We talk a lot about mental health issues being an "invisible disease" and it made me wonder if any type of illness is every "invisible". To an un-educated eye it might be so but to someone with some degree of reading people it isn't so invisible to them anymore. A lot of the time, I spot things that people do or say that can link in habits and compulsions of people with mental health issue. From the way you talk quickly when you're nervous or the way you twiddle your thumbs when talking I can see that little glimmer of anxiety sitting there.
It got me thinking about how little my illness is an "invisible disease". If I wasn't so open about my illness would people be able to tell? Would my little compulsions and habits get classed as "quirks" and would I be treated differently as a person. You see the thing is with an invisible disease is that people don't always know straight away. You can be friends for years but the minute they hear that you have something wrong then they change. It's like you instantly have your illness written on your forehead and you begin to hear the whispers of "well when you did this...it made me wonder" and you begin to watch the people in your life change or disappear completely.
I don't believe in the "invisible illness" because I believe in some ways anything that is going on can be shown by how our body reacts. I've never not been poorly without somebody telling me how ill I look. How the workings of my brain have left me looking gaunt and pasty. You see when you are suffering the world will always know. It takes work to be invisible and is only as transparent as you would like it to be. It's not as easy and trying to hide it because our bodies fail us and let us down. Leaving our illness plastered on our foreheads for the world to see.
In some ways I'm extremely grateful that mental health issues are gaining awareness and that that stigma is slowly being broken down. People are feeling more and more confident about talking about their issues and hopefully one day we will live in a completely accepting and understanding world. Until then we have to continue to talk and educate and show people that this should be treated like any other illness.
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