Stop Saying “I’m Fine” and Instead, Complain Loudly With Me!

"I'm fine." Stop lying to yourself. These two words are a bald-faced lie, and you know it. Why, these two seemingly harmless words do you and our community a disservice.

Complaining louder than everyone else

I’ve been told time and again how amazing it is that I’m sharing my story. And I joke back that I’m not doing anything special, that I’m just complaining louder than everyone else. Which is basically what I’m doing, really.

Why do we normalize the pain of eczema?

Let’s just take a moment to think about those two words: “I’m fine.” These two words tell the rest of the world that “there’s nothing particularly wrong” with you. Which, obviously, couldn’t be farther from the truth when you’re a TSW/eczema warrior battling a chronic illness day in and day out. There is always something wrong with your health - be it something mentally, emotionally, or physically, and we need to stop normalizing our pain just to make the rest of the world feel at ease.

Eczema isn't normal

No one but you lives with the chronic pain that you experience. So who better to communicate your experience and needs than yourself? So if you just continue to tell everyone around you that you’re “fine,” they’re going to buy into that illusion and assume that you’re getting along okay. And when you’re moaning in misery as you’re scratching yourself in your sleep, you wonder why you don’t speak your truth, because surely, waking up to bloodied sheets every morning just can’t be normal.

Sharing the truth of life with eczema

This pandemic has revealed so many issues that have riddled our society for quite some time. These issues are finally coming to light and showing us that when we as a society come together and focus our energies on revealing and bringing attention to an injustice, we can and will affect change. So why can’t that next big change be dispelling that notion that TSW/eczema is “just a skin thing” or “just a little rash” that a little bit of cream can make go away? Why can’t the next big thing in the media be us, skin warriors, revealing our truth and what we actually suffer through versus what the rest of the world thinks we deal with?

Complain about eczema with me

I know that some of you are skeptical, because how can just a few words make a difference? But that’s where anything and everything starts - with just a few words; with just one small idea. I implore you to join me in complaining louder than the others. Oh yes. I mean it! You can complain loudly on paper, you can complain loudly through words and photos on Instagram, you can complain in your stories, you can complain in your Youtube videos, or even in your lyrics of your new original song about your skin! Let’s join together in complaining loudly because no one’s normal should be this painful.