10 Things People Who Are Chronically Ill Understand

1. When you try to explain your illness to someone but they just don’t seem to understand.

We all know at least one person who will never truly understand our daily struggle to live a seemingly “normal” life.

2. When the doctor starts you on a new medication or treatment, and it works!

I’m pretty sure we all did a victory dance — or took a victory nap. Because well, naps are nice too.

3. When you wake up and actually feel pretty well.

4. When you wake up with very few “spoons” to get you through the day.

5. When you receive a good prognosis from your doctor.

6. When a medicine or treatment stops working.

Unfortunately it does happen sometimes but we need to remain positive and try to stay hopeful for new options.

7. When someone tells you, “It could be worse!”

We understand you mean no harm by saying that, but please realize that is just like telling someone, “It could be better!” Everyone faces different challenges daily, and we should never compare or belittle each other’s struggles just because we may think they don’t have it as bad as someone else.

8. Also whenever someone tells you, “But you don’t look sick!”

9. When you receive a new diagnosis.

10. Lastly, the way you feel after you have accomplished more than you thought you would.

Whether it’s going out with friends or just getting out of bed, you deserve to celebrate the little things. You’ve got this — keep on fighting!

The Mighty is asking the following: What’s one thing people might not know about your experience with disability, disease or mental illness, and what would you say to teach them? If you’d like to participate, please send a blog post to community@themighty.com. Please include a photo for the piece, a photo of yourself and 1-2 sentence bio. Check out our Submit a Story page for more about our submission guidelines.