Anosmia

THIS BLOG IS ABOUT LIFE AS AN ANOSMIC - SOMEONE WITHOUT A SENSE OF SMELL. I AM A 22 YEAR OLD MA STUDENT IN LONDON AND HAVEN'T HAD A WHIFF OF ANYTHING IN ABOUT 15 YEARS. I AM WRITING THIS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THIS INVISIBLE DISABILITY AND WILL UPDATE EVERY TIME THERE'S SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT.

Wednesday 9 October 2013

FIFTH SENSE / UNDER 25 AND ANOSMIC

This one's kind of a big deal, so I wanted to give it a post all to itself. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, there is a website called Fifth Sense (link here), which is a site dedicated to anosmia and anosmic support.

The one thing that I always felt was missing from it, was advice aimed specifically at young people. Even on the anosmia page on Facebook, the youngest person I have ever come across, apart from myself, was 34. This may not seem like much of a big deal, but the concerns that are shared are those to do with burning down their house, or what their spouse thinks of them, or their children. These are issues that are way above the head of someone under the age of 25 who is also suffering from anosmia. They are having to deal with the constant teasing from their friends, who cannot take it seriously or understand what a big deal it is. In a time where all you want to do is fit in, you are already feeling so completely isolated from the world around you that it just makes it really, really tough.

So I decided that I was going to change this, and I was going to create a support network for anosmics under the age of 25. I emailed Duncan Boak, the man that runs Fifth Sense for advise and after some discussion, he offered me a subsection of the Fifth Sense website itself to do this. This is better than I ever could have hoped for, especially as Fifth Sense itself is continuing to grow and aiming to become an internationally recognised charity, the groundwork has already been done for me. I am spearheading an international support group for young anosmics.

I have been posting on Facebook, on twitter, on tumblr... anywhere I can think of to ask young people with anosmia to come forward and tell me their stories and any advice they wish they had been given, or that they feel that they could give to other young anosmics. I have already had so many replies from all over the world, and it is incredible. We are not alone. There are people out there who are going through exactly the same thing as each other and I want them to know that, to know that they have the support of so many others just like themselves.

So please. If you, or anyone you know is under 25 and ansomic please get them to message me so I can include their stories on the Fifth Sense website where it can help so many others.

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