Can’t recommend it enough! (“Unrest”, a film by Jennifer Brea, shown on Independent Lens on PBS)
Invisible illnesses are too often treated as psychiatric issues simply because no one knows what to test for! (And then THAT doubt causes other psychiatric problems! And so on, et cetera!) It’s an immune system defect, a neurological brain disease, but without that piece of paper that deems it “real” for too many.
I have fibromyalgia, among other things, and this film is about ME/Chronic fatigue syndrome. But I can’t tell how many times “you look fine” was lobbed my way. I use a cane sometimes now just for balance, but “invisible” stands for there being no tests or bandages/casts/blood – any of which would make the illness more visible to others. (“You look fine” would be thrown at me by ex-bosses when I’d need to leave work – “but you look FINE!” – as well as by people who thought I needed a salve for how sickly I felt – “…but you LOOK fine!”. Neither situation was helpful.)
The show points out that it’s a HUGE ask of loved ones to care for the sickly one. And suicide is mentioned as a sometimes result of the chronic disability. But it’s not directly mentioned that many suicides are the result of (a) not having a support system and/or (b) not being believed simply b/c there are no test results to “prove” it!
So, what’s this called? (Or did we discover a new DSM stat?): …when your reality is questioned? “You’re not feeling that, you’re feeling this.” “It’s all in your head.” “See a psychiatrist.” “Life is fair.” “Work hard and you’ll succeed.” OK, I may have gotten a bit carried away… blah blah blah – you know, that. So, what’s that called?