2020 UPDATE: After getting many requests to publish more books, I've decided to consolidate all invisible "things" into ONE journal so that everyone is included. The new journal is available now on Amazon.com.
Who's feeling creative?
Invisible Cosmic Zebras have been created that have Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, SVT, Syncope, Dysautonomia and Rheumatoid Arthritis! How awesome is that? Let's keep the awesomeness going...

Meet Invisible Cosmic Zebras from Around the World

This is my invisible cosmic zebra, aka, Ajahn Grrrrrumbleton, for the fun competiton being held by the lovely @invisiblecosmiczebra. He represents my Postural Orthostatic Tachycradia Syndrome. Why the weird name, and weird robes?.... in Buddhism, many monks will go by the first name Ajahn, a thai word which translates as teacher. As my invisible cosmic zebra is my biggest teacher, I thought it was fitting that he'd be a Buddhist Monkster. (Monk + monster, I'm very proud of that one.) His paws are dark purple to signify the blood which pools in my legs, his eyes are confused (and admittedly slightly crazed) with big dark circles to signify the fatigue, and his twisted horns represent the dizziness I experience every single day. His left eye contains the colours of the planet earth, to represent the fact that I often feel like a watcher, like I'm stuck in a glass bubble watching the world pass me by. I can also assure you that this big fluffy guy is incredibly bendy. This sounds cool (and looks pretty cool if I say so myself) but underneath this fun exterior lay very unstable joints, which rarely stay where they need to stay. Although he's a little scary, I happen to think he's very loveable. He's taught me so much, and will continue to do so.
Resa 12 years, The Turtle: 
EDS-Foundation Netherlands

The turtle moves slowly on land, but moves smoothly in the water. The heavy shield feels much lighter in the water. I have trouble walking and use a wheelchair at times, but in water I feel lighter and I move much better. The shield of the turtle looks like a zebra; the symbol for a rare disease. The turtle carries his shield with him everywhere he goes, like I carry my rare disease with me everywhere I go. The stars show my dizziness. The red spots show my pain and the green spots symbolize my bruising and poorly healing wounds.
Despite all of that the it’s a happy turtle.
Title: "Freedom"
by Anne R, 66 years
from EDS-Foundation Netherlands
​
Freedom is something that is inalienable. The body has limitations in place and time. If you have EDS, those limitations can be felt in terms of vulnerability and lower body capacity. The mind, on the other hand, is as free and large as space. Even if you have EDS. You are always free to let go of any thought on the situation that you experience. I made this drawing after I recently went through a process of mourning again. Mourning that the loss of functions, capacity, and mobility become palpable. I felt caged in my body. Until the moment I remembered and realized again that my mind is fortunately clear and has no limitations due to the power of the imagination. I understood that I had created the cage again through my own thoughts about it "My EDS". Thoughts, who wanted it differently and fought against the reality of "this is it now." I experienced that through this "seeing", this surrender, peace, joy and light came to me again and the cage dissolved automatically in joy. I have expressed that in this drawing. The space of "are" where balloons float weightlessly in that space. The bird, who also chooses the space with the open cage. This one color blue is a color that evokes feelings of joy in many people. In Buddhism - my great source of inspiration - it is the color of Divinity, of wisdom, the color of the Buddha.




​My invisible illness as illustrated by me. All swollen and achy and feeling like a monster. I am obviously not an artist but I believe this adequately portrays how I feel... especially on a stupid prednisone burst.




