trouble reminding myself that this is trye

It depends on the day

I feel like it shouldn’t exactly define me but in the world we live in it does

I'm not about to make it easy for other ppl to dismiss my diagnoses. They affect me every day, not sorry.

I say it does define me. I have a personality disorder, meaning many aspects of my personality are affected. The way I think about things and feel about things and the way I act and even the life path I choose to go down and the relationships I make with people are intertwined with this disorder. I try to manage the symptoms as best as I possibly can but at the end of the day I'm battling with a part of myself that is just like that and will probably always be like that. I've had to accept that I'll never think about things the way others do, I'll never feel the same connections and I'll never truly know who I would be without trauma and without a PD and without spending years masking myself to be an entirely different persona just to make people like me. It's hard to change the way I view the world. I can only manage the behaviors that come out of that worldview.

Our illness can not define our identity ❤️

my illness may be chronic, but I’ll always be iconic 🥲