Editor’s note: This post was written as the third installment of NeuroClastic and BLM757’s campaign for suicide prevention, #NoDejahVu and #SelfieForSuicidePrevention. To learn more, please click here.
“That’s not possible.”
“But you’re too ______.”
“It must not be that bad.”
Adults with invisible disabilities aren’t strangers to the extra stress and anxiety caused by their experiences within the medical system. The lack of acknowledgement of and regard for hidden conditions is not uncommon, and even when validated, physicians frequently deny patients their formal diagnoses.
Many chronically ill people are familiar with some variation of the journey to medical acceptance and the accompanying depression that sneaks in along the way:
Able-bodied, minority, female and non-bindary adults with invisible conditions sometimes spend decades ceaselessly fighting the same battle for recognition while doing all they can to support themselves.
They attempt to juggle work or school, ambitions, appointments ,and social or love lives and expectations while being subjected to medical discrimination, dated research, or withheld support because of physical impressions or ability to maintain some standard deemed “acceptable”–even if unsustainable.
For many, depression is acknowledged long before the condition for which a diagnosis is being sought, or even worse, the depression is instead blamed for the health struggles that continue to be discounted.
However, in cases like these, it’s frequently not the actual conditions that lead to the depression, but the sacrifices required, stress undergone, and trials faced just to be recognized in the medical system as symptoms become more difficult to manage.
Depression has become such a critical focus in the past few years, but depression is often a direct result of not being understood. And while it’s known that substances, genetics, environment, stress, and medical conditions can all be contributing factors, isn’t it about time for medical professionals to address and confess to the roles they play in mental health as well?