Not always. Certain family members are still trying to cure my type 1 diabetes. Which hurts me mentally because I know it's not curable. But other family members do because my mom and me are basically twins so she knows what I'm going through physically. Just not mental health wise. But she is trying to understand. And that's what matters.

No. Not even a little. They still think I’m being dramatic, that I’m making it up, that it’s “all in my head,” or that I’m exaggerating the symptoms for sympathy. I don’t even talk to them anymore because of this….

I stopped telling my mother anything rested to my health for the sake of our relationship. Going to doctors and taking prescriptions seems like a full time job at this point. It’s hard to have a social life and make plans

Ha!

They already hate me for being gay and a liberal. All of my problems are 'snowflake' issues to them

I don’t think anyone really gets it.. but some just show more empathy than others

My mom and sister suffer from the same disease as I, so I can say they literally have an idea of how it is to live with my condition

Nope. My family I'm sure still thinks I'm faking a lot of it

Nope!!! And while it's difficult sometimes to help them understand; I, honestly, would never want ANYONE to understand. To understand would only come from experience and I don't wish that on anyone. I'll just be happy if they listen (even if they do sometimes confuse my mental health conditions with symptoms of drug addiction and try an intervention ROFL)

I dont think anybody can have a good idea without dealing with all of the conditions by themselves. My family knows what I have and what I've gone through medically but they definitely don't realize how hard it is emotionally.

My friends and family have shown many interest in my disease and in everything I went through. Nevertheless none of them have any idea how its actually feels, they don't see all the struggles at different times in my life.

No they think they do but they don't

Unequivocally NO! I have been suffering from fibromyalgia for several years. One of the most challenging feelings I face is the feeling of misunderstanding and containment of my disease by the people closest to me. I do not know if it is because of an illness that was previously defined mainly mentally or because it is a disease that cannot be seen, but most of the time, the feeling I get from them is that I am exaggerating.

My friends don't understand that I have a chronic disease that causes me pain. If I don't meet them for a while because of my condition, they think that I don't want to hang out with them, they are angry with me.

Yes pretty much I have so good people in my life people at my church and my sister and few others it's been helpful

Most of my family the same condition or similar, so yes. Only, they all have had the same problems so they thought it was all normal. I kind of worry that one day it won’t go well if anything big happens, like they’ll miss something that was life threatening because they thought it was normal (or they didn’t feel the pain as intensly because some of them really don’t).

No. They're not supportive. My mom does support me financially and some of my siblings get upset that I have satellite TV and half way decent possessions. They think I'm lazy and ungrateful. They all have new houses and new cars but resent me? I am in such poor health , I can't work, I can barely take care of my daily needs, I've had to declare bankruptcy. Would they like to trade? A few years ago, I left the religion the rest of my family is in, Jehovah's Witnesses, and now they all shun me. I came very close to killing myself. I can't even ask them to help clean my house or give me a ride to the doctor. I feel so betrayed by them. They weren't there for me when I needed them most and they still aren't, they probably will never see or speak to me again. Freaking heartless.

They not only have no idea what this conceivably is like they actively do not believe me. After 28 years of never having spoken once to a dr or therapist they called a 5150 on me because they did not believe I was the victim of an attempted rape (that was reported to police, had physical evidence). My bio children (mid 30s) are the source of my greatest trauma.

I don’t know how to use this app just want to send support to person leaving the Witnesses that horrible abuse molesting mind-bending cult

❤️

How do I reply to messages?

Hi SAJE! Great question🤗 we are currently working on a new version of the app which will allow "reply to reply" and hope to roll it out in the coming month. Stay tuned for this and some other amazing features to come!🙌

Hi SAJE. I'm going to try to direct a request to you if you want to talk.

Anyone can find me under nightowlbookworm on FB.

No

Thank you all, I’m trying to figure this out. Grateful. And yes please please let us comment or “react” or support what our friends write

No. My mother especially has always been horrible accommodating my needs as a disabled person, and fails to understand my differences from her autism to my own. She is especially bad when it comes to DID and BPD.

Nope not at all, I feel werid to sit down an explain it to anyone. My husband is the only one I think understands most as he is with me all the time. My sister understands my PCOS and thinks she might have it as well. The EDS and possibly POTS I would have to explain it and I'm still learning about it myself as they are new diagnoses

No, but they can see it and they feel helpless and wishes they could take it all away. I've been through so much.

