Revealing Me

My YouTube channel

Description: Head and shoulders silhouette on a black background, with a white banner with the words ‘Revealing Me – Stories of Chronic Illness’.

Living with a chronic illness (or more than one) can be a very lonely experience. Day to day living is limited by physical and/or mental exertion that healthy people can take for granted. Going out can mean much advanced planning, and last minute let-downs. Others are home-bound or bed-bound with severe symptoms that can leave them intolerant to light and sound, and even needing to be tube-fed.

‘REVEALING ME‘ came about after hearing so many stories on social media from those with chronic conditions, and the loneliness and frustration that comes with being gaslighted, disbelieved, and being given improper or no medical help and assistance.

There are so many chronic illnesses, and so many people with their own stories to tell, so I wanted to create an opportunity to share those lived experiences to help promote and stimulate understanding outside of the chronic illness community. Also, I hope it will help those with chronic illnesses feel validated and less alone.

I wanted sharing stories to ‘REVEALING ME‘ to be as easy as possible to as many as possible. So this will not be an interview, rather an audio or video recording from the person who wishes to share their story. As such, you:

  • can do this in your own time
  • when you are feeling well enough
  • can keep stress and PEM manageable
  • don’t feel the pressure of a deadline
  • don’t feel the stress of an interview (brain fog, pain, etc)

How To Participate

If you would like to take part and share your story, then this is how to do it:

  • You can either video yourself or make an audio recording. Mobile/cell phone video recordings are fine.
  • If necessary, you can record in short parts to make it easier. I can edit it together.
  • If you are unable to record your story yourself, you can nominate a friend or family member to do it for you.
  • The recording can be as long or short as you are able to do.
  • Make a plan of what you want to say. Introduce yourself first.
  • Suggestions for what you can talk about: Your life before your chronic health condition(s), how you became ill, getting your diagnosis/es, your life now, and problems you’ve encountered.
  • There is no pressure to divulge anything you feel is private. This is your story, and you can decide what you want people to know.
  • Optional: As it will be uploaded to YouTube, you can have a photo of yourself added if you wish.
  • Send it to me when it’s ready – time is immaterial.
  • File sharing will be done via Google Drive

Your device may already have video or audio recording apps. If not, a suggested free audio recording app is audacity A list of free video recording apps can be found here.

If you’re recording from a PC or laptop, it’s best to use a separate microphone as the inbuilt microphones don’t always pick up well. A cheap one can be found on Amazon. I have one like this and it works brilliantly.

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact me using my contact page, or email me at revealingmeyt at gmail dot com.