Program Note

Dysautonomia is an often-invisible health condition, where an individual’s autonomic nervous system doesn’t work as it normally would. In plain terms, for an individual with dysautonomia, many of the processes that the human body usually does automatically are impacted: From tasks as simple as breathing, to the internal regulation of things like body temperature and blood pressure. This can lead to a huge range of symptoms that disrupt everyday life. Some of the most common ways people can be impacted include dizziness, fainting, anxiety, vertigo, balance problems, irregular heart rhythm, disorientation and blurred vision.  

Dysautonomia manifests in countless ways, and everyone’s individual situation can look drastically different. This piece depicts my own the experience of dealing with some of the aforementioned symptoms. More broadly, it is just one example of what people with non-visible health conditions and disabilities can be experiencing and feeling under the surface, all while doing their best to make it through the day-to-day. Many people with invisible health conditions, especially chronic conditions, become so good at masking symptoms that it can be hard to believe the extent of what they deal with on a day-to-day basis. This piece was written to shed light on just one example of the myriad of experiences of people with invisible health conditions.