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The original was posted on /r/cfs by /u/oceansounds28 on 2024-11-16 04:05:06+00:00.

I’m neurodivergent, (don’t have a formal diagnosis, but a past therapist suspected ADHD) and have always gotten very fixated/attached to fictional characters/media. It’s been a large vehicle for processing/understanding my feelings and life.

Since getting sick, I’ve come to find comfort/visibility connecting with chronically ill characters (whether they are in canon, or in a hypothetical AU), and processing difficult feelings about my own condition/life through characters I enjoy.

It helps me feel seen and my experience recognized in a story, even if it’s one I have to make up. Because I think media’s powerful, and that’s why positive, diverse representation is so important. I know I’d love to see accurate, respectful representation of ME/CFS/Long Covid in popular media one day, because I think that’d be vastly impactful for just…making it something the average person who doesn’t have it can have at least heard of.

I think it’s also similar to why people write fanfic about characters going through real feelings/wants/experiences they’ve had, and maybe projecting themselves a little in this safe space for comfort. And how DND helps a lot of folks process/discover things about themselves in the same way.

Edit: corrected spelling, and a run-on sentence in first paragraph.