Right Before My Chronic Fatigue Crash Nap Of The Day, I Thought Of The Perfect Metaphor To Describe What

Right before my chronic fatigue crash nap of the day, I thought of the perfect metaphor to describe what chronic fatigue is like:

The medical definition of chronic fatigue is "a fatigue that can not be solved by rest."

Here it is, presuming that:

-energy is a form of currency

-and that our bodies hold that energy like a bank account

-and every task requires a certain amount of energy (ex: getting dressed, showering, making dinner, dishes, laundry, taking out the trash, seeing friends, going to work or school)

-and that sleep is the labor by which we obtain income (energy), the payment system works as thus:

Able-bodied people are paying for their daily tasks with a debit card. There is no interest, and depending on how much sleep they get per day, that income will restore itself.

Disabled people, especially people with chronic fatigue or chronic pain, are paying for everything with a credit card, and that credit card has a high-interest rate. No matter how much energy they accumulate in sleep, some of that money is always getting paid to reduce some of their debt.

If they wish to attempt paying off that debt quickly, that means spending a lot less money on daily necessities: that means letting dishes stack up, not doing the laundry, skipping showers, staying home from school or work.

Which is the equivalent of someone in debt not taking their car to a mechanic, not being able to visit a doctor, not replacing shoes and jackets as they wear out, having to put off paying their electricity bill. Those financial needs will not disappear in a few weeks, but rather will begin to accumulate so that as soon as you have a little extra money, that's where it's going.

Chores, school work, and personal care are not going anywhere either.

And if those needs get taken care of, that's less money to pay off the debt, and interest grows until your card is maxed out. The physical health version of maxing out your credit card is having a medical relapse.

And if you started off reading this wondering why on earth disabled people were paying with credit instead of debit, why they had accumulated so much debt so quickly, the answer is this: a medical emergency, possibly one that required being hospitalized.

The bills of that medical emergency are steep, and that is no fault of the disabled person.

(This metaphor brought to you by my brain as I crashed on Wednesday, typed up before class on Thursday, and forgot about until Sunday)

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