In my thirteen years of living with chronic illnesses I have faced all of these insensitive comments from number of people with different relations to me. Although they may not always mean it in a malicious way it will always strike us as if it was due to the doubt and invisibility of the illness and the lack of understanding and believability which comes along with it!
I can’t express to you the amount of times these comments have been made to or about me and every time it brought me to great emotional pain & sadness, often bringing me to tears as none of these were my truth. I am a lot stronger and at peace with my Fibromyalgia than I was a couple of years ago so can now shrug those things off, however this does not change how these words can hurt and affect someone’s mental health as it has done mine!
If you’re a loved one, a family member, a friend, work colleague, teacher, student, doctor or know someone with a chronic or invisible illness please take time to THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, DO NOT JUDGEMENTAL OR QUESTION THEIR CHOICES OR ACTIONS in relation to their health because these words hurt, all we want is to be believed & we can all do with being more understanding of one another!
As I frequently say “everyone’s fighting a battle you may know nothing about” so let’s make a conscious effort to be mindful, sensitive & thoughtful of those who we know are fighting something but also be kind to everyone we surround ourselves with!
