Invisible Illness

This month we focused on giving a voice to those with invisible illness. People with diseases that do not alert others that a person is struggling physically to carry out daily living activities, social activities, and professional goals. These issues are typically managed in the privacy of the home, in isolation, but the impact it has on interpersonal relationships is unmeasurable. The level of support a person with an invisible illness requires often falls flat. The isolation is a byproduct of trying to provide self-care which is mostly misunderstood. The cancelled events and the miscommunicated non-verbal and seeming disengagements are often offensive to others. This can be overwhelmingly frustrating to significant others, friends, and family.

Those suffering in silence get it.

Invisible illnesses are not only physical but mental as well. Most of the time the people you interact with throughout your day may be struggling with mental health crises all the time. You don’t know because their medication helps them “appear normal” or they have just learned how to present themselves to seem “fine”. Normal works for society. Normal helps reduce the questions. Normal benefits others, but trying to keep it all steady is a feat for the ailed person. The fear of being labeled, judged, exiled, and watched is unnerving. Taking medication to show up “normal” for others is tiring and can wreak more havoc than the illness itself.

Communication can help heal the misunderstandings. We all have an opportunity to be compassionate, understanding, and forgiving because we haven’t a clue what another person may be experiencing. We do not know what they had to endure to show up for work, to participate in a meeting, to teach a class, to take your order, to fix your cable, or even to leave the house.

Everyone deserves an advocate and today serves as a reminder to those without the trouble of living with an invisible illnesses that the only thing requested is grace. Grace for those that despite what you see, are coming out of a storm or preparing themselves for the next crisis.