Diseases, disorders, and conditions that aren't fatal but are definitely serious, because they screw with your life. They range from the relatively minor, such as migraines, PMS, a bad back, or psoriasis, to the more extreme such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and diabetes. All of these have to potential to wreak havoc with your lifestyle. Your accustomed hobbies, your job, your normal relationships--these may all become difficult or even impossible to maintain. And you won't get much sympathy, because it's not life-threatening, now is it? Feh.
Moreover, a lot of lifestyle-threatening conditions aren't immediately obvious to the casual observer, so you'll catch a lot of flak for using the handicapped restroom or taking the elevator when you're obviously young and healthy.
Chin up, though. The instant you DO mention such a condition, you'll find out that lots of people have them, and most of them are worse off than you are. |
