Hey Era. Every time I make myself vulnerable for even a second and confide in someone regarding my Body Dysmorphia Disorder, I invariably get some version of the dismissive comment seen in the thread title. This also happens when I slip up and mention how bad my legs hurt (hips are bone on bone with arthritis in all leg joints since I was about 30).
This thread isn't specifically about BDD or athritis per se, but have many of you encountered something similar with invisible physical/mental disorders that people simply won't grasp the severity of, and how do you counter it?
Also a great time to reiterate that empathy does not equal sympathy. No one ever actually wants or needs sympathy; sympathy just twists an experience to fit into our frame of reference. Empathy - actually trying to understand someone's point of view from their perspective, not ours - is the real deal.
This thread isn't specifically about BDD or athritis per se, but have many of you encountered something similar with invisible physical/mental disorders that people simply won't grasp the severity of, and how do you counter it?
Also a great time to reiterate that empathy does not equal sympathy. No one ever actually wants or needs sympathy; sympathy just twists an experience to fit into our frame of reference. Empathy - actually trying to understand someone's point of view from their perspective, not ours - is the real deal.