Invisible illness is a problem that a significant portion of the population suffer from. And society does not talk about it enough. This is because too many healthy people do not believe that invisible illness is a real thing.
It Is A Struggle
There are many types of invisible illnesses. They range from physical diseases such as fibromyalgia and cancer to mental health conditions. Those who have these invisible illnesses often face condemnation from those who are healthy. Healthy people cannot imagine that a person can be suffering from a debilitating condition unless it can be seen.
These people judge those who look healthy parking in a handicap slot. These unimaginative and condemning people always make the assumption that they are abusing the handicap identifier. And that they are just taking advantage of somebody else’s privilege. I have heard and read these negative reactions so many times.
What Are Some of The Impacts On a Sufferer’s Life?
Too many times an invisible illness does not receive a diagnosis. Because on the surface, it looks like nothing is wrong, the sufferer does not get a lot of support. Even family and friends may not believe, and therefore are not as supportive to somebody afflicted. This lack of support can lead to the condition becoming more severe, especially if it is a mental condition.
The impacts on the life of a person suffering from these conditions can be significant. From having trouble with navigating through the day to needing help with everyday chores, there can be many challenges. These challenges can be even harder when dealing with those who don’t believe. These conditions can lead to a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.
Along with these feelings of helplessness there are quite often physical symptoms that can impact in other ways. Pain, fatigue and cognitive problems can interfere with the ability to socialize. Social stigma and discrimination attach to the sufferer, creating even more problems.
Discrimination may lead to unemployment and becoming homeless. Even though discrimination is supposedly illegal, it is unfortunately all too real. Ask any minority, of which invisible illnesses is a category of. And social stigmas may exacerbate the symptoms of invisible illnesses.
My Struggle With Invisible Illness
I have had first hand experience with invisible illness. I suffer from a common form of mental/emotional condition. And I have encountered so many people, including a few family members that do not believe that mental or emotional illness is a real thing. And what I found most common was since they do not believe, they will not talk about it.
Having had those experiences has at times made my condition seem like it is even worse. It is one thing to know that people in the world deny disorders such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder are real. To find out that fairly close family members will not support those who suffer is worse. I finally convinced one Doubting Thomas in my family by having a week-long episonde.
However, I was fortunate enough to have a supportive immediate family. My symptoms began while I was still quite young, and my mother took me in for a diagnosis. My disease can be passed by genetics, and is common in my family. So she and my Nan were aware enough to know that it is a real thing. But that did not help the problems I had with classmates, who just believed that I was just stuck up. The reality was that I was suffering with this invisible illness. And it did not help that I am introverted, possibly as a symptom of or reaction to my disease.
Another problem I have had with my disorder is that the massive variations in moods caused problems financially. My highs would give me massive energy and I would think that I was invincible. While I felt invincible, I would be extremely irresponsible with my money. When I found I was running short, my mind convinced me that a miracle would happen, and money would fall like manna.
My lows were almost as bad, because I would find myself shopping to feel better. This also quite often resulted in overdrafts and unpaid bills. I was quite lucky that my Nan would help me, and cover my shortages. She would do so regardless of how they came about.
It Affects Me Greatly
My disorder is not physical, however, I found myself trying to ‘fix’ myself by shopping. Another way I was trying to fix myself was with alcohol. Fortunately, I was able to stop before I became a fully raging alcoholic.
This self-medicating is often found in people with mental/emotional disorders. Street drugs are also a way that some self-medicate with. And should nobody intervene, these lives are even more likely to make the mentally/emotionally damaged people spiral out of control. This quite often leads to an even worse situation, as the untreated disease is made even worse.
And to try and have some more control, I started a love-hate relationship with food. I would gorge myself for days, and gain weight. Then I would look at myself and tell myself that I was a fat cow, and starve myself. My weight was a yo-yo, and it is very unhealthy. I really do not know how I escaped the traps of bulimia and anorexia. I did finally find a healthy way to eat by intermittent fasting. This diet allows me to keep my weight in a comfortable range.
Those who do get help usually get much better. But they have to be careful even so. I was put on what I call a ‘medical merry-go-round’. I would call it that due to the fact that it took so much experimentation with the medication to get the balance right. And this would happen for about two years. Finally, my doctors and I found a combination that worked to keep me stable. Unfortunately, part of this combination would ruin my long term memory.
Make Your Medical Team Listen
I told several doctors that my memory was slipping, and they would just pooh-pooh what I was saying. They would tell me that memory loss is not a side effect of the drug they had me take. Apparently, the common belief was that I was too stupid to know that they knew best. I could feel the memory loss happening. So many times I would beg to have my medication changed.
Because my doctors were constantly moving away or retiring, I found myself going to my present PA (Physicians Assistant). The first time that I told him that I suffer from acute memory loss, and the medication was the culprit, he listened. Somebody finally took me seriously. He even picked up his physicians medication guide and showed me that memory loss is a side effect. So the medical merry-go-round began again. But this time I only had to ride it for a short time before we found a working combination. However, I believe that I will never get those lost memories back.
I have been stable for over ten years now. But it is a fragile stability. When faced with too much stress for too long, I collapse back into bad phases. I am so glad that my medication keeps those low phases from being as low as they were before. And I will never look like I did before the medication was balanced. My PA says that when I first saw him, my ID picture reminded him of Bill the Cat. Bill the Cat is a staple character of the Bloom County comic strips. And he is an absolute mess. I will never allow myself to get that bad again.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope that you will be more understanding of those who look fine, but really are not. Invisible illness is more common now than ever before, and we did not ask to suffer from them. Please be kind.
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