Every Day is a Marathon

By isadoraonfire

1 min read

We all know the look to well. Often accompanied with an eye-roll, sigh and something along the lines of “I’m tired too”. This is different. I did not party, work out to much, drink too much or engage in activity that results in fatigue and or pain.

Instead everyday I run a marathon just to go upstairs and use the bathroom. Everyday feels like this; but to different degrees. Daily life is literally like a 24/7/365 marathon on batteries that never change. What people don’t understand is how overwhelming this disease is.

Misunderstood fatigueUnwanted advice

You may expect support, understanding and help. What you get may vary wildly and constantly change. Family and friends get annoyed that you can’t always keep up or keep plans and slowly they are less and less involved, or push too hard with “if you just get up you’ll feel better”, so and so does yoga and it helps, have you tried x y and a? Yes! We have all tried our best. Never let anyone minimize what you are going through.

Never minimize that you are doing the best you can. Never minimize that you deserve to live your best life with love, acceptance and support. Some days it’s minute by minute and that has to be ok. You are doing your best, you are strong, you are important and you are your best advocate.

So if today finds you where all you did was make it through the day; be proud. Sometimes getting through and being gentle with yourself is the biggest accomplishment in the world.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The AxialSpondyloarthritis.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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James Hollens Moderator & Contributor
Hi <inline-mention username="isadoraonfire" user-id="2378291"/> , thank you so much for sharing this, it is definitely a battle that most of us with AS experience! As if we aren't exhausted enough already we have to spend extra energy justifying our fatigue sometimes! I have tried explaining my situation to my friends which has had mixed success, but some are now more understanding that my condition doesn't just mean my back sometimes hurts! Your ending remark is really beautiful and so very true. I think we have to celebrate all wins in our battle, no matter how big or small they may be perceived as being. Waking up to face the day and getting through it despite our challenges is definitely a huge win and we need to give ourselves huge credit for it. Wishing you all the best, James (Community Member)
Sarah Lee Contributor
Hi <inline-mention user-id="2378291" username="isadoraonfire"/> , I just wanted to say that I really love your analogy of fatigue feeling like a marathon. That is a feeling I know all too well. At my old job, I experienced my coworkers trying to compare as well; knowing very well that it was their choice, but that something like this is never ours. I am so sorry you understand that feeling. I also love how you ended this. It's something that not only I needed to hear, but that a lot of others in the community will appreciate as well. I hope you are proud of yourself and I am wishing nothing but the best for you . Sarah (community advocate)
Sarah Lee Contributor
Hi <inline-mention user-id="2378291" username="isadoraonfire"/> , thank you so much for sharing this. I really like your analogy of fatigue feeling like a marathon. I relate to this all too well. Especially the feeling that comes with knowing you weren't out late partying or worked out too much. At my old job, in the early stages when I wasn't too sure what was wrong with me, a lot of my coworkers tried to relate to it with these things as well. And that left me so frustrated because it ultimately boiled down to the idea that they had the choice. This was not our choice. I also loved the message you ended off with. I think that is something that not only I needed to hear, but a lot of others in this community as well. I hope you are proud of yourself, and I am wishing you nothing but the best. Hang in there 😀 Sarah (team member)
Lisa Marie Basile Moderator & Contributor
Thank you for this. It is so hard to remember to be gentle with ourselves, and even I find myself being hard on myself, which I think might be a way of denying that something is wrong. But you are right — getting through a day is enough.