By Amanda C, 34 years
from EDS-Foundation Netherlands
​
The face has a mask because we often put on a mask because of incomprehension in society. The heads in the back right represent society. The question marks because many of them often do not get the ball but do judge, which can be seen in the expression of the heads. The face with a mask has, next to the question mark, an exclamation mark that says together: "It is difficult to understand, but just respect me. Respect what I indicate and have no judgment about it."
Absolutely love this competition designed by @invisiblecosmiczebra 😻 Thanks so much for making something so often crappy into something fun! This is my 'Invisible Comic Hippo'. I chose the hippo, because I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and I felt the hippo could represent this pretty accurately 😉 I often feel like I weigh 200kg, and the best way I can explain the aches/pains and fatigue is like having weights strapped all over your body. As you can see hippo, has weights all over her arms. I've also made her head proportionally bigger than the rest of her body, as I find some of the neurological symptoms the hardest to deal with- brain fog, slurring speech, not being able to think clearly or logically, forgetting where I'm going or what I'm doing etc etc. Hippo is also covering her ears, representing what I'm like during a crash!! Any tiny noise can send me off or can feel unbearable 🙊 The bags under the eyes show the fatigue side of the illness, and the many red nasty pimples show all the toxins that have trouble escaping when you have CFS/ME. Headaches are often a new normal for lots of sufferers, and I know for me they are a clear warning sign for when I'm starting to over do it, or have done too much. This is shown by Hippo's big red blob running along her forehead. Last but not least the big bulge in her tummy shows the many leaky gut/ food intolerance symptoms CFS/ME sufferers experience. Although Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is cruel and debilitating, it's not all of me and it certainly doesn't define me. This is why I've dressed hippo in bright clothes. Because that's when I'm happiest- dressed up and seeing my beautiful friends and family! ☺️ If you haven't already do yourself a favour and head on over to @invisiblecosmiczebra page 🙌 Also a huge thank you to the beautiful @racheyg123 who inspired me to take part, her made up character is incredible and so so clever, you should definitely check it out! 😜🌻 ​
by Laura B, 36 years
EDS-Foundation Netherlands
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May I introduce you to my invisible cosmic zebra? This is Fluff. Fluff often suffers from the abdomen, which sets on due to gastrointestinal problems. And if the belly is set too far, stretch marks will develop. Fluff is not so sorry, but sometimes it is annoying because it itches so. Fluff is also very entrepreneurial, but because of wobble legs, cold feet (and therefore less feeling) and double seeing in different ways, things sometimes go wrong. That immediately results in bruises and scars. Fluff sees that as victory signs, silly Fluff. The heart of Fluff can not always have it well, then it feels as if it wants to escape, with Fluff you can even see a print of an escape attempt. The needles and clouds are often in the way. But as you can see, Fluff has no fingers and his arms are too short. So just pulling out the needles or waving away the clouds is not possible. Fluff is also often tired, because his plug is broken. All this means that Fluff has to take many extra things with him on his adventures. Just by a string, so that it does not all blow away. What I am proud of is that, despite everything, Fluff continues to smile and still goes on an adventure without fear. Fluff's ears are very special. Because he can not only hear well with it, sometimes it seems that they are connected to other parts of his body. If something nice is planned, then it may just be that a thread comes loose. Then the question is always whether the fun can still continue. Fluff is therefore always afraid that something will go wrong, and tries to compensate with intensely precise planning. But yes, that does not always work well.
I'm Anna and I have EDS, Dysautonomia, and POTS. I also suffer from chronic fatigue. That's why my Invisible Cosmic Zebra's body is a sloth (since sloths sleep 15-18 hours). This is also why my ICZ has dark circles under its eyes. My Invisible Cosmic Zebra has a fish tail because at times, chronic illness fighters may feel like a fish out of water. My ICZ also has zebra stripes for EDS awareness. Thank u so much @invisiblecosmiczebra for an amazing way for chronic illness warriors, to have fun while being creative! I really enjoyed it! ​



​Naomi V, 18 years
EDS-Foundation Netherlands

My artwork speaks for itself. 
So, I know that this is TOTALLY different than what I usually post, but this is my #icz. It represents my syncope. Syncope is a condition when your heart rate and blood pressure drop very suddenly, causing you to faint. I also have a SVT, too, which causes my heart to race without exercise, etc. I chose a bird to represent them because birds get tired from flying a lot, and I get tired from doing a lot of activity. Also, birds might get dizzy from the heights that they fly to, and dizziness is a big part of my Syncope. It also represents the paleness in my face from the blood which pools in my feet/legs due to my low BP. I drew the heart on my bird big because that is the biggest thing that effects me. Thanks! 💕💊
This creature is inspired by the beauty, fragility and speed of the hummingbird as well as the digestion, elasticity, and temperature regulation of the snake. As many individuals with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), I also have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). POTS is an autonomic nervous system dysfunction that upon positional changes causes my heart rate to increase from approximately 90bbm to 130+ bbm as my blood pressure drops to 90/60 (a health individuals heart beats at approximately 70bbm). My heart currently receives rest by laying down flat, hydration, salt, the help of beta blockers and medicine used to treat orthostatic hypotension. The hummingbird gracefully handles heart rates of up to 1,263 bpm and is able to reduce its heart rate to 50bbp to conserve energy. Another thing we have in common is the inability to stand on our feet. Sadly for the hummingbird, his feet are too small to walk on the ground. My feet are overly sensitive making unbearable for me to walk or stand - but at other times I can fully enjoy being on my feet! the hummingbirds beauty is mysterious, amazing and untouchable. As for the snake, I always believed the myth that they could dislocate their jaw to eat. I thought this was amazing, until pieces of me started dislocating... it's not exactly the best feeling in the world, but everything does pop back into place! ​

​My name is Anna and I'm 13 years old. I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Dysautonomia, and POTS. Due to my chronic illnesses, one of my symptoms is dizziness. That's why my Invisible Cosmic Zebra is dizzy. Eveyrone who has a chronic illness is as strong as an elephant, so that is why I choose to draw an elephant. The zebra stripes represent my EDS, since the EDS symbol is a zebra. I draw dragonfly wings on the elephant because dragonflies are the symbol for Dysautonomia awareness.










​This was an IG entry for Lyme Disease, babesia and Bartonella.