Lena Dunham has never been afraid of speaking her mind.
After paparazzi pictures of her surfaced holding a cane, she decided to open up on Instagram about the realities of living with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, and the pressure she would put on herself to not look like she had it.
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Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) affect your connective tissues.
And wreak havoc on the body. The syndromes usually consist of loose joints, joint pain, stretchy skin, and abnormal scar formation.
The consequences of those symptoms are more severe than you’d think.
Some can be life-altering, or life-threatening.
Connective tissue is everywhere , from your skin, to your blood vessels, to your organs.
For some, it can hinder their mobility. For others, it can affect their hearts. For others still, it means a life of chronic pain.
Recently, Sia revealed she suffers from EDS.
In a tweet in early October, she expressed support and love for her fellow pain-sufferers.
It may sound cliché, but a celebrity revealing their own struggles truly does help others.
Now, it’s Lena’s turn.
She spent Halloween revealing one aspect of herself.
The day before her post, she received a Woman of the Year award from Friendly House, presented to her by Demi Moore.
She gave a speech about being a recovering addict. The next day, she revealed another aspect of herself.
The day after Halloween, she revealed another aspect.
“I could choose to be embarrassed by these paparazzi pics- I mean, that’s probably the point of someone publishing them in the first place- but I’m really not.” She wrote on Instagram.
She made light of some aspects of it.
“I could lie and say it was an early Halloween look (Don’t you get it? I’m going as a con woman leaving a Florida Keys jail after being acquitted of murdering her husband, and now she’s trying to get disability license plates.)”
But EDS is really no joke.
“But the truth is just: This is what life is like when I’m struggling most with chronic illness. An Ehler-Danlos syndrome flare means that I need support from more than just my friends… so thank you, sweet cane!”
Opening up about this was a long time coming.
For Lena, pride was a big factor in not getting herself the help she needed.
“For years, I resisted doing anything that would make my physical situation easier, insisting that a cane would ‘make things weird.'”
Life was waiting.
“But it’s so much less weird to actually be able to participate than to stay in bed all day. And yes, you’d better believe I’m wearing my nightgown.”
Have nightgown, will travel.
Okay, points got made here.
“I was walking four feet to the car to go to the doctor and I wanted to be full cozy. I mean, didn’t Bieber wear hotel slippers for like five years?”
Can we make “glamour nighties” a thing?
Because I would love to go grocery shopping in that kinda comfort.
“Yeah, so I can wear my glamour nighty for two hours. And then an hour later, I’m in a meeting look tackling the job I love.”
She opened up the floor to her fans.
“That’s the two-fold life of a woman with chronic illness; we still rock our dreams and goals and passions (and fashions) and we live many lives in one day. Tell me about your day!”
They had nothing but love for her.
Needing to feel seen and understood by someone else is part of the human condition.
By opening up, Lena brought acceptance and joy to someone else’s day. That’s so special.
And the nightie was a hit, too.
Come through, fashion recommendations! Lena made sure to shout out Eileen West Designs , a brand that describes itself as having a feminine, vintage, yet timeless vibe to it.
I’m betting they received quite a few orders after this.
And while a lot of celebrities commented…
The most impactful comments came from everyday people who wanted to reach out the same way Lena did. So many people thanked her for being vulnerable and giving a voice to a disease so rarely talked about.
