Invisible Illnesses

Almost everyone knows someone with an "invisible" illness. These are conditions like fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression,anxiety and countless others. Unless you yourself have one of these illnesses, it is difficult to impossible to understand the affects and limitations that are imposed upon the daily activities of the sufferer. 

 I am ashamed to say I used to believe that some of these illnesses could be overcome if the person would just work at it a little and stay busy.  This just simply is not true, and I have learned that first-hand.  

The most frustrating thing for a sufferer of invisible illness is knowing that other people do not understand the need to pace yourself and to make choices.  Sometimes choices like do I eat breakfast or fix my hair?  I know I won't be able to accomplish both tasks and still be able to get to work.  Or, do I cook dinner or fold laundry?  I have enough energy for one task, but not both.  

To the normal person, this just sounds like pure laziness.  But it is a harsh reality for those with invisible illness.  When you have the flu, or even just a cold, are you going to be able to keep up a normal routine?  Can you meet all of the demands of a regular day while you are fighting off an infection?  Invisible illnesses are no different in that respect.  

One huge difference, however, is that invisible illnesses are almost always lifelong conditions. So the sufferer really has very little hope that he or she will be able to resume working at full tilt in a few days.  Unlike a cold, invisible illnesses do not go away.  Imagine how you would feel if you knew that for the rest of your life you were going to be dealing with cold symptoms on a daily basis. Really, I mean it.  Stop and imagine it.  . . . what would you have to do differently in order to adapt?  Would you need more frequent periods of rest throughout the day?  Would you spend Friday & Saturday evenings socializing, or would you prefer to spend that little but of precious free time recovering from a busy work week?  

I don't mean for this post to be a bummer, but I really do know what it is to be on the other side . . . the side that just assumes that a person who suffers from an invisible illness could do more if he or she just would.  Now that I'm on this side, I know it isn't so simple.  

If you have not experienced one of these illnesses, I hope and pray that you never do.  But I also hope and pray that you will at least make some attempt at not making false assumptions about those of us who are afflicted.  It's way more debilitating than you think.  

A really good resource is called "The Spoon Theory."  You can find it on www.butyoudontlooksick.com.  It's an incredibly good concrete explanation of this topic.  

I want others to know simply because I just never imagined it would be like this.