Unless they have a health issue, most people do not fully understand the frustration that comes along with having a chronic health problem. Getting the diagnosis is bad enough. Trying to learn about the disease and go on to change your entire way of living in order to successfully combat it and live a normal, healthy life is completely overwhelming. The people you normally turn to in times of crisis often cannot relate to what you are enduring. Lost for words, they give you a blank stare, a slightly furrowed brow or a sad or confused expression, leaving you feeling even more empty and alone than you were before.

For me, trying to explain to someone that I have not had a normal period for years makes me look like an alien and feel like a failure. I can’t really explain to them why I have chronic greasy skin and why my acne refuses to clear up at the age of 34. They don’t understand the frustration of not being able to get pregnant after months, even years, of trying and nor do they understand why my life is totally consumed by new dieting methods and exercise programs that guarantee to help me lose weight but never really do the trick.

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