This thread is golden! And brings up a lot of frustration in me i didn't even realize I had lol. This thought that people that wake up early are better than those who don't is so disgusting and unnecessary.
I have gotten it so much from my family over the years, especially in the beginning of the illness, the sleepy years, i was still trying to go to school (aka being forced to school) so I woke up at 6 am the days I were able to. And then I would seriously crash in the weekends, and my familiy would come into my room and shout "time to wake up" in the weekends, when I had no plans anyways, just because they saw it as lazy to sleep for so long. it's like people think it's a sin to sleep. or that if you just wake up early you will somehow be better?
I also have gotten a lot of shaming because i was "up so late". Often I can't sleep until the early hours in the morning, even though it was not by choice. I would still force my self to go to school, even though I wouldn't always get enough sleep, sometimes just two hours. I used to go into the bathrooms and sleep, put the toilet seat down, rest feet on the toilet door and close my eyes.
One day I was so incredibly sick and struggled to think and I had to have a presentation for my class, and I didn't have any controll of what I was saying. I don't think I said a single sentence that made sense. And I felt so humiliated about it, and also scared that this was happening to me. I told my father about it when i got home, because i was so sad and scared, it was the beginning of the illness and i wasn't used to it. And he said "well, it might be your fault, as you stay up so late all the time"
I try not to hold on to any anger agaist the ignorance I've gotten from people (tryyy but sometimes it just comes back when I realize how unfair it all is), as I think people don't intend to be so unfair. i think it's just the culture that is messed up. that we don't learn how to relate to people that are having a hard time, it's all about pushing through it, "being sick is for weak people.."