What a misconception sickness is, automatically majority of people believe that if you are sick then you will look sick and if you do not look sick then you must be “faking it”. I use to be one of these people, in the early days I completely ignored my symptoms because well, I did not look sick and even though blood test after blood test, appointment after appointment, confirmation after confirmation about my illness established that I was in fact ill, I was somewhat in denial. I could not understand that I was sick because well, I did not look sick.
It is not until now a few years on that I have really began to understand my condition and take note of my body and what it is trying to tell me. To explain there are times when my body will not demonstrate my “sickness” in a physical state but will warn me with a feeling (eg. Fatigue, run down, queasy belly etc.). When I listen to my body I can catch myself before I fall (so to speak) and can give my body, what it requires rest/doctor/ treatment to help prevent an unfortunate circumstance (my platelets dropping even further). Do not get me wrong, I am not a feelings guru and I do not always get this right (listening to my feelings), in fact often I will ignore my own symptoms because I would rather not be sick (ignorance is bliss as they say, it is also stupidity when you have a conscious understanding of the consequences). Nevertheless, when I do listen to my feelings and make my health a priority I can sometimes avoid worst-case scenario and even allow my body to heal on its own without treatment.
The first obstacle to overcome with the question “but you don’t look sick?” is yourself. You, yourself are going to question how on earth you can be sick, when you do not look sick. The first step to overcoming this misconception is education/ awareness. The second obstacle is the people around you asking that same question. Now whilst you have gained an awareness of the misconception of “sickness” you have to remember the ones around you are oblivious.
We live in a world that teaches us from a young age that when we get sick, we seek treatment and then we get better. Nevertheless, for any of you, who live with a chronic illness, know better. Living with an invisible chronic illness impairs your daily living without causing you to look particularly different to those healthy individuals living their daily lives. Lacking clear physical indication of pain/suffering can be a challenging experience and difficult to manage.
There is also a sense of judgement when people indicate that you do not look sick. This judgement can make you feel insecure, embarrassed, ashamed, angry, frustrated etc. you may even shy away from expressing your feelings or health woes with others due to this hurtful commentary that “you don’t look sick”. Nevertheless, keep in mind the people that state “you don’t look sick” are uneducated and those who truly care about your health will educate themselves (by listening to you) or (by doing their own research) and those who are ignorant don’t deserve to be educated.
The most important aspect of “you don’t look sick” is that you are aware and are educated on the fact that you will not look sick. Your self-awareness is of high importance to your health. Do not let others discourage you, or make you disregard your own health as if it is of non-importance. They are not you! They do not know how you feel! They will not be the one who ends up in hospital for not listening to their body!
Make yourself and your health a priority!