Don’t judge a book by its cover. Too many of us judge others whom we think are lazy as there is no outward sign if sickness. You can gain some insight on the problems we face at ButYouDontLookSick. My fibromyalgia was really bothering me Sunday. It is a very hard disease to live with. It causes me to feel so worn out and tired. Even after a full nights sleep I wake up feeling like I was in a train wreck. It is easier to tell you whats parts of me don’t hurt than what does. Today my rheumatologist started me on Lyrica. It is supposed to help ease the pains of fibro. I really hope so. I am so thankful for insurance though as the high price of it would be a budget breaker. That is not my only health problem but it sure is a hard one to deal with. It is very hard to live with an invisible illness. People look at you and say “you don’t look sick”. It makes me feel very self conscious. With it and my spinal problems I can not lift or carry anything heavy at all any more. Maybe when I was young and did is the cause of it today. Either way it makes me feel so bad when I have to ask for help or let someone else carry things for me. We went to the jockey lot last Wednesday and we ended up with several sacks of treasures plus a pet taxi or carrier. We placed everything we had bought up to that point inside the carrier and secured the door on it. It was fairly heavy. Too heavy for me to carry and I felt like hanging my head down in shame that my wife and daughter took turns carrying it until we got to the car.
Having any disability is hard but an invisible one has extra issues that must be dealt with. I feel for anyone that has health issues. Especially hidden ones as they can be difficult to deal with the way people try to shame you into doing things that will hurt you even more.
I have a friend who writes about her hidden disabilities on her blog “My Chronic Life“. Check her out some time. Another good source for information on living with a hidden disability is “The Spoon Story” (adobe required). It is no picnic to have this type of health issue. And it is compounded by the attitude of relatives and friends who think because they can’t see anything physically wrong with you that you are faking or exaggerating your problem.
So please try not to judge others when they say they are sick with no outward appearances. It is hard enough to deal with the disease without the guilt layed on us by others.
Thank You