Being vs having an illness

I read a blog post on someone else blog today that really got me thinking.  She was writing about being an illness versus having an illness and how this is different for mental illnesses and physical illnesses. We don't say someone is cancer but we will say someone is bi-polar for example.  I'm not sure however that her characterization is completely right.  We do say people are diabetic, although this is the only example I can think of right now.

Anyhow, not really the topic on my mind.  I think saying someone is their illness for any type of illness is not necessarily helpful.  People are always made up of so many things and illnesses can only be a part of that.  Sure it might have a bigger or smaller impact on people's lives, but still people are so much more.

I live with depression.  I can be depressed, but I am not always this way.  I can be anxious, but again I am not always this way.  I am also a daughter, sister, aunt, friend, colleague, teammate etc...  I am not depression.  When I look at my friend who has diabetes, I don't generally think about it.  It only crosses my mind when I see him give himself an insulin shot or feel ill because his sugars are out.   Otherwise I see him as my friend and all the things that make him who he is.

I hope the same for me, and for others who have illnesses, mental or physical.  There are days when perhaps people think about depression and me.  Days where I am overwhelmed, or grumpy or sad or just not myself.  That's ok, because those are likely the moments when depression is having a big impact on my life.  Other days you would never know it.  Those days the only impact it has is that I have to remember to take my medication.

We are all complex creatures.  So many people have illnesses or things they deal with everyday.  But, it really doesn't define who we are.