It’s a Saturday night, I’m 22 and I am sitting on the back of a friend’s bike, whizzing through the centre of Amsterdam. I’m in a big group of friends and we all have cans of beer in our hands. BVOtjes as the Dutch call them. A ´Bier voor Onderweg´ (a beer for on the… More Kat’s Annual ‘I Am Still Young’ Night Out
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to tell a story at one of the Amsterdam storytelling locations, the Mezrab. The topic of the story was supposed to be about miracles. Now it is no secret to those who know me that I have been struggling recently. I am now five weeks into a… More Little Glimmers of Hope in an ME/CFS Crash
ME/CFS maths goes something like, “one week of careful fun equals at least one month of housebound rest”. At least, that is the case in my life when the careful fun is not quite careful enough. I am currently paying what I like to call the “fun tax”. This is the time I spend crashing… More It’s Fun Tax Time Babyyyy!
Since starting to relapse, I have had to cancel many different events and pull out of various jobs I was doing. People have been lovely and understanding which I am very grateful for. However, they keep on telling me to “Get Well Soon”. My biggest pet peeve. And while it is 100% said out of care and love, it… More Stop Saying ‘Get Well Soon’ Pretty Please!
I am currently experiencing a relapse, and it sucks. After two years of health improvements, about two months ago, my health took a nosedive. To be honest with you I am having a hard time dealing with this. Life was much easier when I was healthier, and now I have to face that it is getting harder again. So, it is… More I am Currently Experiencing a Relapse, and it Sucks
During secondary school, anyone with 100% attendance to school was given a reward at the end of the year. In University, if you had five absences within a 16-week semester, you would be failed on a course. Two failed courses and you were expelled. Creative courses I have applied for recently require almost 100% attendance.… More Why Attendance Policies are Bullshit
Over the past year and a half/two years, I’ve enjoyed a time of relatively good health. Especially when you compare it to the years of being predominantly housebound that happened before that. But that in no way means that I am better and no longer have ME/CFS. It is strange, but even many of my… More The More I Can Do The More Invisible My Illness Becomes
Whilst we often hear about the fact that trauma can lead to chronic illness, something that we talk about less often is how having a chronic illness is a traumatic experience and can cause trauma. So, as today is World Mental Health Day, and I’ve just experienced a pretty traumatic health crash, what better time… More 7 Things to Know About Chronic Illness and Trauma
My last blog post was now several months ago, and I was talking about how much healthier I have been. One of the questions I posed at that point was, when should I start working? Well, the cost-of-living crisis rather forced my hand and, fed up with constantly stressing about money, I took the little… More Where was I? Freelancing with a chronic illness!
As you may or may not know by now, I am a huge fan of period pants. When I first discovered the existence of period pants, after being recommended them by a friend, I took to them straight away… and they have genuinely changed my experience of having a period. So, unsurprisingly, I was overjoyed… More Accessible period pants for the win!