Someone at work once
asked me what causes Fibromyalgia. I said the exact cause remained unknown;
however there were a number of factors that could trigger the syndrome such as
viral infections or trauma.
On hearing this, my
colleague scoffed and said: “Well if Fibromyalgia is caused by trauma, how come
I don’t have it?”
With all due respect
for my colleague, who narrowly escaped the 2009 Victorian bushfires only to
watch his newly constructed house burn to the ground, I was shocked by this lack
of empathy.
This person knows nothing about me, yet I felt I was being judged; what he was really saying was that he had suffered beyond measure and that my suffering would never come close to his. For this reason, I had no excuse for feeling unwell.
This person knows nothing about me, yet I felt I was being judged; what he was really saying was that he had suffered beyond measure and that my suffering would never come close to his. For this reason, I had no excuse for feeling unwell.
When things go wrong
in life one can easily become a victim of self-pity; nonetheless, measuring one’s
suffering against that of another is in bad taste.
This is not a
competition; there are no prises for being the one who has endured the most.
And how does one measure trauma anyway?
We must all carry our
own burdens. So let’s just get on with it.
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