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You Behind The Illness Tag

by InvisiblyMe
A close-up photo of a woman with green eyes and dark hair, hiding her lower face behind some dark green/blue fabric. Overlaid is the title: You behind the illness tag.

You Behind The (Chronic) Illness Tag

I don’t often do blog tags but I thought this was an interesting one to remind us that we’re more than just chronic illness. I was first tagged for this by the lovely Jen at Tripping Through Treacle  and then by the wonderful Terri at Reclaiming Hope. Thanks guys! ♥

It’s important to remember that we’re all still human with experiences, with things we’ve done and dreams we nurture. We’re not our illnesses. I think this tag is great idea to give a quick snapshot of those of us in the blogging world with chronic/invisible illness, so here we go:


Four places I’ve lived:

1. Herefordshire, UK.

2. Gloucestershire, UK.

3. In my own head, MiddleOfNowhere.

4. The womb?

Four places I’ve worked:

1. A cleaning company as an administrator (with an evening cleaning shift for extra pennies).

2. An airplane company sorting out repairs for aircraft like the 747.

3. A psychological profiling company working with aerospace staff.

4. A charity working with the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.

Four favourite hobbies:

1. Reading (with a penchant for American crime thrillers).

2. Walking around the park when I can manage to.

3. Movies & boxsets, snuggled with a blanket and snacks.

4. Writing & blogging.

A photo of a local park, with a big white blossom tree to the left, and a walkway to the right.

Four things I like to watch:

1. When I’m in the right kind of mood, a bit of anime, or a bit of comedy (films or stand-up).

2. Various Netflix goodness, like Orange Is The New Black, Stranger Things, Jessica Jones.

3. Horror thriller films.

4. People! I like people watching while I’m out drinking a hot chocolate somewhere, wondering what their stories are and where they’re going.

Four things I like to read:

1. Harlan Coben

2. Linda Fairstein

3. David Baldacci

4. Tess Gerritsen, Michael Connelly, and a few more – I can’t help but cheat on this one!

Four places I have been:

1. Indianapolis (to work for 6 weeks).

2. Bath, UK (for a residential week doing a research project with the Open University, then a few years later for a hospital appointment).

3.  Salou, Spain (and I’d love to go back and stay where it’s warm & sunny!)

4. Barcelona (this is a bit of a cheat one as I’ve not been to many exciting places, but I did this as a bus trip for the day when I was in Salou).

Four things I love to eat:

1. Dry cereal. Sounds odd, but dry Frosties can be a great popcorn alternative for a film night!

2. Chicken with anything (rice, noodles, chips, salad, as a roast dinner). It’s staple for me, even more so since my surgeries as my stoma isn’t such a fan of other meat.

3. Salad (lettuce, cucumber, red onion, peppers – no dressing!)

4. Lindt Lindor chocolate. Nothing can quite beat it.

Four favourite things to drink:

1. Tea (what’s making up 90% of my veins).

2. Whiskey (Jack or Jim are the best company).

3. Hot chocolate (no cream, yuck) I love the frothy milk with sprinkles on top; I spend longer spooning that all off than I do drinking the hot chocolate itself. If it’s warmer weather then I’d swap this for a chocolate milkshake.

4.Cider (especially on warm, sunny days).

Four places I want to visit:

1. Australia  –  To see family and enjoy the gorgeous scenery and weather.

2. Japan  –  Always wanted to go here for the culture and buzz, and also to see less busy areas where there are beautiful cherry blossoms and the bamboo forest.

3. Grand Canyon  –  As part of a bucket list, I’d love an American road trip.

4. Brighton  –  This should be easier being in the UK but there are a lot of places in the country I’d like to go but have never been, Brighton and Edinburgh included.

Four bloggers I’d like to tag:

I often leave this open for anyone, but I’d like to include a few here so other readers can check you awesome bloggers out! No pressure to do the tag, but I’d love to read your answers if you do (and apologies if you’ve already been nominated).

  1. Lindsay at Musings Of A Dysautonomiac
  2. Nat at Surviving Life’s Hurdles
  3. AnnaLisa at The Worry Games
  4. Sam at My Medical Musings

Caz 




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39 comments

T. R. Noble January 28, 2018 - 6:44 pm

Congrats!!! Chocolate milkshakes are good 🙂

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:23 pm

Thanks – and yes they definitely are good!!

