I haven't posted on social media for over two weeks. I was emotionally exhausted, and I didn't have words to explain how I felt until now.
Imagine you feel pain in your foot. You see a podiatrist. He tells you that you're okay. You don't believe it, but you cope and move on. As time passes, you feel pain in your knees. You see another doctor. She tells you that you're fine. You cope and move on. More time goes by, and you experience pain in your back. You see a chiropractor, and she, too, tells you that you're okay. You repeatedly use coping mechanisms to deal with each occurrence of pain. Finally, you experience pain in your heart. But the cardiologist says you're overreacting.
Then one day you have a heart attack. It's indisputable now that something is wrong with you. Not only did you have a heart attack, but you also have urgent medical issues in all the places you previously experienced pain. Every doctor is trying to save your life, and you need multiple surgeries to survive. Doctors that brushed off your pain now want to urgently save your life. These same doctors are the reason why you're in such dire straits. If only they had listened to you, you wouldn't be here.
Please select this link to read the complete blog post from Irving W. Washington, FASAE, CAE, executive director of the Online News Association on LinkedIn.