If You Have an Invisible Illness and Use Mobility Aids, These 14 Memes Are for You

Having an invisible illness means you’re often confronted with misconceptions about “how sick” you really are. Maybe doctors don’t believe your symptoms are as serious as you know they are, or your friends give you a hard time about canceling plans since you “look fine.” When you also use mobility aids, like a cane or wheelchair, that can add another layer of challenges to your life. Many people don’t realize you can still be young or “look healthy” and need a mobility aid (and that it’s possible to only need it sometimes, not all the time).

Since laughing at the absurdities of life with an invisible disability can make it easier to cope, we rounded up 14 memes you might relate to if you have an invisible disability and use mobility aids. Life with an invisible disability isn’t always funny, but these memes are.

1. When you go out and people are shocked that you use a wheelchair:

2. How you explain why you need a mobility aid even though you “don’t look disabled”:

3. When someone asks why you’re using a mobility aid:

4. When you get a rare “low pain” day:

5. When you have to decide how much to say about your health at a job interview:

6. When your mobility aids are ridiculously expensive:

7. When someone actually wants to learn more about your illness:

8. When people think you’re not disabled since you can still walk:

9. When you want to explain your illness but also feel pressure to “stay positive”:

10. When the diagnoses keep coming:

11. When you feel terrible but you’re wearing makeup:

12. When someone sees you out of your wheelchair and says, “It’s a miracle!”

13. When someone tries to tell you about this new treatment that will “fix you”:

14. When you realize living with an invisible illness has made you a badass: