The invisible disease: Fibromyalgia sufferers speak out
More and more people are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia every year, but very little is known about this debilitating disease. One woman is hoping to make a change locally. Making a difference: Michelle Greenwood travels frequently around the region, running Fibromyalgia support groups. Photo: Cam Findlay. It is a disease that more and more Australians are […]
3 Reasons Why An Invisible Illness Is More Dangerous
When you get an invisible illness like fibromyalgia, or lupus, or MS, or chronic fatigue, your whole world alters. How you see yourself changes. But how the world sees you does not. Your illness is invisible to others, to doctors and to the government. The perils of not being seen can be life-threatening. Nearly half of […]
To Those Who Find My Illness ‘Hard to Understand’ When They See Me Smiling
My husband and I had a conversation about how others perceive my illness the other day. It wasn’t a confrontational conversation — it was more the random musings that happen when you’re waiting for dinner to come out of the oven. Joe mentioned that a mutual friend had once said to him (not an exact quote), “I understand […]
9 things people who live with an invisible illness want you to know
(Picture: Charlotte Cockell) Invisible illnesses, both physical and mental, are very much real. But sadly the sufferers of these illnesses are made to feel the exact opposite. In fact, some people living with invisible illnesses are made to feel as though they are liars. As though they are faking it. Why? Because the illness cannot […]
Is Pain a Disease or a Symptom?
by Ylisabyth (Libby) Bradshaw, D.O., M.S.,FACEP, Academic Director of the Pain Research, Education and Policy program at Tufts University School of Medicine Does it matter whether pain is a disease or a symptom? For people living and suffering with pain, such a question may seem irrelevant. Perhaps like splitting hairs. “Just make the pain better.” […]
Invisible Illness, Look Beyond the Surface – Chronic Survivors
Invisible Illness What You Would See If You Look Beyond the Surface of Those With Invisible Illness? Can you see people? I mean, really see them? Can you see beyond their clothes, their accessories, their hair? Look beneath the surface? Can you see the wounds they are trying to hide? Recognize the person they long to be?No, […]