This piece is based on personal experience and on the thousands of emails I’ve received from those who live day-to-day with chronic illness (which includes chronic pain).
1. Email. I know the joy of hearing the actual voice of a loved one. That said, email is the principal way I communicate with people.
It’s hard for me to talk on the phone. It saps my energy quickly, partly because of the need for nonstop back-and-forth conversation. Unlike visiting with someone in person, when I’m on the phone, silences feel awkward and sometimes even suggest that something’s wrong.
In addition, I can’t control what time of day a call will come in. It could be when I’m about to nap, or while I’m still groggy from sleep, or after I don’t have an ounce of “juice” left. By contrast, I can send an email any time of day, and I can receive one at three in the morning and do nothing about it until I’m ready to “talk.”
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