Feel Embarrassed

Learning to talk with other people about your condition is another ingredient in accepting your illness. Doing research for my book that is this blog, I read many posts on Sickle Cell forums. I was surprised to learn how many young people wonder if they should tell their friends or family they have Sickle Cell Anemia. Perhaps you are wondering the same thing. My answer to that question is yes. Absolutely, yes!

Before discussing why I believe it’s so important to be open and honest with people about your condition, I’ll quickly go over some of the reasons why some people may not want to tell others they have Sickle Cell.

FEEL EMBARRASSED

Some feel a need to hide their illness because they are embarrassed about being sick. If this is true for you, please, do your best to not let yourself feel this way. Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic disease you were born with. Neither you nor your parents did anything wrong to “cause” you to be born with it.

Unfortunate as it is, disease is a normal part of the human experience. In fact, research shows nearly 1 in 2 Americans—that’s about 133 million people in the United States—have some kind of chronic condition. Of those 133 million people, 96% live with an “invisible illness.”  An invisible illness means the individual doesn’t need to use a walker, wheelchair, or cane. From the outside they look perfectly healthy. Sickle Cell is generally an invisible illness. With so many sick people in the world, you and I have nothing to be embarrassed about. Disease is a struggle, not an embarrassment.