Part 2: The Year My Body Changed Overnight

Yolanda Kittrell
Jan 25
2 min read

Pain, dismissal, and learning to listen when everything fell apart.

Content Notice

This post discusses chronic pain, medical dismissal, mental health, and physical decline. Please read at your own pace and pause as needed. 💜

Series Context

This is Part 2 of Endo, But Make It Gentle™, a four-part personal essay series documenting my journey to an endometriosis diagnosis, healing, and self-advocacy inside a medical system that often failed to listen.

If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you may want to start there — but you are welcome here however you arrive.

Part 2: The Year My Body Changed Overnight

This was the year my body forced me to listen.

What began as unexplained pain slowly unraveled my sense of control, identity, and safety inside my own body.

One night I went to bed, and the next morning my body was no longer the same. In hindsight, the symptoms may have crept in slowly — but in my body, it felt sudden and violent.

The pain was constant. My abdomen hurt. I was nauseous all the time. I was losing weight because I couldn’t keep food down. My energy disappeared. I felt trapped in a body I no longer recognized.

My primary care doctor listened, ordered tests, referred me to specialists, and did everything she could. I felt hopeful—someone had to figure this out.

They didn’t.

Instead, I was told I was too young. That my antidepressants were the issue. That cannabis was the problem. Over and over again, I was reduced to my age, my race, and my mental health history instead of being heard.

By the end of the year, my quality of life was gone. My daughters—five and barely three—knew how to help me when symptoms hit. Watching them adapt to

“Mommy not feeling well” broke me.

I watched my husband carry the emotional, physical, and intimate weight of this alongside me. He researched. He came to appointments. He advocated when I was too tired to speak.

I hit a point where I wanted to quit.

Moment #2 Where I Made God Laugh.

Reflection Questions

What signs has your body given you that were easy to dismiss at first?
How has illness or pain impacted the way you see yourself?

Continue the Series

This was the year my body demanded attention — but the system still wasn’t listening.

In the next part, I share the moment I stopped staying quiet and found my voice inside medical spaces that had failed me.

👉 Read Part 3: The System Failed Me (and I Found My Voice)

If you are living with chronic pain or navigating dismissal, please know this:You are not imagining your symptoms. You are not weak. And you deserve care.

If today isn’t the day to keep reading, that’s okay.Bookmark this post and come back when your body and heart say yes.