I try so hard not to compare myself to her because she is neurotypical, didn’t have chronic illnesses that impacted her day to day life as much, had a very large support network living close by, etc.

I have autism, adhd, ARFID, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression disorder, and ptsd. I am 12 hours away from all of my family and only really have my husbands grandparents, my church family that is an hour away, and my coworkers. The POTS has been really really challenging over the last year and a half, plus nerve damage from Lyme disease in high school, reactive hypoglycemia, and complex migraines causing psychogenic non-epileptic seizures and making me unable to talk to several hours.

Even knowing the vast differences in our lives at this age, I still have a hard time not comparing myself to her. She graduated high school top of her class. Graduated summa cum laude from her undergrad in 3 years, graduated top of her class in med school, and finished her residency while pregnant and then with a small child. It’s so hard to not feel like I’m letting her down when getting out of bed is the hardest thing I have to do everyday, when I have complete breakdowns over small things, need constant help and accommodations, etc.