Never in my life have I had to encounter so many assumptions, made by so many people, who have absolutely NO ideas of what I do and what I go through, until now.

I call these assumptions the ‘mustn’t be’ diagnosis, or MB’s for short.

For example, I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said the following;

You mustn’t be eating the right food

You mustn’t be drinking enough

You mustn’t be exercising enough

You mustn’t be taking your meds

You mustn’t be positive enough

You mustn’t be stable emotionally

You mustn’t be trying hard enough

You mustn’t be really that sick

You mustn’t be in that much pain

It is truly sad that people’s first reaction is doubt and suspicion. Yet there are over 150 million Autoimmune sufferers world wide.

The MB’s out there make living with chronic illness a harder challenge, and it takes time and a lot of their noise, to build up a resistance to their effects. But it can be done.

By remembering and honoring myself and my struggles to date, I am reminded that the MB’s are just a product of ignorance and a lack of compassion. But it’s not my (or your) failing.

Every time I overcome their words or their predictable comments, I know that I mustn’t be doing too badly!

Gentle hugs

Trish