I don& #39;t think it& #39;s possible to understate how much healthy people don& #39;t comprehend how exhausting chronic pain and chronic illness are.

I have IBS. Grumpy butt disease. It& #39;s actually pretty damn painful during flares.

Imagine stabbing gut cramps, sudden and intense nausea, combined with an insistent painful urge to go.

That& #39;s a flare for me. It doesn& #39;t go away after using bathroom.

Now I& #39;ve been lucky. I finally found a med combo that along with an active job, keeps my flares pretty minimal, once a week couple weeks maybe.

It& #39;s just enough to feel normal. Then out of nowhere, https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💥" title="Symbol für eine Kollision" aria-label="Emoji: Symbol für eine Kollision">.

If I can& #39;t get to a bathroom, it gets worse.

If I have to suppress it because there is no bathroom nearby, it& #39;s absolutely exhausting. Wipes me out. Whatever else I was doing that day gets canceled. I& #39;m stuck on the toilet and then I& #39;m going to bed because I& #39;m tired.

That& #39;s nothing to what some of my friends deal with. EDS, fibro, chronic pain caused by old injuries. I don& #39;t know how they cope. I& #39;m not surprised when doing dishes is all they can manage sometimes.

I wish I knew a way for healthy people to get this. I know I& #39;m not really adding anything new. I just don& #39;t know how much we can push back against ableism if the majority of people out there cannot comprehend the lived experience of people with disabilities.