To say that the last few months have been a challenge for us all, is an understatement. It seems like there are a lot of “big” things that are impacting our lives. For me, Lupus is one of those big things, but there’s a bunch of baggage to unpack for everyone right now. The global Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we interact, do our business, work and socialize. The current political situation is so polarized that many of our personal interactions are tense and can end in hurt feelings or stressful moments. The social changes that are taking place are also causing us to review our behaviors, check our privilege and to do some hard personal work. These are all important and I have been doing my best to address these in a positive way, but without causing enough stress to start a Lupus flare. Its’ a narrow path some days.
I find the some days I don’t have the energy to read the news or even log on to Social Media, it’s too stressful and depressing. So finding the balance between being connected, being up to date on current events and staying healthy is more difficult for me these days. Lupus has a lot of different symptoms for different people and depression is one of mine. I find that I have to really take steps to choose to be positive everyday, to try to find the good in people even when I don’t agree and to disconnect when it gets overwhelming. I find depression to be harder to dodge since I’ve been staying socially distant, and working from home. It makes it very difficult connect socially. My dear husband and my kitties try to fill the gap, but that’s a lot to ask of them.
As much as I have my own struggles, I think of others and how their fight is so much harder than mine, and they still fight. I take a moment and think of the demographics of people with Lupus. Most of us are women, and a majority of folks with Lupus are women of color. It must be so much harder for them to balance their Lupus health with the current racial climate, I can’t imagine how difficult that is for them. It gives me determination to do better. Better at managing my own balance, doing better at educating myself about the African American struggle and how I can be a better ally. I am not perfect, I am learning. I’m trying to hold hope that this pain and unrest will be a catalyst for change and that empathy and understanding will win out over pride, racism, and fear. I am looking forward to a safer, more equitable world. Our country and our people are worthy of making that change.
I think it is also important to be very responsible when participating in social media, being very diligent when sharing or posting articles, to be absolutely sure that it is real news and not some of the untrue and damaging articles that are circulating trying to manipulate viewers. Because of the platform algorithms, social media perpetuates things that it determines that are in line with your views, whether it is true or not. It is unethical and irresponsible for me to post anything like a news article or even a meme that I have not vetted and made sure that it is not something that contributes to the current devision or adds to the hate in the world. I can’t count on others to do the same so I don’t ready anyone’s news posts either. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of that. It’s just too easy to hit “share” because it feels righteous, but it doesn’t make it right or even true. I don’t like being manipulated. So I no longer read ANY “News” on social media and ONLY get my news from News organizations that are as centered and reputable as possible. It’s the price for being well informed. It’s work, but it’s worth it.
I’ve got to get to work to stay healthy, make positive change, have positive attitude and personal responsibility. I hope you will do the same.
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