I have some exciting news to share! I’ve been nominated for the Disability Blogger award by Amber Blackburn of The World Sees Normal. I’m super excited and honored – Amber, thank you so very much! And also, a huge thank you to Georgina from Chronillicles for creating this Award. Amazing work you are both doing!

I love the opportunity to nominate and be nominated by peers – after all, I’m really about community, connecting, coming together and award by peers, for peers, offers exactly that. Here are the rules:

• Thank your nominator
• Recognize Georgina from Chronillicles as the creator of this award and link her URL – https://www.chronillicles.com
• Use the Disability Blogger Award logo somewhere in your post
• Copy these rules onto your post
• Answer your nominator’s questions
• Write 5-15 of your own questions (they don’t need to be illness related)
• Nominate 5-15 other disability, chronic illness, mental illness, or special needs bloggers
• Comment on each of your nominees’ latest posts to tell them they have been nominated

So, Amber’s questions for me, and my answers.

What is the biggest lesson you learned from starting your blog.

I’d say the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s OK to not be OK, and that it’s ok to share this too. I find that so often, when I blog that I’m struggling, having a difficult day, flaring, that far from pushing people away (my concern), I find deeper connection. Often, there are so many people around you (in person, or virtually online) going through similar to what you’re experiencing, and yet each of you feels so alone and isolated. When you share your story, you offer that connection to others, and in connecting, you each are reminded that you are not alone.

What is your favorite way to spend your free time?

With family and loved ones. Activity wise, traveling. I love to travel, and I do so every chance I get, though this year time/money/life have made that less possible. Still, though, I love exploring new places, even if it’s just a new coffee shop in the neighborhood, a new nearby town, something more local.

If you could tell people ONE thing about living with a chronic illness what would you want the general public to know???

That my illness is always there, lurking in the shadows ready to pounce even when it’s not obvious to anyone else. When I have a good day, it doesn’t mean I’m “better’ or that my illness has gone away, or that I’m cured. It means I’m not flaring that day, and I’m feeling better (I have a cycling disorder, so by nature, it changes regularly). But even on my best days, I am always aware of it. Always wondering when it it’s going to get bad again. And so often, even when it seems fine, it’s not. Most days are an effort, and for the few that aren’t as difficult, please, just let me enjoy it without questioning my illness.

Do you prefer sweet or salty? What is your all time favorite treat?  

Salty! Sweet actually makes me nauceous and gives me a headache much of the time, so no contest there. Also, I’m borderline hyponatremic (low sodium), so I’m encouraged to eat more salt/sodium. All time favorite treat, hmmm… probably fries or vegetarian nachos!

Why did you decide to start your blog/advocacy work?  

When I god diagnosed with rapid cycling cyclothymia, I set out to learn as much as I could about my condition, to connect with others who had the same diagnosis, to find communities. And I found next to nothing. My condition is rare, but I thought surely there were others “out there’ that had this who might also want to connect and be looking for resources. And since they didn’t exist, I decided to create them. I started by blogging, and then forming a closed Facebook group (it’s expanded to mood disorders more generally now), and sure enough, I connected with others also in search of community and learning/sharing about this condition. Eventually, I expanded my advocacy to mental health in general, as I saw the amount of stigma surrounding the topic, and wanted to do my part in combating that.

What is your favorite show or movie currently? 

I’m not a big movie person because I have very little attention span for basically anything but reading or writing. Most of the time, I tend to watch shows that are low stress, because there’s enough stress in living with chronic illness and just in life in general, and I definitely don’t want to invite more of it, when it’s not even mine! So I watch a lot of things like House Hunters, Hallmark Channel, Cooking shows, and other such shows that let me relax and unwind without being too intense. I also watch a lot of PBS, and particularly, Call the Midwife. It’s the one of the few “dramatic” shows I like.

So now, my questions for my nominees:

1. What is your favorite part about being a chronic illness blogger/advocate?
2. If you could visit anywhere in the world (perfect world, no budget kind of scenario), where would you visit?
3. What’s your favorite animal? Why?
4. What’s one unexpected positive thing that you’ve experienced since you started blogging/advocating? (It can be something big that’s happened to you, or something more subtle that you’ve experienced internally).
5. Mountains, beach, city, countryside, or some other type of geography? Why?

I look forward to seeing your answers!

With hope,

Maya