Lena Dunham is a polarizing figure. Her willingness to share her opinions and openness about health and sexuality is refreshing to some and irritating to others.
Personally, I like her. She’s imperfect and doesn’t always do or say things I agree with, but I appreciate her willingness to share her own mental and physical difficulties so publicly.
Dunham has been particularly public about her ongoing health issues, including her decision to have a hysterectomy in 2017.
In an essay for Vogue , she went into great detail about the pain and treatments she endured for a decade before finally making the decision to have her uterus and cervix removed.
Though she acknowledged that a hysterectomy isn’t the answer for every case of endometriosis, she still received flack for the essay.
In an article published by Flare , medical professionals worried that her story might create a false belief that the procedure is a cure.
There is about a 15% chance of endometriosis symptoms continuing even post-surgery, with a 3-5% chance of worsening or new symptoms.
And Dunham has been very transparent about how her hysterectomy hasn’t been a magic bullet.
She’s still dealing with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia, but compared to before her surgery, she’s feeling much better.
In October 2018, she was forced to undergo surgery again.
After weeks of increasing pain, Dunham had to step away from promoting her latest creative project.
In the end, her left ovary was removed. It had attached itself her her bowel, pressing on nerves, and making it hard to walk, stand, and go to the bathroom.
Yet, she still admits to being the happiest she’s been in a long time.
A big lesson I’ve learned in all of this is that health, like most stuff, isn’t linear- things improve and things falter and you start living off only cranberry juice from a sippy cup/sleeping on a glorified heating pad but you’re also happier than you’ve been in years.
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In her latest big share, she talks about learning self-acceptance.
The post is paired with a photo of herself in some lace lingerie, showing off her tattoos and post-hysterectomy weight gain.
She begins:
I’ve spent a lot of time in this life feeling like too much. Too hungry. Too anxious. Too loud. Too needy. Too sick. Too dramatic. Too honest. Too sexy (jk lol.)
She explains that she’s always felt that people believed she took up too much space or gave too much to people who didn’t appreciate it.
But something has changed, and it started when I realized: I don’t have to be for everybody, and that for the right people, my too much is just enough.
She’s learned to embrace that life isn’t ever going to be perfect.
At 32: I weigh the most I ever have. I love the most I ever have. I read and write and laugh the most I ever have. And I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Not the frail, precarious happiness of ‘things are going perfectly.’ The big, generous, jiggly happiness of ‘I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of this.’ Not too much… Just enough.
As someone dealing with mental health issues, I appreciate her message so much.
Things are never going to be “fixed” or “perfect” and trying to make them so just causes more pain and heartache. I totally get what she means by getting the hang of things. It’s only been the last few years when I’ve felt like I have full control over how I let my disorder control my life.
So whether you love her or hate her, let’s give Lena Dunham a crisp high five for her progress and willingness to share.
