#118 Reposting a great one, seen by @Sheila_W on fa$ebook yonks ago…:
Then looking for further pics hinted at by her, I found this thread
which has cats all over, a bit of a dog here and there, visualizes mainly brain fog,
and the last post tells a story which fits very well in this visualization-thread, and could almost be true…
#119
Holy cow, most of these are extremely relatable. Thank you for posting this and to everyone else who also contributed with their memes. It’s reassuring to know that there are people out there in this vast world that I can relate with and know know what we all have to deal with on a daily basis. Love to all your lovelies. 
I’ve been ‘lazy’ here, but still got 100s in the pipeline… so ask… 
In the meantime I’ve realized today that invisibility is a core “symptom” of fibro and these memes are “treatments”, so I’m putting them at the top of my online symptom & treatment lists (0.), even above pain (1.). Oh: As lack of understanding also may be a additional trigger, for a vicious circle, I’ll put it on “causes/triggers” too.
(It’d got mentions at the beginning, but not clearly enough.)
I’ve also changed this thread title so it reads “visualize … (the) … invisible”
Thinking about the term “invisible chronic sicknesses”, I realized that chronicity is another, and complexity (/polysymptomatic) also (via a quote on wordhippo when I looked up chronic as a noun there) as core symptoms.)…
What I’ve added there for the moment as “treatment” is the short form of this:
On the emotional level I try some of the memes/pix, e.g. on threads here or elsewhere (<pics & memes visualize fibromyalgia>, ), clear descriptions (flu, rhino/train, tin man, our drama of “sick etc. on good days, sicker on the others”), if I were a woman, I’d ask if I’m being discriminated as a woman (‘drama queen’/‘overdramatizing’/‘hysterical’) and point out that many men have it too (recent research reflected on wikipedia says 2:1), take my partner with me to a knowledgeable doc.
On the insight level: learn to describe my symptoms clearly, educate myself (books, videos, online resources) to educate all others (docs, partners, friends, bosses, colleagues, acquaintances), brochures & similar summaries…
Thank you. Made me chuckle. I needed that.
For @fibrohelp (pun there too…) - I’ll celebrate you and @Dodi saying hello on this thread with my remaining subjective 10 out of 10s. Before going down to all the many 9s - if anyone is interested…
#120
#121
#123
OK, there’s a few more in the same sub-file
#124
)
#125 I was made aware of this one by a male colleague, who just saw it’s a man (for a change), but didn’t see the butterfly wings…
#126
and totally off-topic, so not getting a #number, a picture spotted at a charity event for children and thought to look like Winnie the Pooh, posted elsewhere the other day… (my wife thought photoshopped…):
Sometimes we give up when others outside our support here don’t understand what we are going thru.
Several reasons & ways of changing this… (but only) if or when we feel able to.
1 reason is to raise awareness for us all. Another 2 to make ourselves stronger. A third 3 to encourage empathy generally. It’s not just about FM, it’s not just about all invisible chronic pain diseases, it’s about everybody who’s different, whether physically, mentally or identity. Every time we perhaps manage to do it, we are raising mutual understanding. That isn’t to put pressure on us tho, that would not be self-caring/self-understanding.
I’ve put a 4th and 5th very important reason down below, at the end.
To get thru to others (incl. “our previous selves” and even our present selves!) we need to increase empathy by relating to known experiences and to use pictures and memes. Experiences would be the flu or a cold. First it helps for people to remember (by being asked by us) what a flu feels like, and then we can tell them in a build-up: Now imagine you had the flu “several” days a week, and the other days a week just a cold. Pre-fibro I’d’ve really needed to hear storyies like: Only 2 hours of non-REM sleep… feel like I’ve been in a car crash… sun burnt … needle pricks all over my arms… IBS… sensory overload… nausea… And if people can’t take that and shun me or don’t ask that darn question anymore, they’re very welcome.
