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At a recent outside (#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver) family gathering, which despite pacing and restrictions regarding location and time I spent I still haven't recovered from, when my #LongCovid did come up (which doesn't happen often) the word "tired" was mostly used. "Oh, you get tired from things like this", " I hope you didn't feel too tired from it". After facing gaslighting from people close to me these last 3 years of having Long-Covid - especially when there wasn't even a term for it and how this relates to widespread, dangerous gaslighting and 'treatment' for people with ME/CFS - I felt agitated and angry, with my experiences and identity minimised/ignored. I do feel I need to do more to challenge when people close to me do this whilst not taking up too many spoons.

Relating to this, it felt cathartic and reaffirming to read this article (paywall bypassing link below) and be like, yes that's what it's like, that's how I have felt for so long now. Definitely recommend reading (as a note, the article is quite long - I needed several pacing breaks to finish it but it was worth it):

https://archive.ph/yFpFc

#MECFS #PEM #BelievePatients #ChronicIllness #Spoons #Disability #SpoonTheory