{Girl Behind The Lens} What is Endometriosis?

I suppose being at home in pain and almost a full day off from the office does help when you are self employed. I’ve been snoozing for most of the afternoon and decided I would write a new {Girl Behind The Lens} Blog Post.

The pain today is due to the Endometriosis I mentioned in the first post, and someone asked what Endometriosis actually was. I wasnt going to write this blog for a little while but I decided I might as well as it is forefront in my mind!

Endometriosis UK has some fabulous details of what Endometriosis is but to give you some more information in this blog I will do

Note: I wonder how many readers will click off after reading the next line (and how many of those will be men)
 

Endometriosis only affects women.
 

Following is taken from Endometriosis UK.

Endometriosis is the name given to the condition where cells like the ones in the lining of the womb are found elsewhere in the body.
 

Every month your body goes through hormonal changes. You naturally release hormones which cause the lining of the womb to increase in preparation for a fertilised egg. If pregnancy does not occur, this lining will break down and bleed. The blood is then released from your body as a period.

Endometriosis cells react in the same way – except that they are located outside your womb.

During your monthly cycle your hormones stimulate the endometriosis, causing it to grow, then break down and bleed. This internal bleeding, unlike a period, has no way of leaving the body. This leads to inflammation, pain, and the formation of scar tissue. Endometrial tissue can also be found in the ovary, where it can form cysts, called ‘chocolate cysts’ because of their appearance.

Endometriosis is not an infection.
Endometriosis is not contagious.
Endometriosis is not cancer.


To go into business knowing I had this was a very big step for me. Like today, I am in pain and extremely tired. Ive never flaked out on a Wedding nor do I have the intention to.

On a Wedding you run on adrenaline. And whilst the adrenaline is running high its amazing. A natural euphoric high! Its better than any pain relief I have been on.

Now if I could just get a Wedding per day, that would be some mean feat! 365 Weddings. WOW.

More from the website

Endometriosis is most commonly found inside the pelvis, around the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, on the outside of the womb or the ligaments (which hold the womb in place). It is also found on the bowel, the bladder, and the intestines. It can grow in existing scars from previous operations. In rare cases it has been found in other parts of the body such as the skin, the eyes, the spine, the lungs and the brain.

Endometriosis affects approximately 2 million women in the UK. It can be a chronic and debilitating condition. Endometriosis can impact on a woman’s life in a number of ways which include:
Chronic pain
Fatigue/lack of energy
Depression/isolation
Problems with a couple’s sex life/relationships
An inability to conceive
Difficulty in fulfilling work and social commitments.

It used to really affect me with Work (when I worked for someone else) and going out with friends etc…

I’ve got it to a level now, after two surgeries and two courses of hormone treatments (ladies it puts you through a pseudo menopause with hot flushes and everything), that it seems to be more consistant with how it plays up and causes me pain but doesn’t make it any easier.

I’m very much of “I’m dealing with it” person, it doesn’t rule me as I wont allow it to rule me anymore (I once did) and in the end, its just part of who I am.

I have been suffering with it since 18 that I am mainly aware of but all the signs were there earlier. And I got diagnosed at 22. Turning 27 in September. It has been my life for almost 10-years.

Endometriosis is a condition I have.

It doesn’t define me.

{Girl Behind The Lens} When did you feel Pro? A Discussion.

Wow…I’ve been a bit quiet on the {Girl Behind The Lens} Blog Posts! Sorry Guys, lots of things have been happening and Wedding Season is in full Swing.

One of the questions that I go asked to write a blog about, or to know more about was the question of “When did you fee pro”I am a full-time self employed photographer, I run my own business and it is my only source of income. When people ask what I do I am photographer, or business owner. I never describe myself as a professional photographer.

I think the word professional photographer is banded about far too often and there is a lot of emphasis on the term. Yet it is something that there is no clear line upon and people often put too much emphasis on being a PRO.

If you look at the WIKI definition of professional then I am not a professional photographer as I have no specialised educational training in it. I’m all self taught.


But then look at Ken Rockwell who translates between Full-Time Career Professional, Full-Time Photographer, Professional Photographer and Amateur Photographer - with this definition I am a Professional Photographer. And the entire discussion that Photography is not a profession does create the image that I am therefore a Photographer, who earns 100% of my money from Photography and run my own business.

So that helps in the fact that I don’t feel “pro” I am full time but I still have things to learn. The ones who say they have learnt everything, I disagree. Every single day is a lesson. You have no idea how things are going to turn out, happen or how items are going to come into fruition. You cannot predict what is going to happen, and every situation you will deal with differently, this is where you learn. You learn from your mistakes, and situations. If you don’t learn, you don’t grow and aren’t able to take something from it.


So I am a photographer. I still don’t feel pro. I carry on with a professional attitude in my business.

So there is still the question “when did you feel professional” depending upon your terminology of the word.

I’m a photographer, that’s all that you need to know.