Invisible Illnesses: Raising Public Awareness & Gaining a Reputation

I’m posting this a bit late, but it is in response to yesterday’s Daily Post’s Zero to Hero task and Daily Prompt:

Do you have a reputation? What is it, and where did it come from?

Is it accurate? What do you think about it?

I have always had a reputation of being a bright and bubbly individual, easy to approach, who takes a positive approach to almost anything life throws at me. Sustainability was my life, in both work and personal life I tried to spread the word to be sustainable and do things in an environmentally friendly way.

Today I don’t want to talk about that me, although it is a big part of me and I have a reputation there, I want to talk about the current me. Home on sick leave, my reputation has changed (in my mind at least).

Moving from sustainability expert to invisible illness advocate

(or a combination of the 2)

Since becoming ill, I have begun to feel like I have a reputation for being lazy and unsociable (is that even a word?).

Photo (c) E. S. January, 2014
Photo (c) E. S. January, 2014

But I know, deep down, that this isn’t me and I know that the people who know me well shouldn’t be thinking that way. So, I decided to focus on what I could do to build myself a reputation that fit with the old me, but toned down to pace and fit with my illnesses.

To build this reputation, I started this blog. A way for me to clearly outline what I’m doing and how much it takes out of me. As a result of this blog, I have built a whole new group of friends here online and through my Facebook page and twitter account. It has also helped me realise how wide the problem is of lack of awareness in the general population, not only for the illnesses I currently suffer from (ME/cfs, Fibromyalgia and Pelvic Congestion Syndrome) but for all invisible illnesses.

To maintain some form of sustainability in my life, I am trying to make my activities as sustainable as possible. For example, I use recycled or secondhand material whenever possible for my sewing projects.

Sustainability comes into my campaign to raise awareness for invisible illnesses in the way I am forming my campaign. I really want it to be a project that comes from the community for the community. So, I’m building up a reputation of being a positive and cheerful individual who people can approach for support.

I am building a reputation, like the one I have in the field of sustainability, of being able to explain things in a clear and simple way that everyone can understand.

I want to ask all of you to become a part of my project to bring Foggy Frog and the Pain Gang to the world.

Join in the campaign by following my blog and following me on Facebook and/or Twitter. By doing this you will get all the regular updates on the project and get the opportunity to participate in some great give aways and contests I am planning to hold over the next month or so.

So please, if you don’t already, follow my blog and choose at least one social media channel to follow me through. The links to do all of this can be found in my side bar.

Thank you,

Megan