I'm Not Pretending!
For me, the most frustrating thing is not being believed when the topic of my migraine disease comes up. I married into a family that summarily dismissed anything that was not visible to the naked eye. A bone wasn't really broken unless the jagged bone protruded from the place where it hurt and a person wasn't really allergic to gluten unless they could watch that person break out in hives and watch their face turn red for lack of oxygen. So, the thought of an invisible disease like migraine disease was easily dismissed for lack of evidence.
The invisibility of pain = disbelief from others
The day my monster-in-law, excuse me, mother-in-law was on the phone, accepting an invitation to a family picnic, she finished with a head count of all who would attend, with the caveat, "That is of course unless Cookie decides to have one of her migraines." From that time forward, I was hesitant to let them know if I was experiencing any migraine symptoms. The time I began to have trouble speaking with what I now know is called "vocabulary salad", she made sure I could hear her ask my ex if I'd been drinking.
Being completely dismissed by my family
It's bad enough to deal with all the symptoms associated with migraines, but being discounted after trying to push through attacks made me feel completely unwelcome by my in-laws. Putting that family in the "ex" category didn't help with the migraines but at least I don't feel like some sort of weak failure for having them.
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