Yup especially when loved ones seem to brush your illness off because you’re always hiding it so they don’t think it’s bad

Yes! Definitely! My family is good at changing the subject when I try to talk about it. Definitely some denial going on as to how bad it actually is, especially since my illness is invisible.

My partner essentially called me a hypochondriac after getting diagnosed with POTS & hypermobility. It was a quick comment, but it did effect me significantly— even after our convo about why that wasn’t an okay comment & how invalidating it felt. For me it confirmed my fears to some level

My abusive ex would “believe” me until it was inconvenient for him. I was accused of only showing how much pain I was in to get “attention” or to “avoid” helping him with chores. For a while he made me feel like I WAS faking it.