Blatant Ignorance

*Foggy* Whoa....Sally has just got back from a short trip to the local shop and she is fuming! My tiny Foggy brain can't explain what has just happened so I'll let her explain! I can't wait to see you all again! I'll be back in January xx

Hello,

I am so angry and agitated. Perfect starting point for a blog post!

As you are all aware, I spent a whole year attempting to raise awareness of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis GLOBALLY. I was successful in educating a wide range of people. However, the people I encounter on a daily basis still don't have a clue.

I had just taken a break from working at home and taken a short walk to my local shop. On the way I bumped into an old family friend. Let's call her Lynn. She asked me how my new business was going and I said it was steadily building, but I need a part time job to be able to pay my bills. I told her that there don't seem to be many temp jobs around and that most temporary jobs at the moment are retail. I explained that I can't do retail as it involves standing for long periods of time or lifting/shifting stock, something I can't do. She said that at Christmas time there are lots of bar jobs available and why don't I just do that? I explained that I couldn't because of the standing for long periods of time. She told me to push through it. I said 'M.E. sufferers can't push through it, it's not how M.E. works'. Lynn replied, 'I've read up all about it, all they have to do is push through it and get

Me - educating

a positive attitude'. Apparently, if I 'put my mind to it' I can do any job. I was speechless. I could have pointed out to her that not only do I have M.E. but am a M.E. advocate and educate people on the true nature of M.E all the time. But I didn't. I didn't swear at her (I wanted to) or argue (I wanted to), I just let my very expressive facial features tell her what she could go and do!

Let me point out that 6 months ago Lynn didn't know what M.E was and said that she hadn't known there anything wrong with me. I think her idea of reading up on it was reading the Daily Mail's inaccurate reporting of the condition. I have spent 3 hours a day for the past 6 weeks looking for a small part time job to tide me over until I have built my multinational conglomerate. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any work which suits my energy levels. I thought looking for a basic admin role with part time hours would be simple. I was so wrong. My willingness to work and frustration at not being able to find anything suitable completely contradicts the comments from Lynn. What is especially annoying is that she does not appreciate that I am currently working very hard setting up my business. I am not lazy.

I often give the impression that I don't encounter negativity regarding my health. I like to keep Foggy light, engaging and informative. Please don't be under the illusion that I don't have ignorance thrown in my direction on a regular basis. Ignorance from colleagues was a small factor in why I left my previous job. I constantly had 'the face' from a few members of staff. It was demoralising and made my working life extremely difficult. Maybe I should have worn a pretend plaster cast so people could see there was something wrong?

Unfortunately, the only people who are paying attention to raising awareness of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis are the people who like to learn new stuff and treat fellow human beings equally and with respect. I could spend a morning giving a public awareness event and be well received, and then pop into my local shop on the way home and be confronted by ignorance.  Ignorant people have no inclination to learn and just stick to their own beliefs and misconceptions. Incredibly frustrating but that is the way of the world.

Love,

Sally xx