It’s Not You, It’s Me, Love, Dyslexia
As in most relationships, if a person does not have a healthy connection with their dyslexia, they can often feel misunderstood, inadequate, and even unsupported. At some point, the challenges that come with dyslexia can become a “me thing” rather than a dyslexia thing, which can negatively influence a person’s relationships and how they view themselves in society.
Additionally, many dyslexics struggle throughout their lives with misconceptions of their own difference. Through my experiences, I’ve learned the first step in disconnecting from misconceptions and building a healthy relationship with my dyslexia is by gaining knowledge and understanding of what it is and building awareness on how it shows up in my life.
I strongly believe that the quality of the relationships we choose to have in our lives are essentially a reflection of the life we live. This includes the relationship we have with ourselves and everything that makes us who we are.
By taking steps to gain awareness, I feel better equipped to deal with the impact of dyslexia—sometimes at the most inconvenient times.
Of course, every dyslexic experiences different symptoms at varying degrees of severity, making it even more essential for every person with dyslexia to get to know their dyslexia and learn how to maximize strengths to minimize challenges.
Sounds great, right?! You might be asking—exactly how does a person get to know their dyslexia?
Although my story with dyslexia is forty plus years in the making, my journey only began a couple of years ago. Relationship-wise, dyslexia and I have moved from the status, it’s complicated to working on it. Like any relationship, it’s taken work and time and it all began with these two steps:
- Building knowledge of dyslexia’s true nature
- I started talking about dyslexia
Once I chose to be intentional in seeking understanding, I realized most of what I thought I knew was not fully correct and was responsible for the cracked foundation of my unstable relationship with dyslexia. It started with good old Google searches, which led to seminars and conferences, and then classes that dug deep.
By getting uncomfortable and talking about dyslexia with family, friends, acquaintances, and yes, even strangers, my comfort level grew, and I soon connected with others in the dyslexia community. I’ve built my tribe and now, for the first time in my life, have connection, support, and relatability through shared experiences. Talking about dyslexia helped me shed the shame that I carried for way too long.
Back to the point of this post, always remember dyslexia things are not me things. You are not your challenges; you are bigger than your challenges and you are fully capable of doing anything you set your mind to.
Now, the fact that you read this blog post tells me that you’ve already embarked on your journey of building awareness, understanding, and connection. No matter where you are in that journey, continue equipping yourself so no matter what the world is telling you, you are unstoppable exactly as you are with the power of awareness and understanding. You’ve got this!
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Red Square Pegs was established to empower dyslexics by embracing dyslexia through awareness and shared experiences and to be a symbol of acceptance, pride, and confidence.
