Share What It Is Like to Live with an Invisible Illness

Fibromyalgia has a lot of misconceptions attached to it. What do you wish people understood about fibromyalgia?

It is NOT that I am lazy, unmotivated, or don't WANT to do things...it is that I CANNOT get my body to move! I cannot get it to do what I want it to, when I want it to, so what makes you think that I can by sheer will alone get my body to do what YOU believe it should do, and when you think it should do it? Even if I "dig deep" for your sake, I am still in excruciating pain. I am paying a high price for every step I take for your sake. And it breaks my heart when that is not assisted, acknowledged or appreciated. I will be counting the seconds until I can crawl back into bed, that is where my focus will be while I pretend to be okay but am sweating profusely, my body feeling like it has the flu and I was thrown down a flight of stairs and asked to "walk" so that YOU don't get angry at me, or feel frustrated with me (again!). When I do finally return to my resting place, you will comment, "See, aren't you glad you got out of bed and out of your 'cave' for a little while?" I will smile and say, "Sure" as if I am SO grateful to you for putting me through all of that, when in reality I only was able to do it due to a deep desire to avoid a fight, argument, eye-roll, and guilt that you make me feel every time I simply cannot make my body move. You have no idea.

Has any one told you that "you don't look sick?"

Not really, they will say, "You are always smiling and so sweet and outgoing I wouldn't have guessed it."

Tell us, who is your biggest support system while coping with fibromyalgia?

God. My four children. My mother and sister who live two time zones away from me. Friends.