Invisible Illness

'But You Don't Look Sick...'

'Don't Judge a Person by its Cover'

When I am out and about in public I may not appear to be in pain that doesn't mean I am not in pain. I don't show I'm in pain because I want to live my life just as any able bodied person would. If I was to show the amount of pain I was in all the time then  I would be a very negative person. When I'm out and about I don't always use my wheelchair, I use my crutches, the same type of crutches that you would be given for a broken leg, it doesn't mean I am not living with a permanent disability.   

People have a tendency to make a judgement about a person. When you see a person getting out of a car in the disabled bay for example, but they don't look particularly disabled. You ask the question to yourself "How is that person disabled?  Should they be parking there?"  You may decide that person is not disabled enough and you form a prejudice against him/her.  Imagine that person suffers from chronic pain and can't walk very far, they may be walking unaided but that doesn't mean they aren't in constant pain. Maybe they need that blue badge to enable them to do their shopping or get to their doctors appointments. 


There is very much a love hate relationship with having a invisible disability.  There are positives which include  giving you a chance to blend in with the rest and being selective as to who I share the details of my disability with.  However this can make it harder to accept I'm not physically  who I used to be, I see the same person that you used to kayak and play sports. 

One of the biggest problems presented by having an invisible disability is getting the treatment you need and deserve. My CRPS symptoms, especially early on were not always visible and I couldn't ensure that they would appear when I went to a doctors appointment. This can lead to a feeling of am I being believed?,Or even thinking that the doctor thinks you are a hypochondriac.


One of the less talked about areas of invisible disabilities is side effects. When you have a chronic pain condition you take multiple medications to try and dampen down the symptoms. These medications can often feel like they are doing more harm than good.  I might be a out in my wheelchair but my medications might be making me feel nauseous and knackered. Yet if I was to stop every time that I was suffering from side effects, I would just be existing rather than living. That wouldn't be conducive to a very positive experience and therefore you have to fight and not let those side effects get you all the time.

So thank you for all being so supportive, both through this blog and my Facebook page (@LivingWithCRPS1). But next time someone opens up about their disability, listen and acknowledge what they are saying, don't question it and think about what you might not be able to see.  Most importantly acknowledge the positives you can't see, the strength and resilience, determination and hope that person has. Even if you struggle to comprehend what that person is going through a little encouragement goes a long way to keeping that person going.