(From Disability*Blog on disability.gov) By Wayne Connell, Founder & President, Invisible Disabilities Association, and Jeff Vankooten, Professional Speaker and Invisible Disabilities Association Executive Board Member
It’s all in your head!” What a familiar refrain for those living with chronic illness, pain or disability. Doctors, friends, co-workers and family often make this statement when they can’t “see” what you are going through or find a diagnosis. The invisible nature of many illnesses and disabilities creates an atmosphere of suspicion or disbelief, even by those who are closest to you. People may say, “It’s all in your head” to imply that the person is just making up or exaggerating his or her condition. Many people live with the stigma of this label. Some even feel shame and believe so much that they themselves are to blame that they take their own lives.
Maybe it is “all in your head.” There are many conditions that exist as a dysfunction or disease of the brain. Depression, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, bipolar, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), epilepsy, dyslexia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and ADHD to name a few. These are real disorders and diseases even though they are unseen, and in many cases go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years.
Jeff Vankooten, a professional speaker and Invisible Disabilities Association executive board member shares his story below:
…
