No one gets it
Anyone else feel like no one understands?
For background: I was diagnosed in June last year when flare symptoms sent me to the emergency room, and I’m super lucky to have recovered almost entirely, *except* when it comes to fatigue.
Of the important people in my life, my partner is amazing, and my Mum is empathetic, but when it comes to my three closest friends….
One has her own chronic health issues and she puts her own story and experiences onto me including unwelcome and unsolicited advice.
One changes the subject or ends the conversation if I mention MS.
And one does the classic, “I’m tired too.”
It’s frustrating to feel that I can’t talk to my best friends about this huge thing in my life, for various differing reasons.
Did any of you go through a similar thing when MS symptoms started to show up in your life?
Unfortunately there is a lot of stigma around the MS diagnosis. I am finding that even if people close to you know, it doesn’t mean that they are more understanding for empathic. They still expect you to just get on with it as a lot of the symptoms are invisible and there is is no sympathy or help. I have actually found that they tell you how inconvenient it is for them and how much added stress they now need to deal with- adding more pressure on you when you are already not feeling well…
Im feeling this too. I say fatigue and I'm just being treated like I'm sleepy or tired. My husband keeps feeling disappointed because I don't have the energy to do things with him and I end up feeling bad because of it which I hate feeling. I think it's difficult for people to empathise and relate if they haven't felt it themselves so in a way I'm grateful that not a lot of people around me understand because it means they aren't suffering from it but at the same time it puts me in a difficult position. Since my diagnosis, my family have become quite absent, whether it's the diagnosis or something else, it still feels lonely so I can appreciate what you mean, I understand