How do you go about telling friends about being sick? Is it even worth it? I left my job on Friday, I was ill-health retired, and last night on an evening out with friends I ended up talking about my last day of work. I ended up cornering myself into having to say I was ill-health retired, leading to the inevitable question of 'why'. I had to bring up the MS and it ended up being an awkward few moments until everyone began talking amongst themselves again. If I was visibly ill I'm sure people would show far more concern for me and it would feel less awkward to talk about. But everyone who knows me has seen no real change in me and of course they would find it hard to understand how I could be unwell. I think I may have to come up with a good cover story for situations like this in future, perhaps telling people on an individual basis if I feel like it would help. But I hate this, it's bad enough being ill without feeling like I need to lie about it for the benefit of others. What experiences do others have of this?