How Sharing On Social Media Can Empower You And Others

I have three social media platforms/accounts where I share my raw, vulnerable journey to empower others who are living with mental health and physical health conditions. 

I have two Instagram accounts. One is a personal account, and the other is for documenting my medical journey. I also have a Facebook account linked to my personal Instagram account because not all my friends are on both platforms. 

Why do I share my journey on social media? 

I do this so I can reach more individuals going through similar struggles. I’m mostly homebound, so socializing in person is difficult/not always possible. Sharing also helps others know what’s available to treat certain conditions and recognize symptoms.

I share my story because of the countless times strangers and friends have reached out to me, thanking me for being vulnerable and authentic because it gave them inspiration, hope, or courage to share their journeys, feel less alone, and have hope for the future. 

I used to care about privacy. But after so many hospital and treatment stays, wandering hospital hallways in just a gown, and being looked at by every health professional I see, I just don’t have much to hide anymore.

All people are valid in wanting to keep their personal life offline if that’s what they wish to do. And I truly understand why. People can pass judgment, bully, and be plain rude. But with that said, I’m at a point in my life where I don’t care how the world perceives me.

I’ve had two near-death experiences (NDE) that showed me what really matters to me, and that is authenticity, connection, and raising awareness for mental and physical health disabilities. I would rather share my story and receive hateful comments that I can ignore and block than make someone suffer alone, not knowing if anyone in the world gets what they are going through. 

Plus, I post about my many mental health illnesses on social media.

I share my experiences at treatment centers, the therapy I receive, information about the conditions, as well as my physical ailments, procedures, surgeries, hospital stays, ways I get nutrition and hydration, and all the other medical devices my body survives on. I don’t share to get pity or prove I’m “sick enough.” Instead, I share to connect, to advocate for those of us who are chronically ill, and to help others know what types of care are available. 

I find that even one comment thanking me for sharing my personal experience or one message asking me for more information because that person suffers similarly is reward enough. I find this true for sharing my medical history with medical students on my team, too.

I’m actually being honored at a ceremonial brunch at the end of March for being a “Patient as a Teacher” at Maine’s largest hospital because I spent two hours with a medical student who nominated me. After all, she learned so much from me during one of my hospital stays. This is how medicine improves: by one person sharing personal information to help others learn, gain knowledge, and hopefully change how chronically ill patients are treated in society and medical settings.

This is also why I write about my journey and post it online.

I hope to bring light to the darkest aspects of our beings; the ones we don’t talk about carry shame because of them. I believe that everyone is doing their best with what they have at any moment. And this includes those dark aspects. I have dark aspects, too. For instance, I carry shame about struggling with a severe and enduring eating disorder. For me, it’s not about clearance but safety and control when everything feels so out of control and unsafe. I share my trauma to help others know they are not alone and that there is hope for a better quality of life. I share about my medical conditions to help others know what their options are, what has helped me and others, and to diminish the shame that disabilities carry. 

We are all doing our best. If I can touch one person’s life, educate one medical professional, or raise general awareness for people living with disabilities, my job is done. If I have to suffer, I can use that pain to help others, which lessens the struggle by giving my pain meaning. 

That’s why I share.

Featured image via Austin Distel on Unsplash