Hey guys! Want to be a part of a free group drawing? This month is pain awareness month, and I’m doing a group drawing of chronic pain sufferers and advocates! You don’t need to have chronic pain to join! Add your face for awareness and get a free drawing of yourself! Just email your picture to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com with the subject line GROUP PORTRAIT before midnight on September 18!
Also be sure to check out the WEGO Health Activist Awards! The nomination period is over and the endorsement period has begun! Check out the awards DoILookSick has been nominated for here and leave your endorsement!
Health isn’t just skin-deep, and many of us don’t look as sick as we feel. But on the flipside, being chronically ill can have a very negative effect on our self-image. When we look in the mirror, we often see someone who is tired, a failure, lazy, too skinny or too fat, not strong enough, or any other innumerable examples of negative self-talk.
One remedy to these feelings is to see yourself through someone else’s eyes. That can be easier said than done. One whimsical way to do this is through drawings. Check out this video from Dove where a police sketch artist draws each woman twice – one based on her description of herself, and one based off a description given by someone they just met.
I love this idea. And I love having drawings done of myself! I think it’s so interesting to see how someone else sees me.
So this idea has been rolling around in my head for some time now. I’m hosting an online portrait/caricature drawing event! You do NOT need to have an invisible illness to participate! The whole point of “Do I Look Sick” is that looks alone can’t tell you what’s going on inside a person, so we need participation of well and sick alike.
Since September is Chronic Pain Awareness Month, let’s get a good visual of people from all backgrounds and age groups and show that you can’t tell by looking who is dealing with chronic pain.
GROUP PORTRAIT – FREE
Anyone and everyone can sign up to be a part of the group portrait! It’s completely free! All I need is for you to send a picture of yourself to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com with the subject line “GROUP PORTRAIT.” It will be in a similar style to this one I did of me and my coworkers a while back:
SOLO PORTRAIT – $2.00
This will be the exact same drawing from the group portrait, but singled out so you have a nice little doodle of yourself. Send $2.00 via paypal as a gift (“to friends and family”) to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com and write SOLO PORTRAIT in the note. Email me your photo and you’ll automatically also be included in the group portrait!
SUPER YOU – $5.00
A while back I did an entire blog post where I illustrated some of my favorite bloggers using their blog title to design them as a super hero. If you would like me to do this for your blog, just send $5 as a gift (“to friends and family”) via paypal to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com and in the notes include a URL to your blog. You’ll also be included in the group portrait! Don’t have a blog? You can still be a superhero! Just tell me what powers you want or what you want your name to be and I’ll take it from there.
MY BEST EFFORT – $10
For $10 (gift “to friends or family”) via paypal to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com I will sit down and do my best portrait attempt for you. Write “MY BEST EFFORT” in the notes and email me your picture and I will include you in the doodle-y group portrait but I will also do a “real” portrait of just you in my style using all my patience and great effort. I don’t have any kind of recent examples of portraits I’ve done, so here’s a random drawing I did of Maleficent with some eyeball problems:
Disclaimer: I’m not a real artist and I’m kind of a weirdo BUT I promise I will draw you with the correct amount of eyeballs in the proper places. You’ll also be included in the group portrait!
BIG SPENDER REAL LIFE PORTRAIT – $20
There are no example pictures here because it’s pretty rare that I get out real paper and pencils and paint and like, make an actual physical picture. But if you send $20 as a gift via paypal to diehardguardgirl@yahoo.com, we’ll test my artistic prowess together. Email me your photo and mailing address and I will send my original painting to you. You will of course be included in the group portrait as well!
Commissioning artwork of yourself is fun and promotes good self-image and self-talk. I’m excited to see how this portrait of all of us together comes out. I think it’ll be a really cool keepsake commemorating our community here.
The sign up period will END on September 18th – that gives you 10 days to sign up and spread the word so that our group portrait is full of awesome people! The group portrait will be posted by the end of September (which is chronic pain awareness month – don’t forget!). After September 18th I’ll let you know when the other commissioned portraits will be done depending on how many people sign up for them.
Happy Pain Awareness Month! And remember – love yourself!
It’s not quite fall yet and here in Texas temperatures are still in the 90-100 degree range, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to talk about cold and flu season! Know how I know that?
BECAUSE I FREAKING ALREADY HAVE A COLD/FLU.
So I wanted to blog today but I really need to take a “sick day.” My husband needs one too, but he’s at work anyway because that’s how it is around here. So I thought I’d share this awesome infographic from Masters in Healthcare about the benefits of paid sick leave.
This is predominantly about sick days for acute illness, like a cold or flu, but a lot of it applies to chronic illness as well. I’m lucky because my illness still allows me to work, and all things considered, I don’t need sick days very often. But they still occur more often than most, and it’s not unusual for me to end up at work on pain medication. I have felt that calling in sick could cost me my job, and that’s not great. Texas is a “fire at will” state, so if I did get fired for being sick (hey, come to think of it, I have!) that’s technically illegal I guess, but since there’s no requirement to give a reason for termination, I can’t prove it or take any kind of action.
But some states have better situations, and with our recent observance of Labor Day, it’s important to remember how far we’ve come. Unions and workers rights have come this far, and they can come even further.🙂
Have you ever gone to work sick? Well, of course you have. But why? What could improve this situation? Leave your thoughts in the comments and I’ll catch you when I’m feeling a bit better.
Nominations have officially opened for the Fifth Annual WEGO Health Activist Awards. Time to celebrate the men and women who have empowered patients, supported your community and inspired you throughout your health journey.
Past Winners – See Any Familiar Faces?🙂
WEGO Health is an online network comprised of +100k Health Activists. They have created the awards program to recognize the individuals who are making a difference in the online health community.
There are 14 award categories, so don’t be shy- go ahead and start nominating your favorite bloggers, Tweeters, Facebook posters! I of course ask for you support, but I hope you nominate all your favorite health activists. There’s no cap on the number of people you can nominate! The whole online health community deserves to be celebrated!
