Have a read of this ladies!! Are we mad?!

theguardian.com/commentisfr...

[Hidden]

Interesting read. I'm appalled by the constant lack of information about this dreadful disease. I've just spent a week in the gynae Ward of my local district general hospital and there was absolutely no information about endometriosis let alone it being endo awareness month.

There seems to be so little knowledge and unfortunately it's not a headline disease so there is no interest in it or in researching it.

I'm having a very frustrating time at the moment waiting for extensive surgery.

When I'm physically more able I will be addressing the lack of information at our local hospital and in the mean time I will writing to the matron there expressing my thoughts.

[Tanyaannh]

I can't believe this.

Yes i have depression but i don't understand how having a mental disorder can then make your insides completely mess up?

[Hidden]

I was going to not comment however I feel that there is a need to do that readers of the post and article do not feel confused or bad about how they are feeling.

By saying that women with endometriosis had a mental illness in the first place or developed one later belittles their pain, it brings us back to the 1800's when women were held in institute for 'hysteria'.

Hysteria originating from the latin work womb was misinterpreted by scholars. They beliveied that women were more prone to being mentally ill beacuse their uterus made them unstable.

Hysteria was classified as women behaving erratically, they could be detained for painful periods, lack of periods and numerous other things.

One of the most discusting treatments for hysteria was sexual abuse, in hopes of treating these women nurses and doctors would stimulate them to orgasm, in hopes of relieving their pain or other emotions. They also performed labotomies on these poor women.

This was at a time where only a few cases of endo were actually surgically diagnosed, it was described as a 'hysteria' which grew allover the body.

Somehow they've screwed up the Latin word and made it into a mental illness which results in this new phenomen of endometriosis causing or being caused by a mental illness. When in reality it isn't, if we are mentally ill so are the doctors who would have to be hallucinating to see the tissue endometriosis during surgery. But they aren't so we aren't either. Yet somehow the author of this article and the medical professionals want to screw up our understanding of the disease more.

By saying we are mentally ill, it belittles our experience with the disease, it even belittles the strength it takes to live with this disease. Of course our trust in the medical profession is lacking, we may become depressed b/c we are unable to do things other people can. However that doesn't change the fact that we are in pain.

Nonetheless it was a gynaecologist who mentioned this theory, which is discusting, a person who should know about this condition the most belittles the women they treat. And yet during endometriosis month when we should highlight the strength of women with endometriosis, we highlight the weaknesses that one doctor expressed? Because this doctor was too lazy to do their job, like really instead of listening to a patient they go 'crazy', when in reality they themselves should put themselves in the patients shoes, imagine having those symptoms themselves and the fear associated with having them. If every physician did that, I believe there would be better treatment for endo.

A weakness that isn't even there nonetheless?!?

Other conditions once known as hysteria are being taken seriously, for example menopause, imagine if every women with menopause was treated this way "Your periods are absent it's in your head, your bleeding you just can't see it causes your crazy". It doesn't make sense does it? And why is that? Because menopause is a well research part of a women's life cycle and since endometriosis isn't it is still being classified as a mental illness for some odd reason. Even though there is scientific proof of the disease?

Like really the act that people have the audacity to write an article like this in a time where suffers of endometriosis are finally recovering better treatment and more understanding doctors is discusting. By creating this article the author and that gynaecologist both make it seem like endo warriors are crazy. It allows for us to be abused verbally by physicians, friends, and family. Because all it takes is one professional to tell billions 10% of the female population are wrong.

[littlebrownbird]

It's a good article and goes to show that there is so much ignorance and a lack of knowledge about the illness generally, let alone in the medical profession.

If we had cancer, we'd get no end of sympathy, support and attention, research, funding etc.

Hidden , the article is not saying endo sufferers have mental illness but references early views of women's health. It's mentioned for historical context.

Hidden , you have articulated this so well x

[JulesUK]

WOW. I enjoyed reading this thanks for sharing. I also filled up at a lttle reading it because it just brings back memories of all the frustration like so many of us I had to endure to be taken seriously and also memories of the horrendous pain although I actually felt a bit like a fraud . I love the last paragraph.