The Chronic Illness Household

Picture this: 2 best friends living together in their mid-20s, in their dream household, with 2 adorable puppies. We go to cafés every weekend, go to dog parks, watch movies, take each other to the hospital, share doctors... It sounded pretty cliché for a bit there, but I forgot to mention that we are both riddled with chronic illnesses. So it isn't exactly what you would expect a millennial household to look like.

Get yourself a best friend with chronic illness

You might think this is going to be a story talking about how hard it is to live with chronic illnesses and seeing your best friend go through the same struggle as you. Yes, it sucks, and it is hard. But we all know that. So I want to talk about the many great things I have experienced and learned from this life.

If you ever want to be reassured that someone fully and truly understands what you're going through, then get yourself a best friend with chronic illnesses.

Why our friendship is so special

My best friend Caitlin and I don't have any of the same diagnoses, but we do experience a lot of the same symptoms as each other, and have both had to learn how to live in these new, foreign bodies.

Our social battery never runs out with each other

We frequently say to each other that there isn't anyone else we can hang around with and be authentically ourselves. There are so many people that we can only spend 1 or 2  hours with before our social battery is completely drained, we have used all our spoons, and we are trying not to fall asleep in the corner.

Knowing each other's limits

But we spend almost all day, every day together and don't experience this fatigue. I think it is because we both innately know that at any point we can stop and rest. There is no social pressure to push ourselves past our limits, and we both know each other's warning signs that it's time to stop.

She tells me when to slow down

I can't say that I am a good sport when my she tells me that she notices I am overdoing it and that I should slow down. I really wish I was better at taking this advice on board. But instead, I am stubborn and push myself harder.

This is something I am really trying to work hard on stopping. Sometimes I don't see my own signs, but they are very obvious to those around me, and I am thankful that Caitlin keeps telling me even when I push back against her and refuse to nap. Honestly, sometimes I sound like a toddler refusing their naptime!

A friendship like this is a rare thing

It is so rare to find someone who knows you as well as we know each other, and this is just one of the amazing things I am grateful for in having the opportunity to live with someone else with chronic illness.