Walk a mile in my shoes: trying on CWTCH's chronic illness symptom suit

[Andy]

This was me wearing the symptom suit, an outfit designed by members of the Pembrokeshire Charity CWTCH.

I was taking on the ‘walk a mile in my shoes’ challenge CWTCH is inviting people to try, which gives a glimpse of what it is like to live with chronic illnesses.

“Many of our members feel at least some of these symptoms in combination,” said CWTCH chairman Barry John from the side lines, “we asked them all to come together and think about what things they live with they wanted others to experience.”

Chronic illnesses include chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis), arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, and Crohn’s disease.

These long-term conditions can affect every waking minute of someone’s life.

https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/...rying-on-cwtchs-chronic-illness-symptom-suit/

 

[Sly Saint]

"Wearing the symptom suit was eye-opening, but I was glad I could step away from it and felt grateful I didn’t have to live through this experience every day."

"I couldn’t imagine what it would be like waking up in the morning and not knowing if today was a good day, where I would be able to go about my life with only inconveniences, or a bad day, where getting out of bed was nigh-on impossible, all while living with constant strains and feelings niggling you with every move you make."


the charity behind the initiative
http://cwtch-pembrokeshire.wales/

eta:
"
Walk In My Shoes” is a campaign devised by member of CWTCH (Pembrokeshire) to inform people about chronic health conditions and the symptoms you can’t always see.

Our members have reported to us that in order to fit in with friends, family and society in general, they most often try and hide their pain and symptoms so that it isn’t visible to everyone, they do this because it is a way of coping. Younger adults in particular have said that they have lost friends which is detrimental to their psychological well-being and doesn’t help them in their day-to day struggles.


Last year we launched our professionally made #symptomsuit, so we could show people some of the symptoms our members live with on a day to day basis. Living with a chronic health condition is a struggle, which is made even more complicated when you have invisible symptoms or rather symptoms you can’t always see."

 

[ScottTriGuy]

How great would it be if policy makers were made to wear the suit for a day.

But to make the experience even more real, they should be induced with nausea, pain and cognitive impairment...while being told by physicians that they don't really feel sick, pain, fatigue, fogged but are just imagining it - with the subtext that the patient has weak character / mind and thus is not deserving of proper treatment and has little human value.

 

[Andy]

Facebook post if you want to show the Western Telegraph some love

 

[ladycatlover]

How great would it be if policy makers were made to wear the suit for a day.

It would do the assessors some good to walk in our shoes too!