People with invisible disabilities are often stigmatized because they can't do things that non-disabled people can do. People with invisible disabilities (IDs) will often have to say, "No, I can't do that" or need some accommodations, when they look perfectly normal. This can be a struggle for both the disabled person, who may be hesitant about asking, and for the person who asked in the first place, and isn't sure if the person is lazy, disabled, or just trying to play with their mind.
Invisible disabilities often make exercise very difficult, so many people with IDs put on weight. And in today's culture, people who are overweight are stigmatized and looked down on. I have been talking to one person who struggles with several IDs and needs to use an electric scooter to get around. She has had people literally stop her in the shopping center and tell her she's lazy to be using the scooter. Assuming she's just using the scooter because she's fat, and not because she's disabled. Prejudices like this is something the ID community desperately needs to address.
Another stigma that people with IDs face is using disabled parking spots. On one Fibromyalgia mailing list many people reported not using their disabled parking permits to park in the special places unless they were absolutely desperate, because they couldn't face the looks and finger-pointing and even face-to-face confrontations that happen when an apparently healthy person steps out of a car in a handicapped zone. I recognize that these people think they are doing the Right Thing but people need to learn, still, that not everybody who's disabled has a wheelchair, a white cane, or missing body-parts.
Some invisible disabilities, such as Chrone's Disease, Ulcerative Collitis and IBS, force sufferers to make frequent - and often urgent - trips to the bathroom and possibly even the occasional accident. This can lead to teasing of the sort that, "Only little kids have accidents" and severe embarrassment for the sufferer.
Laziness is probably the number one stigma that people with IDs face. When you look like a normal person, but spend much of your time in bed or lying on the sofa, it's a simple step for people who don't "Get It" to assume you're just being lazy. It's hard for them to understand it's not laziness but necessity that makes people with IDs to less that normal people. If I was just lazy, folks, I wouldn't be skipping my friends' midwinter party and going out to the library, as well as skipping the housework. I wouldn't be crying about being left out - again - of whatever my friendship group are up to this weekend. If I was just lazy, I'd do the fun stuff.
So if you see somebody doing, or being, or acting a certain way and your first response is to think they're putting it on, think again. Maybe they are doing their best, trying with all they have, and this is just how they are. Be gentle with your assumptions and slow to criticize. If you wonder, perhaps even go up and ask if the person would like a bit of help! Most people with IDs would be happy to explain what's going on, and perhaps you could do something to aid them.
