(Excuse me: I need to vent) Sometimes you run into someone who really really doesn't get the whole chronic illness thing.
I have been dealing with a "mystery illness" for years (chronic fatigue, chronic body pain, various weird symptoms like brain fog, toe cramps and numbness in my extremities) that my PCP thought was autoimmune but the rheumatologist originally said was too early to diagnose as my symptoms were too vague (as of 2023).
Fast forward to 2026 and my symptoms have progressed (read: worsened) to where my doctor has narrowed things down to maybe 2-3 possibilities and thinks it's most likely rheumatoid arthritis.
So I talked to a family member yesterday who asked why I wasn't feeling well and I explained.
She acted like being diagnosed with RA was such a tragedy, and my symptoms "could be a lot of things," and referred to RA as being "so terrible".
So... you're going to make someone feel horrible about the disease they've just been diagnosed with. And you are trying to sow doubt about the diagnosis the doctor has given them even though you have zero training in medicine.
It felt like she thought the doctor gave me a disease, not a diagnosis, and I should fight back against the "bad" diagnosis so I wouldn't be so sick.
Do supportive families exist or are they a myth?