Invisible Illness
When you can see symptoms, hear pain and touch scars, you can sympathize with sickness. But sometimes, it wears a mask. This week, Piya speaks with people whose disabilities, disorders and diseases live beneath the surface and asks: What's it like to live with 'invisible illness'?
Here are the stories from this week's episode...
'Some people spell ADHD... as N-U-T-S'
When we talk about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]... we usually talk about young people. Russ LeBlanc was diagnosed with it when he was 49. Russ speaks with Piya about the misconceptions he faces as an adult -- of being crazy or exaggerating -- when he discloses it to others.
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Getting stuck with the 'not sick enough' stigma
Madison Louise Rambeau is a 17-year-old who has anxiety and a form of depression called dysthymia. She describes how she's been written off because people can't see mental illness... and how that invalidation can exacerbate her struggles.
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In the fallout of the 'M-bomb'
Multiple sclerosis is unpredictable. You don't really know which symptoms you will have, or when they'll set in. Shane Rempel found out he has MS last year. Daneil Miller was diagnosed over a decade ago. We pair them up to hear how their attitudes about the disease are different, and discover what they can learn about living with MS from each other.
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Living with narcolepsy: 'I hate myself sometimes'
Alex Haagaard has received a laundry list of diagnoses: narcolepsy, fibromyalgia, chronic migraine, irritable bowel syndrome and more. She talks to Piya about how this affects her ability to live what society deems a "productive" life, and feeling invisible when doctors don't take her seriously.
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This mother hid her cancer from her daughter for 12 years
When Jessica Stinner was growing up, her mom Grace had cancer. But Grace chose not to disclose her disease to her children. We listen in on a conversation between mother and daughter about the intention and impact of withholding illness.
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When putting a face to your 'invisible illness' hides it even more
Tyson Busby and Sonia Seguin both had eating disorders. But neither of them fit the stereotype we tend to hold about people living with them. They discuss how appearance, gender and race can conceal illnesses from others, and why that invisibility made it hard to get help.
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Turning autism into an advantage at work
Jonathan Andrews is young, ambitious and autistic. As he set out on his career, he also started working to get employers to understand why they should go the extra mile to boost the neurodiversity in their ranks.
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This episode originally aired on March 11, 2017