Tag Archives: What You Don’t See

What You Don’t See 7/4/20 | #invisibleillness #rheumatoidarthritis

04 Saturday Jul 2020

Posted by in Rheumatoid Arthritis, What You Don't See

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Nothing to disclose.

Join my Spoonie family!

YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

What You Don't See Chronic Illness Invisible Symptoms Rheumatoid Arthritis | Monica with RA Beauty BloggerWhat You See…

This photo was taken Friday or Saturday night before I went out. I applied a dark brown eyeshadow over my lid (to minimize the appearance of swelling), smudged an eye pencil across the top and bottom lash line, and added a couple of swipes of mascara. A well-placed highlighter and lip gloss revived my pale countenance and made me look a bit more alive.

What You Don’t See…

Behind the forced smile and bright eyes, I was beyond fatigued. I wasn’t in a flare or in a lot of pain but my body was just spent. What people didn’t realize is it took a lot more energy than the average able-bodied person, to complete simple tasks. By the end of the day, I was tired and ready for bed.

‘Cancel your plans,’ you say! Ah, if it were that simple. Occasionally, I have to show face at hangouts.
When a healthy person says they are too tired their friends might say “that’s okay! Next time!”
When an ill person says they’re too tired their friends ASSUME the person will bail the next time, and the invites stop.

I have to make an insane amount of effort to socialize. It sucks sometimes because I like being around people but it just takes energy I just don’t have!

Like what you see? Please consider supporting my content by donating through PayPal or Venmo: @Monica-Sengupta!

What You Don’t See 6/18/20 | #chronicliving

18 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by in Rheumatoid Arthritis, What You Don't See

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Nothing to disclose.

Join my Spoonie family!

YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Chronic illnesses like Rheumatoid Arthritis, or Rheumatoid Disease, are often called invisible illnesses because their symptoms, though rampant, are not seen on the outside. You cannot see the fatigue and pain I experience daily. You cannot see the swelling and immobility that happen around my joints. And, often, you cannot see a host of other problems that are adjacent to my autoimmune disease.

What You Don't See Series Chronic Invisible Symptoms Illness | Monica with RA Blog Rheumatoid ArthritisFor this photo, I did a fun smokey eye because I was feeling better after my flare. While the pain and inflammation were a lot less I was still dealing with other issues.

Most notably, every time I moved or fixed my hair, strands upon strands of it fell out.
This is a new phenomenon and if you look at my hair pulled back you can see some thinning and bald spots.
From this photo, you can see a well-placed hairstyle can hide all of that!

Interested in my previous installment of the series? Check it out here.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Like what you see? Please consider supporting my content by donating through PayPal or Venmo: @Monica-Sengupta!