(I can’t believe this needs to be explained.)
Having chronic illness or “invisible disability” can often put one in a position of needing to “act sick” to get support needed. That is, chronic health conditions can affect people differently from acute injury or illness, but the expectation of behavior does not adjust to this difference.
If someone is not acting the same way a person with an acute condition or injury does, they are deemed suspicious and therefore support or accommodation may be withheld.
To navigate this and other issues of access and gatekeeping around social, financial and environmental support, disabled people often find themselves giving the impression of being well at times and at other times they may “act sick” or “act injured”. This “acting” is presenting and responding to symptoms, pain and physical sensations in a way that is comfortable and familiar for others who do not frequently experience pain or illness, even while the “actor” is currently legitimately ill or injured due to a chronic condition or disability.
Otherwise, they may run the risk of not just inconvenience but potential physical health consequences from denial of support and services.
When accusations of disingenuousness around health conditions appear, it can be particularly damaging because there is often extremely complex navigation required to obtain effective care. Understanding and validation of chronic illness and disability are too often through the lens of an abled person, who will then use the contrast of their abled experience to make accusations of dishonesty.
It can feel like every message you receive as a disabled person says you need to be someone else. Even when seeking treatment and services, you can not be disabled or with a chronic health condition. You are compelled to present as abled and align with the behavior of those experiencing acute symptoms, unrelated to long-term conditions, or your self-reported narrative can’t possibly be reliable.
This, of course, can and does affect our quality of care, quality of life and ultimately our survival.
Thoughtistic 