ON ILLNESS INVALIDATION
It’s kind of hard to describe what it’s like to have your illness invalidated. A part of me never wants to touch on the daily tribulations of being a type one diabetic, mostly because I don’t want to appear to be seeking pity or attention, so I welcome the comments like “Well, at least it’s not cancer!” and “It can’t be THAT bad!” with a smile.
But here is the reality: those of us suffering from invisible illnesses, like type one diabetics, do not want to dwell with you on our misfortune, but we also do not want you to deem our suffering as nonexistent. That only delegitimizes our strength and courage. Just because we don’t show off our hardships doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We know you mean well when you tell us that it could be so much worse, and we are so grateful for the scientific advancements that have made our illness manageable, but we still find ourselves struggling.
Please do not invalidate someone’s illness until you have lived through it yourself. We know it could be much worse, but that doesn’t make our disease any better.