In the last few months I’ve been developing various “percentage”-scales - first for others, but it’s also become useful for myself. I’ve been using 60-90% for how “well” I’m feeling and the typical “pain number” of 1-4 of 7 (incl. loads of treatment and not overdoing it too much). But my colleagues want to know “if/when I’ll get better” or “when I’ll be back” after the jabs. For the first question my answer is now that for my activity level compared with pre-fibro (let’s say 10h/d) I’m now aiming for 40% , after fibro brought me down to 20% and esp. meds and doc treatments brought me down to 5-10% and my own physio & supps were bringing me up again. For the second question again the jabs have brought me down to 5-10% and with a lot of extra physio & supps I got this up to 30%, 2nd jab brought it back down to 10%. I’ll be back when I can again start aiming for 40%. So I don’t paint pictures any more - they know that - I just put it in a number. That’s the 4th reason it’s good to explain: So people can get the perspective on what may be coming up.
A different way of explaining how I’m feeling is also very necessary in interaction, a 5th reason it’s good to explain how I’m feeling. At the moment I can only meet people for 30 minutes. Today I had a 20 minute phone call to get someone else help which knackered me for about 2 hours. Online 60 minutes can be OK, depending. All altho I’m mentally and emotionally 100%, no fog, no depression, no anxiety etc. So no way am I gonna pretend I’m fine. Whether I feel pain & exhaustion coming on or I don’t after a time I say, “OK (not!: sorry), I’m at (or over) my limit, let’s continue some other time”, Bye and put the phone down or go in! So “over the limit” would be another way of saying how I’m feeling, even if I’m not exactly explaining it. “Why didn’t I pick up the phone the other day?” “Cos I was over the limit.” No discussion.
The “Spoon Theory” is one well-known example for a ‘picture story’, originally more for fatigue, but it can be adapted for pain as well: the less spoons the more pain.
Some people imagine putting pics and memes like the above up somewhere or on T-shirts in non-web life, but I don’t know if anyone really does…? O.o
About time for a few new pics, too, from my gigantic collection, not just my long blah-blah…
No comments, no explanations, takes too much time and is probably the main reason I’d taken a break. I always put them up at 50% size. Sorry if that’s too small, but I think it’s better for such a loaded thread…
#127
Actually I do think it’s very sensible for docs to tell people with fibro to look it up on good sites and join forums, far better than pretending they new exactly how it works for every single person they only see on average for a few minutes a month… and not knowing anything about this specific variety of it…! Ha - @AussieMom, am I gonna beat ya to it? 
Yes! I’m that person trying to push the boulder and getting nowhere! Why does life always have to feel that way? Thank you for keeping up the meme thread Jay!
Working full time leaves me no energy for other things. I played games with my granddaughter last night (umm, we also had a short “dance” party, at her insistence - LOL!!!) This morning, I’m sitting here trying to work and really really want to go back to bed! By my third dose of meds, I’ll feel better - Unfortunately, that won’t be until about 4pm. Ha!
I miss everyone, but I’ve burned the candle at both ends for so long that the candle has disintegrated… As you can probably tell, I’m feeling a little depressed lately, which I’m pretty certain is from over 20 years of chronic pain and increasing tiredness. It does help to see that my old pals are still here, with love and encouragement for all 
LOL, JCS, you could beat me at just about anything this morning! Need MORE caffeine. 
Oh I so wish I could boost you up and hope you get some wax back somehow or you could just end the fire before it ends you… 
Thank you for that! My first laugh of the day, my friend! Guess I’m not dead yet -LOL 
I like Winnie in the clouds! Just a “feel good” meme and lovely, Jay! 
HAHAHA #123 SO FUNNY!
#133a
and
133b
How gracious of the web’s elephants not to sit on women…
“Are you sitting comfortably? - Then I’ll begin…”
Ah, found the “request” again here…
Just had to add another elephant! And, you’re right, Jay - They don’t sit on women! Who knew?!
I think putting meme’s about pain, fibro, etc., is a great idea, and it would bring more awareness of our condition to others.
OR we could just put the “Out of Order” sticker on our forehead (meme above -don’t remember the number) -LOL 
#120, TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE 
#134
When someone asks me when was the Iast time I got a decent night’s sleep: Picture it. Sicily, 1912.
As I’m feeling imploded today I tried looking for images, but only found these…
#135
#136