No.

definitely not lol

Not at all, they try, but they can't wrap their heads around it.

Absolutely not....the hubs acts like it gets on his nerves....with certain other people it's a toss between trying to be understand and just nodding along as I tell the things....

Not at all. They all try to understand when I'm vulnerable and in my sad swings but as soon as it is anything to do with me getting angry, immediately all of the understanding goes out the window and I am just a horrible person who can't control myself to them. It is more discouraging than anything.

The ones who are the closest to me like my husband, my parents and my best friend from high school know about all of my mental history and struggles but the majority of people in my life don't even know my background.

Nope. I have one friend and a cousin that have similar conditions but other than that I'm an alien, lazy, or mental health case. Nothing less and nothing more

No, they don't even know I have bipolar or adhd. They probably wouldn't believe me if I told them.

Honestly no one that doesn't live with our conditions can every really know what we go through but they should read up on it to try to understand as much as possible to understand what they can and shouldn't do.

No matter how much they will hear or read about all my conditions, no one can really understand how it feels to be me, I think it's true for anyone.

My family and best friends have gone through a long way when it comes to my UC. They know me really well, when I suffer and need help, or when I need to spend some time alone. Still, they will never get the pain. My sister on the other hand has Crohn’s disease and it is so easy to speak to her. They sometimes get frustrated when they can’t do anything to help us…

Not at all. My dad is still convinced my mast cell spiked so bad because of stress (only stress mind you, not just part of the reasons) all he wants me to do is meditate and work less. But working keeps me going in life and makes it so I can afford to live.

I think my family understands because my mom and sister also have a lot of the same conditions. My dad doesn't get it as much but he tries hard and he loves me and treats me like he always has! My friends don’t maybe understand as well. It depends on the friend. A lot of my friends have health issues or mental health issues as well so they understand somewhat.

My family does not. They tell me it's all in my head when I speak about it. So I stopped talking about it. My fiance understands he has helped so much in the 6 years we have been together but the rest of them make me feel horrible about everything

My mom says she does but she doesn't. She has never Googled anything about any of my conditions. She tells me that she is suffering from epilepsy. I tell her that she is not suffering from it. She doesn't have seizures, take meds for it, have a VNS and has to deal with the negative stigma that goes with it. She still insists she suffers from it. She is an outsider looking in at me going through it. She then says that she is going through it believe her. She says she knows about bipolar disorder but she has absolutely no clue about it. She thinks I can control it. I have told her that I can't which is why I take meds for it.

No my family use to tell me that I was faking it for attention. Now my brother in law has the same thing and still says I am faking

I have schizoaffective disorder. My little sister understands how I can have little to no control over my mind because she's done enough lucy. My uncle suffers from a similar disease, but the rest of my family has always treated me like a fuck up because they can't get their head around what mental illness means! It means ability they take for granted can be beyond my grasp on high symptom days. I think if more people did shrooms and saw for themselves what it's like to lose control of your perception, there'd be more compassion. I cut ties with every family member who called me a fuck up before I was on disability. Now I have proof I'm that sick. And even now, i get hounded by people who, quite frankly, just want to squeeze more out of me than I want to give. They think the answer is I need to be in more pain to be forced to function.

My son is 11, he doesn't understand my condition but he tries to. He told me he can tell when I'm having good days and bad days, he knows my bad days is the day my pain level is up and I'm so fatigued.

No

No. My husband and closest friends try there absolute best but my family has made no attempt!!!

No family tends to think they deserve to feel more tired because they work and I don't due to my conditions 🥴 my fiancee however is more understanding and supports me in anyway possible

my friends don’t. they try to compare my physical symptoms to their exhaustion from work or from being stressed over finals one of my friends even said “oh yeah my heart races sometimes when i work out too” when that’s not the same thing at all. my other friend even said “when you’re bad at having an eating disorder and aren’t losing weight” and that really hurt. my family on the other hand understands and are supportive, there’s chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases in my family so they understand a lot

They don’t think about it a lot, but I see it in their eyes when they realise how much I’m affected. I fell asleep on a random bus in New Orleans while visiting for New Years several years ago and my mom woke me up when it was my stop and it was such a small memory but she realised how much I’m drained by everything and I saw that realisation in her eyes. They try to be understanding but none of them truly know what it’s like.

