Technology and Chronic Illness - HAWMC Day 23

Today's prompt is about Technology.  Write about how your life would change if there was no social media.

Well, simply put, if there was no social media I wouldn't have been freed from my bubble of isolation.  Without Facebook, I would not have met anyone else like me.  There aren't any migraine support groups in my area and the only time that I was able to vent was with my therapist and psychiatrist.  Even still, no one truly understood what being in pain 24/7 does to a person.  Add on top of that the responsibility of raising children and being a wife.  None of my girlfriends have a clue what I go through.  They're compassionate and feel for me but there is no way that they could fathom how much I struggle.  It isn't only on a physical level.  The mental and emotional roller coaster I ride on a weekly basis is more than enough for ten people.

Without the support groups that I found online through various websites and the amazing friends and fellow pain warriors I have met, I would be lost.  Now, it is limited to the Internet, so I am pretty much still a hermit.  But, in my lowest moments at any time of the day I have people there for me who get it from all around the globe.  If that were to disappear from my life I would be devastated.  Being a part of those groups has led me to start blogging and do more regarding advocating for people like me.  I might not have done that without social media.

There is only so much that my husband, children, parents, siblings and friends can do for me.  As much as they would want to take my pain away, they can't.  And they all can't relate to it.  None of them understand what a life of pain is and they never will.  That's okay because it's not supposed to be that way.  Having those that have the same experiences as I makes getting through them a bit easier.  I feel like I'm rambling and saying the same thing over and over.  If I am, I apologize, as I have a really bad migraine right now and really don't feel like typing this out right now.  But I am committed to this challenge and want to make sure that I put some content in here that's worth reading.

I wouldn't be doing this if there were no social media.  Being an active (as much as I can be) part of the pain community has given me a growing confidence in myself, my voice, and my story.  I'm grateful to it for that.