My Chronic Illness Journey: Turning Pain into Power

Despite the enormous negative impact chronic illness keeps having on my life, it has, however, opened up incredible opportunities for me to speak on podcasts, interviews and events about my lived experience and how I have turned my pain into power.

Violet Simon

by Violet Simon

November 5, 2024 ∙ 7 min read

The catalyst that really set the wheels in motion for me was starting my period at 10, which was incredibly crippling, causing me heavy bleeding and debilitating pain that had such a detrimental impact on my life as a young person.

At the age of 12, I was put on the contraceptive pill with no questions asked about why I was experiencing so much pain. Throughout my teen years, I suffered severely, resulting in missing a lot of school due to my periods, which in turn led to ongoing issues with my bowel, stomach and mental health. By my final year of high school, I became depressed and ended up having to leave halfway through the year. I took my exams from home and did not manage to achieve very good grades.

From the age of 17, I spent the next six years fighting to figure out what was going on with my body and my health. My symptoms had increased dramatically, and I was experiencing a lot of pain and suffering from fatigue, nausea, bloating, lower back pain, pain during and after sex, constant bleeding for weeks at a time and high levels of anxiety. I was repeatedly told I had IBS and gluten intolerance (without any referrals or testing), that painful and heavy periods were normal, and that my symptoms were just down to ‘being a woman’.

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