These Spicy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are the perfect cozy fall side dish! This easy, healthy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

THIS IS MY FIRST FALL POST OF 2019!!! I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!!! It’s been seriously feeling like fall here in Connecticut, the mornings have been crisp and the nights have been chilly. I’m all about it! I’m so excited to be breaking out all my cozy sweaters, pumpkin candles, and apple cider!

But to be honest, I’ve had a bit of delay in posting recently because I have been greatly struggling with my health. I’ve been sharing a little behind-the-scenes on Instagram, but things have been more intense than I’m letting on. I had a slew of testing last month and I’m getting closer to figuring out what’s been wrong the past couple of years, but I’m still waiting for a formal diagnosis.

I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify why I’ve been sharing details of my health on social media and online. Being a person on social media – whether you have a blog or not – is incredibly tricky if you have an invisible illness. (An invisible illness is a medical condition that is not apparent just by looking at someone, examples of which can include mental health conditions, certain autoimmune diseases, endometriosis, etc.) If you post a photo of yourself doing something normal, people will say: “Look, she’s at the beach! She’s fine! She’s just being dramatic when she says she doesn’t feel well.” But then if you share details about what you’re going through, people are like, “Look, she’s asking for pity! She wants attention! She wants people to feel bad for her!”. So it’s a pretty intense catch-22, and especially since my entire business and world is on social media. I don’t really have the luxury of abstaining from this particular cultural outlet. (Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging and wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it does get me into tricky situations like this!) 

It’s been difficult figuring out how to handle how much to share of my medical issues online. There’s a couple different factors at play. First, I NEVER want to be someone who goes out on social media and makes it seem like she has the perfect life. I feel this way because I’ll see celebrities or influencers on Instagram and be like, “Wow – I feel jealous of their life.”. The absolute last thing I want is for someone to go onto my feed thinking that my life is perfect or better than theirs. Sure, I have struggles, but so does everyone else. I’m not here to make myself out to be better than everyone. I’m a real, human person, and I want my social media to reflect that.

But second, even though I have communicated to the people in my life that I’ve struggled with my health, there are some friends and family members who have felt hurt when I’ve missed out on things due to my illness. I understand where they’re coming from, and feel terrible about that. I’ve never wanted to hurt anybody because of what I’m going through. At the same time, I feel a desire to share what I’ve been through so the people in my life can understand where I’m coming from. There is definitely a part of me that is hoping for empathy and support during this difficult time. I think it’s pretty universal that anybody who struggles looks for those things.

At the end of the day, I want to get to the point where I can be like any other person in their mid-twenties. Where I don’t have to explain to people why I missed that party or event. I want to get to a place where I can finally enjoy my life. Thanks for listening.

P.S.

If you make these Spicy Mashed Sweet Potatoes and post them on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)