#anikawells #chronicillness #invisibleillness #kitchencabinet
When federal Labor Minister Anika Wells was elected to lower house at age of 34, she became youngest woman in House of Representatives at time. She says her disease involves a lot of pain and is "moderately aggressive" His illness involves a lot of pain and is "moderately aggressive." Stigma associated with chronic illnesses is still prevalent, says advocacy group Invisible Diseases. In the two years prior, not only had she been campaigning for seat and giving birth to her first baby, but she was also navigating life with a newly diagnosed and "moderately aggressive" autoimmune disease. "He really surprised me for a few years before he was elected and we found the right dose to make it all work," the minister for aged care and sport told Annabel Crabb on ABC TV's Kitchen Cupboard. Miss Wells now gets a vaccine every eight weeks which helps control her condition, but admits she wishes she "didn't have to deal with it". "I spent a lot of time in the hospital, but we finally found the right thing that allowed me to work," she said. “And thanks Medicare, I not only get work, but I also get be a secretary of health, helping preside over the system.” But among the details Ms. Wells wants to share, the name of her illness is not one of them. Crabb asked himself if this decision was to prevent people from Googling his condition and researching his symptoms. “Yes, it maps me to symptoms and draws its own conclusions,” Ms. Wells said. “But it can also work for because you can choose how deal with it.” The minister said his situation involved "a lot of pain" but that it was an issue he often chose to work on. "I can go to the hospital sit and suffer in a bed that someone else needs, or I can continue to work suffer," Ms. Wells said. Developing 'tough skin' Like Ms. Wells, Kate, who is not her real name and wishes to remain anonymous, said deciding who to tell about her illness was a constant challenge. "It's not like you just decide and apply it to every situation; there are nuances," she said. Kate said she had some very positive experiences, but others left her reluctant to tell people about her illness in the future. “Even telling extended family or friends—this may require people to tell you their perspective on how you can solve this problem,” she said. “Or [telling] this to a doctor can be misleading, because there are so many ideas about the disease that people aren't even aware anyway, like you can train your way out of the disease or meditate your way out it.” “You have to be ready for it and have tough skin.” The other factor Kate now considers before sharing details of her illness is whether someone will respect her privacy, whether it's a co-worker or a family member. “Can trust them to have some common sense about what I tell them and give me the space to say what need?” she said. "I really wanted people not tell other people because I didn't want to b
