Isolation

With chronic illness that is often misunderstood there comes a bit of isolation. Even though, I am surrounded by people all day (at work and home) - I often feel as if I am moving through it alone. You don't tell people how your feeling, the mask of "I'm OK" is on and takes most of your energy to keep it on and looking well, the pain and fatigue makes it difficult to carry on a conversation or to truly listen to someone else.

It's almost like if your in a crowded mall, and your trying to get through the crowd without bumping into anyone - only it's every day and everywhere.

If you break these barriers then you get unsolicited advice, disbelief, or questions regarding shouldn't you push through. Even for those, that do "believe" that something is wrong (because they can truly see the decline) to bring it up is taboo for some reason.

Wouldn't it be great, if we could all take down our fake faces and barriers and come out of isolation?