f you happen to be a person of colour, getting diagnosed with endometriosis — an illness that already takes on average seven to eight years to diagnose in the UK — can be fraught with added delays. Delays in the diagnosis of endometriosis can lead to complications and affect treatment further down the line.

In this piece six people who live with endometriosis share how the condition affects their life day to day.* Although coping with a chronic illness is never easy, their words are an inspiring and important lesson in finding solace in friendship and hope in unexpected places, and, most crucially, they highlight why it's time endometriosis and its impacts were taken more seriously.