NotQuiteAntonio said...
Leave the Lyme at home, unless you feel that the people you'd be working with would be open and accommodating to your health conditions. See, our illnesses are still very foreign, alien things to many people, and very misunderstood by the majority of people who have heard of them. Heck, as much as it pains me to say, being that I am affected, even I don't understand anywhere near as much as I should.
It's a lot of information to try and take in, and a lot of information to try and place in someone's lap. If they don't brush you off, then they'll question your illness, and there's difficulty in that. Now, you may be educated on it, so that might not be a problem for you. Though, if you're anything like me, you'll find that people aren't so accepting of the answers that you give them. They're crazy, these sicknesses. A lot of the things that we endure, the things we do for health, et cetera, to a normal person, they sound like voodoo, snake oil, or whatever. People are hard-earned, when it comes to getting them to accept Lyme as it is, at least that's what I've found.
That said, unless these people are in the know, expect to face questions and judgment, whether they are directed at you or not. By that, I mean, people will wonder, people will label you the "sick person" or, worse, the "crazy person," and, while they might be nice, you'll always have some type of label in their minds. It's sad to say, but that's how human beings work, at least in my opinion. The group notices things that aren't as they should be. I think it's some subconscious, instinctive survival type stuff - like, something isn't healthy about that person.
Now, again, you may have the education on the subject to defend yourself properly and plant facts into people's minds, you may have the endurance to do it, but... you want to be sure.
Me, again, while it is sad to say, I'm kind of just waiting on the collective movement to make enough of an impact on the world to where the sickness and its effects on people begin to speak for themselves. I mean, if I get a little more health back, a little more of my mind, and whatnot, I might consider speaking out a little more, but I can't juggle all of that in my life right now.
I would just do the job as best as I could, not letting embarrassments over things I do in the name of health (going to the bathroom, eating a certain way, or whatever) and my physical and mental shortcomings upset me and thereby affect my performance any more than they already do.
I'll go into patient's rooms at the hospital, be socially awkward at times, not be able to respond to things in a way I feel is smooth, and then, as soon as I leave the room, I'm like.. oh well.. next room, plenty more practice.
Focus on your health at home. Clock in, clock out.
Just my opinion.
That was a really good opinion. I like the clock in, clock out. Focus on your health at home.