Invisibility

Having an invisible illness usually goes hand in hand with feeling like you have to prove how ill you are.
Looking completely normal can be a very very good thing - on days when I want to pretend like I am not ill, all I have to do is plaster a smile on my face and go.
Looking healthy is a wonderful thing, specifically in our society.

Looking healthy also comes with challenges. Often people have a hard time believing the severity of your illness (if they believe you are sick at all). It is really tough to wrap your head around seeing someone laughing and joking and working and even playing sports and knowing that they are severely ill. It seems impossible. It looks inaccurate. And it breeds rumours.

But how can we prove it? Should we carry around our scans and biopsy results to show to people who are doubtful? Should we carry doctor's notes explaining why we need a handicap parking permit? What about scope images, organ images, or why not just carry a copy of our entire medical file with us at all times?
The problem is that the proof is sometimes a combination of various things. It can include bloodwork and x-rays, bone scans and MRI scans, or biopsy results.

There are several symptoms, like nausea, vomiting, swelling, pain, dizziness, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, blurry vision, irritability, nightmares, sleep apnea,  muscle weakness, low energy, internal voices, anxiety, shaking hands and knees, migraines, etc... that cannot be seen.
NONE of those symptoms are visible to the general public.

How do we explain it all? How can we 'prove' how ill we feel if the proof is in the toilet? Or inside our intestines? Or inside our mind?

Invisible diseases.
A diagnosis alone does not seem to be enough proof...