Some yes, some no, most will ask me if they have any questions and do their own research on my illnesses

My family don't talk about it, only some of my friends, mom,and stepdad knows about the full extent of my health. They try to be sympathetic but they don't understand how draining it is for me to get up every day and work.

My mom sees my anxiety attacks and breakdowns and calls me dramatic and says I'm overreacting while I'm sitting there shaking and struggling to breathe. She always tries to say i do it to spite her and that all my mental health issues i do just to make her life more difficult. A lot of my friends have similar issues so it's a lot easier to be around them than family

No definitely not. My boyfriend is the one that understands the most but even he doesn’t completely understand what I go through.

Nope…. I’m the only one in my family who was diagnosed with a learning disability, dyslexia, along with severe anxiety, depression and inattentive ADHD (aka A.D.D). My parents have gotten really good when my mental health greatly declines. I wanted to quit college because I was becoming very depressed when I had to take a math class 3 times to pass, which meant putting all other classes on hold, which affected everything I was working for. I was stuck in a deep hole of depression & I couldn’t get out. They said, “no, we want you to at least get an AA or certificate and if you want to quit, you can quit. But we know how much college means to you and we don’t want you to regret it.” On the other hand, my mom doesn’t understand that my learning disability & mental health has already stopped me from pursuing my dream, so at least let me have one win and that would be getting a BA. When I set my mind on something there’s no turning back. I push till I get to maybe half way where I want to be.

Nope! My mother is disabled herself, so I thought she'd understand better when I got fibromyalgia, but she doesn't. She thinks because I don't have it "as bad as her" I'll still gone to do everything I was able to do pre-fibro. It's exhausting how much she belittles my illness because she's worse.

No. My family doesn’t even try to understand. My friends just give unsolicited advice or try to diagnosis me themselves. My boyfriend hasn’t a clue but at least is willing to learn and very patient. It’s very isolating and I feel like on some level I’m faking with everyone and I’m exhausted. I know they mean well but until you experience it, it’s not easily explained

Definitely not. Depression, anxiety, possible autism (no testing for adults but dr thinks i might have), reactive attachment disorder, and boarderline personality disorder. Very very few in this world understands what it means to live with all these combined. Especially reactive attachment disorder

Definitely not.

Not at all!

Absolutely no. I am completely alone with this. I don’t have anyone checking in or show any concern.

Not at all

Only my husband and daughter mostly understand what it's like for me. As for my extended family, they have NO CLUE, no idea, whatsoever my life is like with my chronic pain. They can't possibly know because none of them are in chronic pain. They are healthy and have no serious medical issues. I stay home and don't participate in family get-togethers because I hate having to pretend I'm not in any pain when quite clearly I am. And if they do see me suffering, they pity me or try to tell me how they overcame their acute pain, or have you tried this or that, when the things they think I should do has absolutely NOTHING to do with my chronic pain. They don't realize that my chronic pain is NOT the typical chronic pain, and it is infuriating having to sit and listen to them drone on and on and on, ad nauseum...

Nah not really, often I feel embarrassed because I feel like I look either lazy for my heart condition or antisocial and cold for my autism

we're all still learning but they're very supportive and help me as much as they can.

No, my husband thinks it's an excuse for me to be lazy but I wish I didn't have the pain and fatigue and could get so much more done.

In some ways. They've seen how it's effected me since day 1 good and bad days. I know they'll never understand exactly but at least they try

Yes and no. My father and I both have anxiety and Von Willebrand’s disease. He may understand, but he still doesn’t understand what it’s like to live as a woman with this condition. He still rolls his eyes and says women with heavy periods are “dramatic”. I’ve blacked out while on my period before, and he says it’s just “laziness”. He also has no sympathy for anyone with mental illness of any kind even though he’s been diagnosed with anxiety. He hates doctors and will not step foot into a doctor’s office unless his life is in danger. My best friend and stepmother both have PCOS and I can relate to their symptoms on the reproductive side of things (heavy periods, etc), so we understand each other to an extent. My biological mother does not understand other than what she’s seen with my father and what I have told her, but she is sympathetic because she has her own health issues she sometimes struggles with.

my friends do but not one of my family members knows i have DID.

My husband has the best idea on what it's like for me because he is always seeing me go through it. I know that no one else in my life really gets it. It can be really hard sometimes.