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Buffy Devane January 28, 2018 - 6:52 pm

Great post. 🙂
You have particularly good taste when you mention Lindor, Gloucestershire, horror films and whiskey… haha, and of course people-watching(!)

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:24 pm

Glad to find there’s a fellow Lindor lover, horror film watcher & whiskey drinker out there! 🙂

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Blogging_with_Bojana January 28, 2018 - 7:19 pm

No coffee on the list?

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:29 pm

Coffee is something I desperately want to like – I love the smell of coffee, and the look of a frothy cappuccino – but I’ve never like the taste of any of it sadly! Instead I’m a tea addict and can’t function in the morning with a cuppa 🙂

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Margaret January 28, 2018 - 7:32 pm

Mmmmm I love dry cereal, especailly honey nut Cheerios. “Tea (what’s making up 90% of my veins).” I almost sprayed coffee through my nose when I read this :):) Thank you Caz it was nice getting to know you better AND for the laugh :):):)

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:36 pm

Oh no, drinks through the nose hurt – I’m glad you didn’t do that with hot coffee Margaret!! Hahah, glad you liked the post and I’m pleased there’s another dry cereal eater out there, hurrah!! 🙂
Caz x

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dinosaursdonkeysandms January 28, 2018 - 8:06 pm

Brighton and Edinburgh are definitely worth a visit. 🙂 I like dry cereal too. I never have cereal with milk and everyone says its weird. 🙂 xxx

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:38 pm

I really do need to try to find a way of visiting one of those places, at least Brighton as that should be more do-able in terms of driving there. I think cereal with milk is weird, especially when the cereal is drowned in milk and it all goes soggy! We’ll make dry cereal cool, I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking so! 🙂 xx

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storybyaggie January 28, 2018 - 8:14 pm

I loved it !
Japan and Grand Canyon is on my list as well…
As for Brighton it is definately worth a visit x
I had so much fun taking pictures there… the city is much more diverse and cosmopolitian than I thought !
I have linked the post if you want to check it out x

https://storybyaggie.com/2017/10/29/what-i-wore-sunday-morning-in-brighton/

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:42 pm

I remember that post, it’s what also gave me a little shove to think about a Brighton visit again. I loved the leather jacket you wore then too, I might have to replace mind at some point as the sharp edges of the metal buckles on the bottom of the jacket have rubbed and caught on the arms (not a very practical design!) I often hear about the diversity and energy that surrounds Brighton; I think it would be amazing to go in the warmer weather to check out the pier, the sea and then the nightlife too. I really hope you make it to both the Grand Canyon and Japan one day, I think either/both trips would be absolutely incredible! 🙂
x

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Hannah January 28, 2018 - 9:17 pm

I looove Tess gerritsen! So nice to learn a bit more about yourself! ?

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:43 pm

Hurrah, another Gerritsen fan! She’s amazing, right? 🙂

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Natalie | Surviving life's hurdles January 28, 2018 - 10:47 pm

I love this tag it’s such a great idea! I haven’t lived in that many different places either and I love loads of different teas (coffee not so much!). It’s lovely to find out a few more things about you. thank you so much for nominating me, I’ll have to give it a go. 🙂

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 4:55 pm

Glad you liked the tag – and there’s no pressure for you to do it Nat, though I’d love to see your answers, I just wanted other readers to check out your awesome blog 🙂 I’m now glad I’ve moved once to a different area as otherwise that question would have been even harder for me to complete! xx

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violaetcetera January 29, 2018 - 9:54 am

I love hot chocolate too. And you chose wonderful blogs. Thanks for sharing,
Viola.

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 5:01 pm

Yay, another hot chocolate lover! I hope you have a lovely week and a hot chocolate or two to keep you going 🙂 xx

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Amy January 29, 2018 - 11:16 am

I want to visit Barcelona too… next month i hope. 😀

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InvisiblyMe January 29, 2018 - 5:03 pm

It’s amazing – would you be going specifically to Barcelona for a holiday? I only went technically for a few hours, but there’s so much to see so having more time would be great, and you’ll have some amazing memories and photos (charge your phone as there’s so many gorgeous buildings!) afterwards 🙂

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Amy January 29, 2018 - 5:59 pm

Yes, I will have a 14-day holiday in Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla. Last year I was in Valencia and I liked it a lot, I was impressed. I’ll take the camera with me, I’m sure I’ll take a lot of pictures.

