One thing I look forward to every year is Invisible Illness Awareness Week (IIAW). IIAW was started by Lisa Copen, founder of Rest Ministries, in order to not only help create awareness for invisible illnesses but also provide encouragement, support, and education for individuals with chronic illness.
Each year, IIAW includes a virtual conference which includes seminars covering a wide range of topics such as parenting with illness, dealing with relationships, and staying positive in face of adversity. In addition to the seminars, there are also featured blog posts throughout the week. I was honored enough to have my post 10 Things I’ve Learned From Chronic Illness featured during last year’s event. There is also a meme that is great to participate in called 30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know. This is not only a great educational tool for friends and loved ones but it is also great to visit the link up and meet other spoonies and compare stories (here is my 30 Things post).
By signing up for the newsletter, you will also receive an 80 page e-book filled with 263 tips for living will illness!
In honor of Invisible Illness Awareness Week, I am giving away a copy of Lisa Copen’s book Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend!
To enter, leave a comment telling me what you wish people understood about invisible illness! That’s it (although I would love a tweet or two spreading the word)! A winner will be drawn on Friday! GIVEAWAY CLOSED 9/14
Winner is Eric! I’ve sent you an email! Congratulations!
I wish people really understood that invisible illnesses are not all in our heads, or easily overcome by positive thinking, or counting our blessings, or just pushing through it. You wouldn’t tell someone who was paralyzed to just think positively and they’d be able to walk again. It takes effort, medical care, and a number of other tools sometimes just to function let alone heal properly (if you can be completely healed at all).
I wish they knew that chronic illness really effects every single thing that you do in life, in one way or another.
I wish people really understood that invisible illnesses can happen to any body , regardless of your race, religion, social status and sex. I wish people who do not have an invisible illness would not be so quick to judge the people who do. I would like it if people would not compare people with a mental illness to others. we are not all the same, some people have their illeness well manage while others are still a work in progress. I would also like it if husband would allow their wives to take pills for their mental health. Husband if your wife needs medication to function better allow her to take them. If there is children in the picture please allow her to take her meds so your children will have parents who are healthy.
In honor of this week, I am going to write a blog post about having an invisible illness that does not have a diagnosis yet. I would give anything to have ANY diagnosis, no matter what it is, just so people would take me seriously. It is so hard not to know and to have people judge you.
I wish people wouldn’t say “You would be healed if you prayed more”. Enough said.
I wish people understood that invisible illnesses were as real as the other disease that no one can see, but yet they believe those to be real (and they are). For example, why does no one question if you have cancer or heart disease or kidney failure? They can’t see them, but somehow those diseases are more real than the other so called “invisble illnesses” we deal with. Thanks for the post!
I wish people understood that just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m automatically healthy, and just because my illness has a lot of corresponding mental or psychological conditions doesn’t mean it’s “all in my head” or that with enough therapy or self-discipline I can just make it go away.