As a medical student, I feel obliged to set an example to my non-medic friends, and to educate them in some small way. Giving blood is a very noble thing to do, particularly as many people feel that they need all their blood, and only a very small proportion of the population donate. It doesn't hurt and it could help to save someone's life. There's a big culture of "oh, my contribution won't make much difference.. I'll just wait for someone else to do it".. but people fail to understand the necessity of blood sometimes.
But personally, I actually do need all my blood. I don't weigh enough to qualify for blood or bone marrow donation. I feel faint if I stand up too quickly, and I go through phases of semi anaemia, where I don't eat (anything) and feel tired and weak and breathless. And yet, I feel somehow like I should do it, I should give some blood. When better than the present to begin to make a difference to someone's life?
But it's very hard for me to gain weight, and it makes me upset to know I have put it on, if I do. I actually get on the scales most days and lament if it's over a certain number, despite people saying that scales don't actually have the word "fat" programmed into them. I go through phases of being bothered by my weight, and comparing myself to other people. In an ideal world, I'd like to be healthily slim, to match my petite height.
It just frustrates me when people just say, you're blatantly thin. Just saying something doesn't mean that it's true, or that if you say it enough times, it means it's real. I don't feel consoled when friends say, stop trying to lose weight. That's the natural reflex reaction. No one would ever tell me, yeah you're actually fat, do something about it. It goes against friend instinct to tell someone something they don't want to hear.
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