An interesting article on FWD.

[logansrogue]

I Hope You Feel Better...

Now, I'm not quite as ragey as this person is, probably because my illness isn't THAT bad and I tend to be like a kitty and purr when people give me any form of affection, which is what I take well wishes for. I realise I talk about being ill a lot, and I take it in stride and make a joke about it (I made a special "Get Well Soon, Nacey" icon for my friend when she responds to my illness posts).

I am not saying this woman's reaction is wrong. It was the same for me for a long time. I'm just saying it's a good thing to read up if you know a lot of people with chronic illnesses and regularly talk to them.

I guess, I feel frustrated when people say "Get Well", but it's a relief to hear that instead of "Well, if you just got out more..." so I just look for the silver lining and notice the good heart in which it was meant and take it from there.

So, my point is that don't worry about it too much when talking to me, but keep in mind that saying anything that insinuates that I can make a full recovery can be a little depressing for me.

Comments

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

I usually opt for "I hope you are able to find some relief soon", because I think the word "relief" tends to be taken for a more temporary thing, and at least in my own chronic pain scenario, I can find "relief", for a time. I just can't "get better".

And to that end, I hope you are able to find some relief soon. :)

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

The Pill is hell for me. I haven't taken it yet today. I don't want to! :( I should try it, but I just feel so horrible when I'm on it. Just - sick. Sore. Tired. :(

[anarchicq.livejournal.com]

I am never well. I am never healthy. I am never normal. I am "Stable", and I am "alright".

Platitudes suck, but 'the privileged people' don't know how to react. They mean well, and I prefer "Get well soon" to "Oh, My boyfriend left me, My life is SOOOO hard I want to KILL MYSELF!"

Let the privileged say "get well soon" because they're idiots and know no better. It's a lipstick on a pig situation, but what can you do?

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

I tend to think of temporarily abled folk as the lucky ones. Everyone gets old, so they'll probably learn what it is to have some sort of ongoing condition at some point. I'm just glad that most people don't have to suffer what I do.

I dunno, I get angry, but I usually cope by just understanding that they're meaning well, they just don't know what it is to be sick all the time. Which is a good thing, really.

But I get your anger, I know where you're coming from, and I feel like that some days too.

[hotclaws.livejournal.com]

I take it as "feel better" not "get cured"People just do not understand chronic illness/pain.I think doctors don't like to educate about it because it makes them look like failures.

[meleth.livejournal.com]

From the perspective of chronic mental illness, I tend to internally parse "feel better" as "I hope that your condition shows as much improvement as it can, and that your day soon becomes less shit than it is now. Hopefully, you will soon feel less suicidal and more able to cope with things like making phone calls."

[bunny-m.livejournal.com]

I always parse 'feel better' as 'feel better than you are at the moment', and not at all 'be totally cured', and that's certainly how I mean it if/when I use the term.

But then my chronic pain is a) intermittent, b) currently responding quite well to my meds, and c) can generally be mitigated somewhat even when present by simply limiting walking at all.

All of which means I'm vastly better off than most of the people I know with chronic health issues.

[meleth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can see how it would be really annoying to hear it again and again while you're trying to figure out if you'll have the wherewithal to do the grocery shopping.