How Do I Tell My Friends About My Arthritis?

Hello ❤

This is actually a question which I asked my consultant.

Since I was diagnosed when I was 7 (2011), a lot of my friends I grew up with knew I had something but they never necessarily understood it. Moving up to secondary school, I made new friends. They didn't really need to know about it but if they asked, I would tell them. Occasionally wearing tubi-grips or bandages on my wrists or wearing trainers instead of school shoes would often raise questions not only by my peers, but teachers too. It may be different for you. Perhaps you're not ready to talk to your friends, new or old, about arthritis, and that's okay! Or maybe you're here because you're ready to talk about it, but you don't know how. Either way, it's okay! Don't feel pressured to talk about it, and don't feel forced.

Firstly, approach the topic. Of course, you can just say it out of the blue, "I have arthritis and I want to talk about it." Or, if you're nervous about talking about it, approach the topic gradually. Perhaps talk about if your friends have ever had an injection or a blood test? Maybe your jabs at school are coming up? There are lots of ways to approach it, but make sure you respect your friends privacy too. Do not say things like "Do any of you have medical conditions?" because if they do they may then feel forced into a conversation that they are not comfortable having. 

Secondly, there's the question, "Okay, they know I have it. But what is it?". Good question! There's a few ways you can do this. Chances are, they may already know what arthritis is! If so, that saves you a lot of explaining! You can explain it simply, arthritis is an inflammation of the joints and that's all you have to say. Of course, they may have questions, but your answers are A) Completely up to you and B) dependant on your type of arthritis. 

Perhaps, you want to go all out and give the full explanation of your arthritis. By all means, go ahead! This is the definition of arthritis according to Versus Arthritis: 'Arthritis isn't a single condition and there are several different types. I can affect people of all ages- even children and teenagers. Arthritis can make life tough by causing pain and making it harder to get about. The symptoms of arthritis can vary from week to week, and even from day to day. Many types, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, are long-term conditions.' Whew. There's probably more to it, lets be honest. It all depends on you and how you want to tell your story! If you have any questions, you can ask them below. 

Which topics do you want to hear about next? Let me know!

-Caitlyn