Sufferer vs.Survivor Mentality
I noticed this as soon as I started reading Endo and Pelvic Pain websites and blogs, a few months after these new symptoms (yes, I'm going to write all about it; I just need to get into the swing of blogging again before jumping into the deep end) started in September of 2012: Many of the people who write about these topics call themselves "sufferers." I started being diagnosed with ICIs in 1989 (Endo, Fibro and multiple food allergies that year) and I quickly learned that I preferred to refer to myself and others as survivors or persons with chronic illness X . Even referring to myself as a fibromyalgiac, for instance, tends to give the illness a feeling of power over me. None of the ICIs I have define ME, so I don't use terms like that either. Sufferer connotes a victim mentality to me. It's OK to wallow in the pool of being a victim for awhile, but I don't think anyone will get out of that sucky, I-feel-sorry-for-me-so-you-should too plac...