Hurting Fellow ME/CFS Patients
This is a friendly public service reminder that we are all in this together. We have all lost so much of our lives to an uncaring world. We are all suffering so much, every single day. And we need each other. I need all of you.
I have recently seen some disturbing public attacks on Instagram attempting to publicly shame and hurt fellow ME/CFS patients. And I have seen similar attacks all around social media and ME/CFS forums over the years.
Even when you disagree with another ME/CFS patient, public or private attacks or any kind of attempt to hurt someone who is already suffering so much is not ok. ME/CFS alone is such a heavy burden to try to live with. Making this burden even heavier is not something that can be tolerated by this community.
To put it simply, ME/CFS has already brought us all down so low, we cannot bring each other down further. We need to help raise each other up.
Remember that you do not know what someone else’s life is like, what they have faced in the past or what they are currently facing. You don’t know if they’ve just had the worst day of their life. You don’t know if they’ve just crashed and are barely getting by physically or mentally or both. You don’t know if they are feeling hopeless or to what degree, or what emotional state they are in, or if they are suicidal. Given the high rate of suicide among ME/CFS patients, it can only be surmised that the number of patients considering suicide is extremely high. And you don’t know if all of these things are happening to someone at once. You don’t know. So please try to lift up the burden of fellow ME/CFS patients instead of adding to it, even if you are hurting and in pain yourself or someone makes you angry or upset and you need a release. Vent to a friend in private, punch a pillow, do whatever you need to do. But do not add to the already incredibly heavy burden that ME/CFS causes by attacking or trying to hurt a fellow patient.
If you see public attempts to shame or smear or hurt another person in this community, say something. Reach out to both people and don’t let it continue. Be the force of love that overcomes. The person being attacked could be completely alone with it. And the person on the attack must really be hurting inside to act the way they are and they probably need help. If we as a community spread love when we see hurt, this kind of behavior will have no traction and we can make everyone’s lives better, and likely avoid tragic disasters.
We are all in this together, no matter whether we agree about this little thing or disagree about that little thing. We all have ME/CFS and we need to help each other and support each other with love and grace and compassion. No matter what. I love all of you with all of my heart and would do anything in my power to relive your suffering. If we all treat each other this way, we can lift each other up and collectively rise as a community. Together.
Please pause the next time you feel like lashing out at someone and consider the humanity in us all. The suffering we have all been through. The pain we all feel every day in this cruel existence. We need to let this pain bring us together and never let anything or anyone divide us or bring any one of us down further than ME/CFS has already done. Just surviving the pain of a life with ME/CFS is more than anyone should bear. Please spread love. If we all feel loved by one another there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Love,
Whitney
I have recently seen some disturbing public attacks on Instagram attempting to publicly shame and hurt fellow ME/CFS patients. And I have seen similar attacks all around social media and ME/CFS forums over the years.
Even when you disagree with another ME/CFS patient, public or private attacks or any kind of attempt to hurt someone who is already suffering so much is not ok. ME/CFS alone is such a heavy burden to try to live with. Making this burden even heavier is not something that can be tolerated by this community.
To put it simply, ME/CFS has already brought us all down so low, we cannot bring each other down further. We need to help raise each other up.
Remember that you do not know what someone else’s life is like, what they have faced in the past or what they are currently facing. You don’t know if they’ve just had the worst day of their life. You don’t know if they’ve just crashed and are barely getting by physically or mentally or both. You don’t know if they are feeling hopeless or to what degree, or what emotional state they are in, or if they are suicidal. Given the high rate of suicide among ME/CFS patients, it can only be surmised that the number of patients considering suicide is extremely high. And you don’t know if all of these things are happening to someone at once. You don’t know. So please try to lift up the burden of fellow ME/CFS patients instead of adding to it, even if you are hurting and in pain yourself or someone makes you angry or upset and you need a release. Vent to a friend in private, punch a pillow, do whatever you need to do. But do not add to the already incredibly heavy burden that ME/CFS causes by attacking or trying to hurt a fellow patient.
If you see public attempts to shame or smear or hurt another person in this community, say something. Reach out to both people and don’t let it continue. Be the force of love that overcomes. The person being attacked could be completely alone with it. And the person on the attack must really be hurting inside to act the way they are and they probably need help. If we as a community spread love when we see hurt, this kind of behavior will have no traction and we can make everyone’s lives better, and likely avoid tragic disasters.
We are all in this together, no matter whether we agree about this little thing or disagree about that little thing. We all have ME/CFS and we need to help each other and support each other with love and grace and compassion. No matter what. I love all of you with all of my heart and would do anything in my power to relive your suffering. If we all treat each other this way, we can lift each other up and collectively rise as a community. Together.
Please pause the next time you feel like lashing out at someone and consider the humanity in us all. The suffering we have all been through. The pain we all feel every day in this cruel existence. We need to let this pain bring us together and never let anything or anyone divide us or bring any one of us down further than ME/CFS has already done. Just surviving the pain of a life with ME/CFS is more than anyone should bear. Please spread love. If we all feel loved by one another there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Love,
Whitney