Invisible disabilities are the hardest

Invisible disabilities are the hardest

Invisible disabilities are social problems

Multiple sclerosis comes in all sorts of packages. There is no ‘one size fits all’. When I read the newspaper I look very healthy. As soon as I stand up everyone can see I’m seriously disabled.  This is the flip side of MS, the invisible disabilities are the hardest to understand. Few would realise the devastation this disease has brought to my life.

Post-it notes on my forehead

I don’t go around advertising my disabilities. When does something that is a bit irritating turn into a disability? This happens when it has a serious impact on your quality of life. Far too many people think of MS as only a physical disability. It is the mental ones, you cannot see them, which cause me the greatest anguish. I know I’m not alone.

Invisible disabilities are the hardest

I cannot make up my mind when I am confronted with the dilemma. I’m not decisive by nature but the problem has taken on a whole new meaning in the last few years. It now causes me stress and anxiety. This is a good article about invisible disabilities.

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Invisible disabilities are the hardest

Invisible disabilities are not easy to see

The Wife will say to me “What shall we have for supper tonight”?

This will be followed by a lengthy pause from me.

Exasperated she says “Didn’t you hear me”?

“I’m thinking” I splutter while trying to come up with an idea. It’s a bit more complex for me, I  cannot multitask. I do a bit more thinking and offer three options, “Pasta with a sauce or chicken wings, or a piece of fish”.

“Can’t you think of something more original”?

We continue to lob the supper grenade to each other. As far as I’m concerned each of those options has its pros and cons but I can see The Wife getting more and more agitated.

Eventually she barks, “I’ll cook a stir-fry”.

I don’t add fuel to the fire and respond “Why didn’t you say that in the first place”? Instead it’s a diplomatic “Oh that’s a good idea!”.

A few years ago the simple question “What shall we have for supper tonight” would not have floored me.

MS awareness

The general public can see someone in a wheelchair or with a walking frame and immediately make allowances. As soon as you add hidden disabilities into the mix then it becomes a totally different ballgame It’s an excellent idea to make people more aware of the disease called MS. It is much harder but equally important to understand the thought processes of someone who has advanced MS such as cog-fog, fatigue or a crap memory.

Invisible disabilities are the hardest

Now grapple with the idea that the disease is steadily getting worse and worse. A problem starts off as a minor irritation and eventually it becomes crippling. When people cannot see it, it’s a hidden disability.

What invisible disabilities do you have? How do you explain them to someone else when you don’t know that you are the problem?

Associated articles

An invisible physical disabilityAn invisible physical disability

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It all began 38 years ago in 1981It all began 38 years ago in 1981

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April 2019

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