People who have 'infamous' medical conditions (Cancer, Schizophrenia, OCD, MS etc), what do people assume about you and your condition, but not truly understand?

1. I had and still have childhood cancer (16M, relapse) - When I got the news I was in remission, everyone around me was ecstatic. However, some people assumed that since I was "cured," I was instantly healthy, and that there was no chance the cancer could come back. Just because I am in remission doesn't mean I don't have outpatient treatment or that I don't have to deal with the long-term side effects. (For me- Fatigue, hearing loss in one ear, numbness/tingling in my body at times)
   — johnsonsmashedpotato


2. Hi. Schizoaffective depressive type/schizophrenic diagnosis. I put the slash because I’m pending a change from Schizoaffective to schizophrenic, based on the fact that my psychotic symptoms do not wane with my mood symptoms and are far more prevalent. I am actually extremely private about my disorder. I didn’t tell my best friend until we’d been friends for five years. I have exes who have no clue. I have family just now finding out. Anyways, so when people find out they ask me what it’s like. Best way I can describe it, is being afraid all the time. Someone is always out to get you. Someone is looking for you. Someone is trying to kill you. Your paranoia sits and mocks you in the form of devils sitting on your shoulder, whispering, hissing rather, about how you’re such a bad person because you made a mistake, and now you’re paying the price. You write down notes where you hope you’ll find them when the fog of delusion and depression sets in. Reminders that you ate, and what it was you ate. When the laundry was last done. The bills that have been paid, need to be paid. Hell, your work schedule. Subtle reminders that you’re alive and well, despite what the devils are hissing into your ear. Because when you go down the rabbit hole, there’s no certainty in even your own heartbeat. Sometimes, they’re keeping you alive just to watch you suffer because you aren’t eating, you aren’t bathing and a weeks gone by and you’ve only slept four hours. It’s much less about the hallucinations, which are more auditory and much less purple people, and more about this rabbit hole of perverted fantasy that you slip into. You try and try to claw your way to the top, but the more you struggle, the more your mind slips away into the ether below you until you’re gone until lucidity wraps you in her sweet embrace once more hours, days, even weeks later...
   — SixxFour


3. Not sure if this is "infamous", but I'm diabetic (type one). People always make comments about how I gave myself diabetes by eating sugary foods, or now I can't eat something because I'm diabetic. It's quite ignorant, and often people will try tell me they can cure my diabetes with whatever diet or exercise routine. Uhmm... no. My pancreas doesn't produce insulin. No amount of diet or exercise will change that!
   — SalRider






4. I got exposed to some nasty chemicals about 4 years ago. Afterwards I developed MS despite being extremely healthy forever. My girlfriend always assumed that the fatigue I was describing up to my diagnosis was just lack of sleep, yet I could sleep for 12 hours a day and still always be tired. When you say you are tired, people just tell you that you need to go to bed earlier, or eat breakfast, or work out more. When you say it is fatigue, not being sleepy, people think you are making it up. In reality it is like there is a barrier that you must step through on every step. Like you are always walking through deep snow. But with MS, you don't feel that bad every day. So one day I would be in bed unable to walk down my stairs, the next I would feel pretty decent. Got medication, feel much better all of the time now. Flare-ups are rare. My other least favorite thing is people thinking you are broken or lazy. Before my diagnosis I went from 200 pounds to 250 pounds in like 3 months because my body just shit out on me. Again, got medication and am back at my old healthy weight.
   — TEFLthrowaway241


5. Asthma and clinical depression. Asthma - Apparently when they see me running late to class, running to my car in heavy rain that I'll just drop dead at any second. Not at all. It's just a bit harder for me to catch my breath afterwards. I'm still a normal functioning person. Clinical depression.. Where do I begin. The best way to understand is that.. No, I am not 100% sad all the time. It comes in waves. I can have a good day but as soon as I get home, cozy and quiet with my music playing that's when it starts getting bad. Some days and nights I feel absolutely normal. Some mornings I cry and question everything. My depression isn't trying to find a reason to keep living, it's more so trying to muster up the confidence to do anything. It's not a state of mind either. Saying "Do something that makes you happy....to make you happy" will not do shit. When you're on facebook, certain subreddits, pinterest and you see those black, dark brown, greyish photos with a super depressive quote attached to it.. those are some nights. Every night is not like that but they definitely happen.
   — IxuntouchblexI


6. OCD - people assume it’s all about orderliness and organization. I’m very much a perfectionist but that’s completely separate from my OCD. People also assume that my OCD only consists of what’s noticeable to others - checking things repeatedly, rewriting words, pressing buttons a certain way, etc. In reality, even when I’m not physically acting on a compulsion, the thoughts are constant and exhausting. There isn’t a single moment in the day when I’m not listing things in my head, repeating words or phrases to myself, rereading things until they don’t seem real anymore, or tracing elaborate patterns in my head that have developed over the years. Or, most often, doing some combination of all of these. I hope this post gets some traction, I’m curious to see other responses.
   — mitochondria420_






7. I have Tourette's. No I do not swear. Tourette's is a tic disorder. To have it you need to exhibit two motor tics and one vocal tic for at least a month or so I believe is the diagnosis conditions. A tic is just a semi-involuntary movement or something. Like eye blinking, or throat clearing. Yes, semi-involuntary. I can not do it if I want but it's terrible and has to come out eventually. Coprolalia is when you burst out bad words. It's very uncommon in people with Tourette's. I believe it's like 3% of people with Tourette's have that.
   — Baltowolf


8. Depression isn't sadness so much as it is apathy. Edit: I should say *my* depression. It varies from person to person.
   — yinyang107


9. Having ADHD does not mean I'm stupid. No, I'm not lazy either. It just takes me about 3 times as long to finish most tasks because I feel like my brain is resetting every 15 seconds. People with ADHD also more capable than people realize. It can be easy to be forgetful and miss an assignment but with a solid routine, it's possible for us to do well in school.
   — SweetPinkDinosaur






10. I have autism (High-Functioning) and people assume that just because i have autism, I'm all HURRRDURRR. All i really have are social skill problems and trouble paying attention. That's all basically. Not HURRDURR.
    — Sp3ak_