"Have you ever gotten a canker sore?" "Yeah" "It's like that, but all through your digestive system and all through the layers of it" "Damn"
When you've got any kind of disease or condition that isn't plastered all over the media, people will generally ask you "What is that?" when you mention it. It's not their fault. But, finding a way to explain your illness without grossing them out or taking up their whole day is very an art form that us chronically ill folks have to master.
The quotes above are typical of me giving a super short explanation of what Crohn's Disease is. That's what I tell people if I'm rushed, or don't really want to get into the details. It's like my Level One definition.
Level Two explanation involves me saying: "It's an autoimmune disease, so essentially my immune system attacks my digestive system and causes it to have ulcerations. It gets really inflamed and hurts a lot".
I only give the Level Three explanation when people push for details and ask what symptoms are like. I don't usually hold back, they asked, they want to know right? Ok, probably not in the graphic detail I give, but why should I hide the truth when they ask outright for it?
I say: "Yeah, you get really tired, have to use the bathroom a lot, have a lot of pain, a lot of diarrhea, lose blood, don't feel like eating, and generally feel really shitty. You have to take a lot of meds, especially with terrible side effects".
People usually don't ask much more after that. Either that or they ask how it's treated, which generally I enjoy talking about.
As a person with a chronic illness, you end up memorizing the phrases that work the best for you. It's kind of robotic, but so helpful in the long run.
I hope all of you guys reading have your explanations prepared!
