When I was first trying to manage overwhelming symptoms, I felt really lost. Suddenly, life became confusing and isolating. I felt like I couldn’t relate to my friends and classmates anymore, but I also felt like I was dealing with more than I could handle entirely by myself.

Falling victim to the stigma that illness is embarrassing and should be hidden, I withdrew from everyone around me. I was ashamed that I needed to manage my medications in public sometimes and especially when I needed to sit on the floor somewhere or leave an event or class because I was too sick to stay.

No one in my life was sick, so I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it all. There was no one to relate to and no one there to help me feel truly understood. My friends and family around me tried, but like they say - you don’t get it until you get it.

Little did I know that an entire community full of some of the best humans I’ve ever known was at my fingertips! One day, I searched a hashtag for my diagnosis and BOOM. There were tons of posts by people just like me. My mind was blown and I couldn’t believe that I had been living in the dark for so long.

It took time for me to be comfortable with the vulnerability needed to forge friendships online, and I am so glad that I went for it. I had people to talk to about my symptoms, my diagnoses, the experiences I had with healthcare professionals, treatments, everything! The burden I was trying to unfairly put on my healthy friends, was alleviated by the incredible people I met in the community.

Here, everything changed. Slowly, I didn’t feel like a high maintenance outcast anymore. Here, I’m normal. We all are.

Others try to diminish the value of online friendships, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They’re the ones who inspired me to accept myself, to rid myself of shame, to keep fighting, and to not let my circumstances define me. They’re the ones I can text at 3am because I’m in too much pain to sleep and the ones who help pick me up when I get tired of dealing with it all.

My friends are my lifeline and I’ve met some of my best friends in the community! I went from having no one that truly understood to having an entire network of friends just about everywhere I go! 

So if you’re nervous about seeking help, I say go for it. Risk the vulnerability and find the support you need. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

& to all of my friends reading this: thank you. Thank you for the inspiration, for restoring the hope I had lost for awhile, for always being there, and for making me laugh until I cry. I love and appreciate all of you endlessly. Thank you one million times over<3