Yes! Everyone one in my house has some mental illness. Some less severe. My father has PTSD, my mother has ADD and BPD(she’s less severe then me) My sister has something and my brother has low grade aspergers. None of us have the same mental illness so we’re all different a bit complicated at times tho!

They use my shit against me, they try to antagonize me and I think it’s VERY intentional. Even at just really small levels, someone is probably petty. They make me feel like a bad guy, they make me think I hate them, it’s fucking annoying. My stepdad is childish and will throw tantrums over stupid shit, he simply has to be the ‘smartest in the house’ and all that shit. He probably thinks I’m the big bad of the house. My mom claims to understand, but she’ll use my shit against me too. “You have lupus!! You can’t go out!!!!” to basically “lol no u don’t have that lololol wear makeup u look weird”. In a group (me and mom) therapy thing several years ago, she kept bitching at me like she didn’t fucking tell me she “understood” my condition the other fucking day.

No. My mom says my mental illnesses are worse for her than they are for me. And she says I’m always sick so it doesn’t matter. People can be compassionate and care about others and help them, but they never will truly know unless it happens to them.

Not at all. Since it's mainly mental illnesses that I deal with. My parents and my extended family can't physically see the problem. So they tell me how I'm making it up to get meds. And they are the type of people who really stigmatize mental illnesses so no support at all. They tell me all the time I should try harder or just change my mindset or something along those lines. It's weird because most of extended family are nurses or are very highly educated individuals so it hurts.

Nope. Flat out no.

no lmao

No. My mom thinks she knows everything about one of my disabilities and pretends she knows things about my mental illnesses just because she has them to but she doesn't.

No I get the idea they care, they try, but then there are times where it's obvious that they don't get it and don't really care to on that particular day. I try not to let it bother me too much though.

A lot of the times yes. My mom made me go to the doctor when I was little. My mom is my biggest advocate and works with children and knew I had ADHD at a very early age, I’m blessed to have her. My dad has adhd but at first didn’t understand why I needed meds and thought I could overcome it but he recently just promoted at his job and recognized that he had adhd and got diagnosed. I’m happy to have a supportive family, but I sometimes feel like a burden to them.

absolutely not. my mom uses me as a pawn for her political arguments and always has since my meniere's was caused by a vaccine injury, and she's constantly posting on facebook about my medical information as well as my brothers. (he's 4 years old and autistic) at the same time she uses me to make herself look woke and aware, and like a good person, she lashes out at me when i have dizzy spells or get so sick i can't function, especially in front of other people. she's brought up my chronic illness in front of more people than i can count, and made me explain it when i'm not comfortable and throws a pity party when i can't eat or interact. it's so condescending, and when i point it out she freaks out about it. it's so frustrating, especially since i literally never talk about my condition with anyone, much less her

My husband certainly does, as he is with me every day & sees me at my absolute worst. Otherwise, no. People understand pain in terms of what they’ve experienced. They can’t relate to my personal pains & struggles because they have nothing to compare it to, and they only see me put together.

@Strawberry - it's upsetting when friends don't understand your chronic condition. I never make plans with anyone because I never know how I'll be feeling. By not making plans, I don't have to feel guilty if I can't make it; and it's a bonus when I can. People have a way of making you feel bad for canceling at the last minute.

No...that is why I don't talk to them about my conditions...I talk to my partner which is nice but not my family

No. My family fluctuates between support and then confused/annoyed. My mother always tries to tell me what she would do if she were in my position. That's such a frustrating comment. It's easy to say what you would do but until you're living it, you can't fully understand. My family has seen the things I have gone through but it sometimes still seems that they don't understand the severity of my situation.

No no no no

Nooo. They try to, but they’ll never get it. It’s so frustrating trying to explain what it’s like because I know it’ll never make sense to anyone.

They try, but to put it plainly, no. And honestly, I think it's good that way. They understand if I have an issue, but they hold me to normal standards, which is what I need. They still try to push me out of my comfort zone, even if I know there's a overwhelming chance I will fail at something just because I'm hard wired to be so great at something. They don't exclude me because of my illness, they let me make that choice.

My boyfriend has done a lot of his own personal research to try to understand how it is for me living with OCD and it really helps a lot, while of course he may not understand everything, neither do I tbh 😅 we’re doing the best we can and for that I’m grateful

nope. my family often forgets i am even afflicted with ocd because i am quite high functioning. ive learned to rely on myself so they dont notice my symptoms anymore. little do they know theres no cure haha.