Chronic Diseases Are Invisible – Not Imaginary

We live in a society where chronic diseases remain invisible. We are talking about realities such as fibromyalgia. But for many, this is still just an “imaginary disorder,” which justifies staying away from work. It’s time to change our attitude. It is not necessary to be able to see a wound for it to be real.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)  , invisible chronic diseases make up almost 80% of all current diseases. This includes mental illness, cancer, lupus, diabetes, migraines, arthritis, fibromyalgia and many others.

These are disabling disorders for the people who suffer from them. Unfortunately, these individuals are forced to face a society that tends to judge without knowing the full story.

Living with chronic illness is a journey that is as long as it is lonely. The first part of this journey is the search for a definitive diagnosis. This is not easy. In fact, it can take years before a person can name what is inside his or her body.

Later, after receiving the diagnosis, comes an even more complicated step: finding dignity and quality in life with a pain as a companion.

If we add lack of understanding and sensitivity to this, it is easy to understand why depression is often added to the mix. On the other hand , we must not forget that a significant percentage of the people who are affected by chronic diseases are children.

The chronic diseases that you cannot see are real

Many people who suffer from chronic illnesses sometimes find it necessary to walk around with a sign on their back. This figurative sign contains capital letters that explain what is happening to them so that the rest of the world can understand it. To better explain this we will give an example.

Maria is 20 years old and runs a school. She parks in the handicap space. Later, she takes her umbrella and enters the class. One day she sees a picture on social media. In the picture, people make fun of her because she is eccentric. After all, she walks around with her umbrella everywhere. Furthermore, they attack her for being cheeky enough to park in the handicap space. After all, she has two legs, two arms, two eyes and a nice face…

Now, days later, Maria has to talk to her classmates. She has lupus. It is a disease that can break out in sunlight. She also has a hip prosthesis. Her disease is not visible, but it is there. This has changed her life. Furthermore, the disease forces her every day to be stronger and more courageous.

How can these people now live without feeling the need to describe their pain? How can they endure this skepticism?

Maria does not want to tell what is happening to her, all the time. She does not want any special treatment. She just wants respect and understanding.

This is hard to get in our society. After all, we expect to be able to see it if you are sick.

Invisible diseases in the emotional world

The degree to which these chronic diseases inhibit those affected varies from person to person. There are those who are more self-reliant. On the other hand, there are those who may be more or less disabled during the day. In the latter case, the person will have pain and other symptoms, even if they feel more or less healthy.

There is an organization called the Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA).
It serves to enlighten the outside world and to be a link between those suffering from an “invisible disease,” and their surroundings and society itself. One thing that this organization makes clear is that living with a chronic illness is a problem, even within one’s own family or at work or school.

Many young patients, for example, are occasionally suspected of using their illness as an excuse for their actions and a way of abdicating responsibility for their actions. They suspect that his or her fatigue is simply due to laziness. Your pain is not an excuse to stay home from school or not to do your homework.

These situations can gradually result in the person isolating themselves, while they may become even more invisible than they were before.

The importance of being emotionally strong

No one chooses to have migraines, lupus or have a bipolar disorder. In reality, they have only one option: to fight to be confident and to get out of bed every day despite the pain or fear.

A chronic illness involves acquiring many habits that come with it. One of them is to accept that at some point we will be stigmatized. We must prepare for this with the right strategies to adapt.

We should not be afraid to talk about what is happening to us, or to define our illness. After all, we need to help make the invisible visible to our surroundings.

There will be days when we can cope with everything we are exposed to. There will also be days when we have a hard time. We remain the same person.

We must be able to stand firm on our right. This includes the right to both work and take an education.

Neurologists, rheumatologists and psychiatrists also recommend one important thing: to keep us going. You will have to keep moving every single day. Although the pain may keep you trapped, you will need to keep one thing in mind. If you give up, there will be even more darkness, more negative emotions and more rejection.

Overall, the most important thing to remember is that people suffering from a chronic invisible disease do not need your pity. Nor will it be doing them a favor. What they need is empathy, understanding and respect.

After all, the most intense, wonderful, or destructive things – like love and pain – are not visible to the naked eye.

We can not see them, but they are still there.