October is a beautiful month — the changing leaves🍁, Halloween👻, and cozy sweater weather. It’s also Dysautonomia Awareness Month, and I want to take a moment to talk about what that means.

Dysautonomia turns your life upside down

Dysautonomia is an invisible illness that can completely turn your life upside down. It affects the autonomic nervous system — the part of your body that controls things you don’t even think about: heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, temperature regulation, and more. When these systems stop working properly, the impact can be overwhelming.

For me, it means daily IV infusions, over 25 prescriptions, and spending most of my time in bed fighting fatigue, brain fog, and a long list of debilitating symptoms. Just staying upright for any length of time is a challenge. It’s hard for people to understand how all-encompassing this illness can be — it affects every part of the body and every aspect of daily life. 

This journey comes with both good days and bad days — even good moments and hard ones. One day, I might be able to enjoy a conversation with a friend; the next, I could be completely wiped out, spending the entire day in bed, too exhausted to get up to manage even the simplest task.

Though it’s not easy, I’m sharing this to shine a light on a condition that’s often misunderstood. I consider myself one of the lucky ones — I have an incredible doctor, and a supportive circle of family and friends who understand how carefully I have to manage the limited energy and functionality I do have. While there’s currently no specific cure, I work everyday to try, and I’ll always carry hope that one day I’ll be healed.💛