Exhaustion

I am so tired. I’m the kind of tired that makes you irritable and antisocial and mad at everyone. There are a lot of things pulling me in various directions, all of them stressful and contributing to the exhaustion.

But fat people, especially fat women, aren’t allowed to be tired. We aren’t allowed to prioritize rest and self-care because we have spent most of our lives being told we are slothful and lazy because of the size of our bodies. It can become this almost pathological guilt about staying on the couch and watching TV or going to bed early. We push ourselves to be everything to everyone because we’re told that’s how we get people to value us.

So, I’ll say it again for the people in the back:

• Fat people are people

• We deserve the same basic human dignity as everyone else

• Fat and lazy aren’t the same thing

Whatever rest or care you need for yourself, I am personally giving you permission to take it. If that looks like sitting on the couch and eating ice cream for you, then I say go for it. Personally, I am going to bed.