![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/u3ycjw64iqr9bubanlelryrytm5lnrnkjbeqnx8ipoijetpc.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\" "\\"79663639\\"")
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I've created a range of clothing<\/a> to empower people with chronic conditions, mental health issues and disabilities. My hope is to raise awareness of people with both hidden and visible struggles, to show that first impressions don't tell the whole story.<\/p> Why? Well, I'm a veteran of chronic illness, having dealt with a constant headache since the age of 15. I've had depression and anxiety for more than half of my life. I'm a serious overthinker<\/a> and nap queen<\/a>. I get migraines several times a week, have regular nerve and joint pain and suffer the joys of IBS. I was finally diagnosed with FND at the age of 41 after being hospitalised with Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome.<\/p> Our \"Not Your Inspiration\" tee was designed in collaboration with Sandie (below) - a body confidence advocate who's raising awareness of disability. You can catch her brilliant content on the Search for Silver Linings Instagram<\/a> or TikTok. Sandie explains the feeling behind this and the attitudes she has faced herself, as a wheelchair user: \"Inspiration Porn is a term coined by the late Stella Young, a disability activist as 'the portrayal of people with disabilities as an inspiration solely or in part on the basis of their disability'. It doesn't mean that disabled people, myself included, can't be inspirational just like anyone else... but if I'm inspirational just for getting out of bed and making a cup of tea, then maybe check yourself?\"<\/p> Another one of my other favourite 'grammers, Chronically Jenni<\/a>, sums it up brilliantly in this post<\/a>. \"EDS is so changeable, the symptoms can vary from one day to the next, from one minute to the next with no way of predicting it. And it's also different from person to person. These photos were both taken today. Which one do you think I'm feeling better in? You'd think the one where I'm all dressed up right?\" But no, in fact by the time Jenni had tidied up, got ready and put aside her support tools, she was feeling worse. Jenni and Sandie are great people to follow for chronic illness hacks, fashion tips and confidence with a disability - whether it's visible or not.<\/p> That brings me on to the Spoon Theory - and therefore the title of this post - so you'll know why some people refer to themselves as 'spoonies', say they are out of spoons, or don't have the spoons to do something. As quite often it's not obvious.<\/p> A chronic illness blogger, Christine Miserandino, once used spoons to show how much energy a person with a chronic condition has every day and how much is used on simple, mundane tasks that others take for granted - like showering and doing the washing. It is assumed that a 'healthy' person has more\u00a0spoons<\/em>\u00a0(energy) than those with an illness. Some of us have to ration our spoons to be able to do something big, or simply don't have the spoons to do certain things. For some people every day is like this. For others, their spoon allocation may vary and one day they can do something, but another day not. There's a great article about this over on Happiful<\/a>.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/qfifdji8lt04mksegk3v6dvni4dyhm4pmo1n3r0bsltilrdp.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\" "\\"79663401\\"")
You wouldn't necessarily know this to look at me, though. And that presents a range of problems in itself - \"You don't look ill!\", \"But you did this yesterday, why not today?\" and a strong undercurrent of \"you're faking it, aren't you?\". But think about it; so many illnesses are invisible - heart disease, diabetes, dementia, autoimmune disorders, and even cancer. You just don't know what someone is dealing with - and not everyone will wear it on a t-shirt.<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/mjo73mofxuxfhbiaqc8wsd6bkqsn7fsmorgco5orjv6esr6f.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\" "\\"79643880\\"")
Sandie wears our Not Your Inspiration Tee<\/a> in white<\/em><\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/djhw1jwdgwpzurgq8yldwl9subr8usxz2gq33hqip3yzcazs.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\" "\\"79662694\\"")
Chronically Jenni wears our STRONG.FIERCE tee<\/a> in mustard.<\/em><\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/sguax2yxkpkcdxqmfmygkmixbtpmcm1zqpdvbziqccbesody.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\" "\\"79646258\\"")
The key things I'd like you to take away from this are 1) that everyone's condition is different<\/strong>. If you know one person with depression or one person who uses a wheelchair, you don't know us all. And 2) be kind<\/strong> - you never know what a person is going through.<\/p>