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Why We Write and Submit Letters To Our Thyroids
The idea of writing a letter to a body part or an MIA body part seems; well, odd; at least it did to me until (at the many heights of my disease) writing to my thyroid was one of a handful of things that saved me.
Our tales of life in the Gland Canyon need to be told in as many letters as we feel it takes.
We spend so much time talking about our glands, to our doctors, friends, family and ourselves.
We never actually talk to them, and let them know what they’ve done to us good or bad, regardless of incident; telling our gland, essentially our disease what it has done to us or for us, or taken from us, or given to us, is both cathartic and healing; for ourselves and our fellow members of the Jacked Thyroid Club.
We learn from each other. We realize that we’re not as alone as we thought we were. Our symptoms, though frightening and isolating to us, are removed from the closet and dropped into the world where they belong.
When we share our comments about each letter and when authors of letters respond to those comments, we grow as a community.
Letters and comments remind us of our strength, our ability to persevere and engage about something that has forever changed our lives. Additionally, our letters and comments create awareness for thyroid diseases and thyroid cancers.
When we share our stories, we put our doctors on notice; by extending gratitude for the good work they’ve done, or telling them where they’ve failed us. Similarly, when we come together, we are that much closer to attaining a greater good; hopefully lobbying for funds for a cure for thyroid autoimmune diseases and thyroid cancers, as well as funding for research and education to improve OUR QUALITY OF LIVES and educate those who don’t even know they have a thyroid problem, but are barely surviving, desperate to figure out what the hell is wrong with them.
As Mary Shomon wrote on Thyroid Awareness Month: “59 million Americans have thyroid problems, it turns out that the majority of you who have a thyroid problem don’t even know it yet!. You haven’t been diagnosed. You’re not being treated. You may not even know what or where the thyroid is!”
On that note: Write your hearts out! Submit Dear Thyroid Letters, poems, haikus, songs, paragraphs, whatever you want, and as many literary things as you want to submit. Bring us together. Fight for change and drag yourself kicking and screaming out of the thyloset. If you’re not ready to write a letter, share your thyroid story in pictures.
Update: As a community, we have written over 80MM words. Keep writing and let’s hit another 80MM words and more. WOW… That took my wig off.
Love,
Katie
Tags: creating community, Dear Thyroid Letters, literary thyroid support, Thyroid awareness, thyroid cancer community, thyroid disease community, thyroid support blog, writing letters to our thyroids
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7 Responses to “Why We Write and Submit Letters To Our Thyroids”
Leave a Reply to Hypogirl
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Well said Katie!!!
Thank you, Amykins!
I second that well put and much much more. You know I like to lark about it’s my way of coping with this awful disease that inflicts our everyday life, even when we think things are improving it has a nasty way of turning the table to keep us on our toes. It’s good to get it all out, shout it, sing it, be lyrical what ever floats your boat come out the thyloset we are all hear to thyupport each other as we have all been there are still there or starting out there.
Love ya thyrellas and thyfellas Happy thyalentines, lets share the LOVE!!!
Katie, as usual it was very compelling and very well said. I’ve found that after I thyrite, things that have been “rattling around in my brain” tend to quiet down and it leaves me free to try to concentrate on other things in life. (My husband says it just leaves a lot of empty space!). LOL
Thanks to everyone for providing a great outlet and for sharing their knowledge.
LOLLY;
I LOVE YOU! You are a thyord mash-up queen. Your thyongs and thyetters are as much of a treasure as you are.
xo
Anon;
I’m thrilled to hear that thyriting frees you up. I know exactly what you mean — I feel the same way.
Thanks to all of you, we have a thyamily.
xo
Love
me
I am in love with this website. It’s probably unhealthy to be in love with a website. But I cannot tell you enough how healthy it is to hear others’ stories about their thyroid. How mad they are at it, how apolgizing they are to their gland. How happy some are regarding being shocked into eating better, working out and just taking care of their body better. It has helped me tremendously to write down my feelings about my thyroid, as well as to connect with some great thypeople! The support on this site is SOOO worth writing a letter!