Did you know July is Disability Pride Month?

I didn’t. 

Maybe it’s because I don’t feel pride when it comes to my invisible disability.

It’s more like resignation. Sometimes.

And sometimes it’s denial.

I don’t really know what it is, honestly, because having an invisible disability means I have a complicated relationship with my body. 

It’s a relationship that requires me to learn, and re-learn, what it means to be brave, to be strong, to be courageous, to ask for help, to say no.

And I have learned that just because it’s complicated and confusing, doesn’t mean it’s something I need to hide. Because the fact is, my invisible disability is a part of who I am. And it’s not going anywhere. And neither am I.

On that note, I’d like to share a link to a post I wrote last year for The Mighty. I think its message is an appropriate way to acknowledge Disability Pride Month. 

Click here to read my essay “There Is No Shame in Life With Chronic Illness.”