We all wonder whether or not we should share personal information with other people…

• How will I feel?
• How will they react?
• Am I “over-sharing?”
• Is this “too much information?”
• Will I be embarrassed?

So many reasons for each and every one of us to over-analyze any personal or medical or relational tidbit we may be inclined to share with another…

Some thoughts on this:

• For starters, the more honest, fearless, and candid we are with our own stories, our own presentation of our self to others, the more true we are to our own lives and the richer the response we are likely to find in return.
• In addition, by living that way and sharing things authentically, our actions are in fact giving someone else permission and comfort to do the same thing in their own life, with their own story.
• And lastly, recent statistics about social media (blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, whatever) show that at least 1 in 3 patients learn about their medical condition, care and their options from reading another patients story or comments.

So….by taking that fearless risk of being embarrassed or reacted to in a way that doesn’t feel 100% positive we’re not only growing, we’re helping others grow and teaching others about how to avoid some of the difficulties we encountered in the past in our lives - medical or otherwise.

Start talkin’ it up ladies and gents

Joy