Don't Laugh. It's Not Funny. It's My Life.

As a person with extensive physical limitations, I am often asked, "How are you?" and/or "Are you okay?".   I need help understanding what type of response to provide to this question. I am okay in many ways and then not also in many ways. That is no different than any other human I know. Here's the catch: people expect only positive responses in my world. When I respond truthfully, I get the look or verbal responses roughly translating to "SHUT THE HELL UP!". More often than not, I should be asking you, "Are you okay?" or better yet, "Are you stuck?". That is because I am finally living how I want to live when so many are not.   Some questions for you... 1. Are you living the life you want? 2. Do you have partners/friends that make your life happy and healthy? 3. Do you like to explore and learn? If not, why? 4. Do you like your job? 5. Are you healthy? If you cannot answer these questions positively, please do not ask me if I am o...

For my entire life, I have heard the expression, "I can't imagine...".  The thing is, we CAN imagine.  People say that as a response to something they deem as pretty terrible when they are listening and want to convey something like, "WOW, THAT SUCKS SO BAD."  instead of saying, "I can imagine. Do you want to share how bad things are?"  That's what I want to do!!! However, in small doses.  I WANT TO BE HEARD. I have a CHRONIC problem.  It will not go away and is always with me, and it is BAD.   Unfortunately, my issues are not the most popular conversation topics, and almost everybody thinks they should shut me down and tell me how lucky I am when I start talking.  I get into arguments trying to convince friends and strangers that things are NOT great.  Then the solution ideas start coming.  What if you did _________?  How about trying  _________ ? You really need to  _________ .  How do so many people know what ...

The word "brutal" describes my life and that of my spouse over the last two years.  However, when we have attempted to say how bad things are, it does not resonate with anyone because we do not look the part of two people slogging through the hardest years of their lives.   We are moving back home next month after a little over two years since we started our home remodel in late 2020 and moved out to our temporary home, GRACIOUSLY provided by my father, on February 6, 2021.  We consider ourselves LUCKY, and we have had a TON of HELP from more than a few people, so we are GRATEFUL, but we do not want those feelings to overshadow the full experience. BRUTAL:  I continue to decline physically, and at this point, I have lost about 60-75% of my ability to physically function as a "normal" human. It is hard for everyone, including me, to understand that there is nothing more I can do to help myself over everything I already do, which is OVERWHELMING.  BRUTAL:...