Thanks for the recommendation. 😀

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Emma (Not Just Tired) January 29, 2018 - 8:10 pm

Great to learn more about you ? I enjoy people watching too! I also love Spain! xx

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InvisiblyMe January 30, 2018 - 7:30 am

Glad you liked the most, it’s always a bit daunting sharing more about yourself. Spain is amazing – I definitely think there’s something to be said for sunshine and warmth when dealing with illness too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to comment Emma xx

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Sarah January 30, 2018 - 6:40 am

Firstly, this is an amazing post! So informative and well written!
I understand perfectly what you are saying since I suffer from chronic Lyme disease and it’s an excruciatingly long battle. You are not alone, you are not your illness (talking to myself really;) and don’t let it pull you down!

I recently started a blog about my Lyme. I’d love you to join and leave some feedback

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InvisiblyMe January 30, 2018 - 9:21 am

Thank you for your lovely comment, though I’m also sad you suffer with Lyme. Unfortunately I can’t access your blog with the link you’ve given – are you able to check it’s right and drop me another comment with the URL? 🙂

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trippingthroughtreacle January 30, 2018 - 11:18 am

I’ve loved reading this Caz! Love that your veins are mostly made of tea, haha 🙂 I would definitely recommend Edinburgh, it is such a lovely city 🙂 xxx

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Christy B January 30, 2018 - 8:06 pm

I would love to go to Australia too one day 🙂 It was fun learning more about you through this tag.

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Joraffe January 30, 2018 - 10:31 pm

Another dry cereal fan here! Highly recommend Australia x

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InvisiblyMe February 2, 2018 - 6:26 pm

I would love to go, though I think you’d probably need quite a while in Australia to make the most of it. Good to see another fellow dry cereal fan! 🙂

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suresh lukhi January 31, 2018 - 12:02 pm

?Your Post are gorgeous and useful.Thanks for sharing your good experience with us.You is an amazing artist! ??

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InvisiblyMe February 2, 2018 - 6:26 pm

Thank you Suresh! 🙂

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Lindsay February 1, 2018 - 4:19 am

thanks for nominating me!

if you ever make it out here for an American road trip, give me a call. i’ll meet you at the Grand Canyon 🙂 I went to college near there and spent a bit of time at the Canyon!

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InvisiblyMe February 1, 2018 - 7:18 am

Wow that sounds incredible – If I ever get to tick this off my bucket list I’ll definitely give you a shout! 🙂

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Brigid Gallagher February 2, 2018 - 5:51 pm

Lovely to meet you. I have Japan on my list too. I have accepted the tag for next week from Kim of I Tripped Over A Stone.

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InvisiblyMe February 2, 2018 - 6:29 pm

Japan is definitely one of those bucket-list type places. I hope you get to make it there one day, and I’ll look forward to your answers to the post next week! 🙂

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Chronically Hopeful Char February 8, 2018 - 2:24 am

Loved reading this!
Brighton is beautiful, I was baptised in the sea at Brighton in 2012, it was winter and about 2 degrees t the time lol… so it has a special place in my heart. Japan is also one of the places I’d love to visit and Lindor….. hmmmm….. nom! I’m really enjoying reading everybody’s responses to this tag. It’s a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers a bit better.

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InvisiblyMe February 13, 2018 - 3:18 pm

Oh wow, a sea baptism, I can see why it has a special place in your heart. Here’s to hoping that one day we either win a year’s supply of Lindor or get the chance to go to Japan! Thanks for the comment 🙂 xx

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Maj & Sher February 13, 2018 - 12:37 pm

Like your “lists of four”. When were you in Indy and where did you work? Our home base is close to Indy.

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InvisiblyMe February 13, 2018 - 3:16 pm

It was way back (scary to think how long ago now) so about 10 years ago. I worked for an aerospace company in the UK that was opening up a sister company in Indy. I spent 6 weeks there, including Halloween and Thanksgiving which was incredible. I’d love to go back, or even live somewhere in the US (not that it would ever happen sadly, but I like to daydream). What’s the place you have most loved over there? Thank you for your comment 🙂

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