Tag: Chronic Illness
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Where Do You Go When Your Body Becomes a Cage?
The author shares their journey of living with Addison’s disease, reflecting on feelings of grief, loneliness, and loss of identity. Despite being diagnosed after years of struggle and misunderstanding, they express resilience through writing. They acknowledge the isolation brought on by illness and emphasize that they are not alone in this experience.
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What Nearly Killed Me Wasn’t the Illness—It Was the System
The author reflects on their five-year struggle with chronic illness and inadequate medical care. Despite multiple specialists and difficult experiences, they emphasize the ongoing battle against the medical system, marked by negligence and lack of accountability. They seek compassionate, trauma-informed care and highlight the necessity for medical integrity and respect for patients’ suffering.
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Anxious Is the New Hysterical
Jessica Woodville reflects on the historical context of women’s emotions, equating past “hysteria” with today’s labeling of anxiety. She argues that these diagnoses often dismiss deeper issues, particularly when trauma is involved. Women are urged to be believed and listened to, advocating for acknowledgment beyond superficial labels of anxiety.
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I’m Not Failing at Healing: What It Really Takes to Rewire a Trauma-Wired Body
They say healing takes time.But no one talks about what else it takes. It takes energy you don’t have. Support you no longer do. Money that doesn’t exist.It takes silence when you live with chaos, rest when you’re a mother, and trust when your body is still waiting for the next blow. And when talk…
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They Called It Stress, I Called It Survival
The speaker describes a medical examination with wires attached, reflecting on the emotional trauma they’ve experienced. They reveal the diagnosis of Takotsubo syndrome symbolizes deep sorrow and an overwhelmed heart. The simplicity of suggested remedies contrasts sharply with the complex history of pain and unresolved feelings, emphasizing the struggle for safety and healing.
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This Is What It Cost Me: Five Years, One Body, and a System That Still Won’t Listen
I’ve written about this before—maybe two, three times now. Chronic illness. Storms. Parenting through it. The trauma it leaves behind. But the truth is, every time I write, I hold a piece back. Because reliving it costs energy I barely have. Because writing about being dismissed starts to feel like shouting into a void. But…
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Too Sick to Be Ignored, Too Complicated to Be Helped
After years of mysterious symptoms, trauma-informed insight, and medical dismissal — including at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country — I’m left wondering if there’s a place for people like me in modern medicine. This is what it’s like to be chronically ill, gaslit, and out of strength.
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The Storm They Don’t See: Parenting with Invisible Illness
This morning my kids were arguing, my heart was racing, and my body was glitching like a laptop running too many tabs. I’ve been fighting this flare up for three days now… Welcome to what I call a dysautonomic storm—when your nervous system forgets how to human. You can’t see it from the outside. There’s…
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The Price of Persistence: How I Spent My Savings Searching for Answers
After my separation, I had a modest savings account—something I hoped would give me a sense of security as I rebuilt my life. Instead, it became my lifeline…in a way. I spent nearly $20,000 trying to figure out why my health kept failing. Twenty. Thousand. Dollars. Every penny of it was spent chasing the hope…
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Healing or Snake Oil? A Survivor’s Take on the Trauma Recovery Industry
I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted by the way trauma recovery is being packaged, marketed, and sold like the latest wellness trend. Healing isn’t a product. It’s not a five-step program or a color-coordinated workbook. And yet, every time I scroll through social media, I see another ad promising to “fix” trauma—just $99.99…
Jessica Woodville | Memoir & Musings 