The Endo Times

Recently, I've had some pretty nasty flare-ups, and the old frustration is creeping back in. I have to go to extreme measures to get any semblance of relief. And if that relief comes, it's often fleeting. These flare-ups make me feel trapped in my own body, hopeless and desperate. I was really hoping that participating in this trial would give me some relief, but it's honestly hard to say if it has. Sometimes it feels like maybe it is, but then other times... Well, other times, I have weeks like last week where I'm in so much pain I can barely function, but I have to force myself to function because I have to fly home from a business trip so I buy every single pack of Aleve from an airport kiosk then spend an hour sitting on the toilet and crying quietly in the bathroom. I have so many thoughts and feelings, it's honestly hard to put them into words, so this week I'm giving you a photo blog. This is me. This is how I feel. This is my real life, not my Facebook

Social media is a funny thing, don't you think? I've been thinking lately about how it lets you create almost a double life for yourself—there's the life that you present on social media, be it Facebook, Snapchat, Insta, Twitter, whatever, and then there's your actual life that you lead every day. So, if you have people who follow you on your social media accounts who actually don't know you very well in real life (and let's be real, who doesn't stalk at least one person on Facebook??), you can make your life look like a freaking fairy tale. Or, on the other hand, you can be overly negative and have everyone thinking that your life is falling apart when, in reality, the worst thing that happened to you today was that coffee mug that you didn't need but bought from Amazon anyway was delivered one day later than expected (THE HORROR). Take me, for example. I try not to be too serious on my various social media accounts. I try to be funny and positive a