You are EveryWoman. You are extraordinary, as are all ordinary women who manage extraordinary things all the time, because they have to. Because your health condition gives you no get-out clause, it shows no mercy when you have a project deadline, an appointment with your kid’s schoolteacher, the weekly shop, a hot date, or any other event in your diary.

And there’s only so many times that you can call off, right?

The sympathy that you experienced at the start begins to wear thin, and the lack of understanding becomes another reason for you to feel stressed.

EveryWoman Day can’t cure your condition. The awful truth is that all too often, no one can. And that’s the point. This needs to change.

Every woman who takes part in EveryWoman Day (this year it’s on Saturday, September 3rd), is helping to bring about that change. And in the meantime, every woman who tells her story on the website, or likes/shares the campaign on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, is doing their part to help other women.

Here’s how:

 

1. By sharing our experiences, we help other women to feel less isolated. Isolation is a terrible part of any chronic condition, so it can be hugely helpful to understand that other women go through the same sort of things, endure similar pain and emotional distress. It’s a massive weight off when you realize: “It’s not just me.”

2. What works for you may also work for other women. It’s true that taboos about such personal topics make it hard to talk about them, but if we can get used to sharing our stories in a safe space, word can spread. EveryWoman Day gives you a platform to share your experience anonymously, to give you the freedom to fully express yourself fearlessly. You can also create visual impact with a “belfie” – write a word or phrase which expresses your experience on your belly, take a selfie of that area, and upload it to the EveryWoman Day website or social media pages.

3. You know that your chronic condition is not only pain. It impacts your quality of life, relationships, confidence and can lead to despair and depression. But most other people don’t get it. By sharing how the pain and other symptoms reach into all areas of your life, you will help medical teams, employers, partners and friends of Every Woman to understand better what you’re up against, and what you need. Awareness is the first step towards change.

4. The gender health gap is the new gender pay gap, and this is becoming apparent to politicians in some countries such as the UK. Women have more organs so more can go wrong in the pelvic area than men, and the vast majority of people who suffer with Chronic Pelvic Pain are women. So, by getting involved with EveryWoman Day, you will be moving every woman towards a proportionate response to understanding and treating these conditions. There simply isn’t enough research into women’s health. Now is a good time to make a noise, for this injustice to be seen and to hold our leaders accountable. This needs real action with results that are measured in quicker diagnoses, more effective treatments and less pain.

These conditions can happen to any woman regardless of race, socio-economic background, size, shape or age. There’s a good chance that a woman you know is suffering in silence.

It can take up to 10 years for some women’s health conditions to be diagnosed, and even then, they remain a mystery to doctors and patients alike. There’s no reliable treatment for many, let alone a cure. This is unacceptable.

Women who live with Chronic Pelvic Pain conditions have to make heroic efforts just to keep day-to-day life ticking over…food on the table, clean clothes, a roof over your head.

And yet most of us find it within ourselves to go over and above that to provide practical help for others, kind words, warm smiles and loving listening. It’s extraordinary.

Women are inspiring, resourceful, strong and wonderful. They deserve to be acknowledged and applauded.

 

Let’s get together via EveryWoman Day to support each other with the aim of bringing comfort and cures closer.

Upload your story using the form on everywomanday.com.

Your story counts.

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EveryWoman Day is a campaign established by Purple Orchid Health which founded the Feel Free Chronic Pelvic Pain Programme in an effort to raise awareness about chronic pelvic pain conditions, and to offer practical approaches to self-management in the absence of cures.