Joee,
I experienced this a few years ago, when I was still in the process of confirming my diagnosis, and became so ill that I wasn't really able to participate in life as I normally had before. I had to start working exclusively from home, and rarely was able to keep up with any social engagements with friends and family. I, too was a historically social and energetic person, so it took a lot of people by surprise that I was now barely able to leave my home unless absolutely necessary.
Now, 3 or so years later, most of the people close to me have gained an understanding of just what I've had to go through battling this disease, and how it wears on people, not just physically and psychologically, but also emotionally. I've found that most people, even the kindest and most well-meaning, genuinely do not have an understanding of how insidious and debilitating this disease can be, and, often times, just flat-out do not know what the appropriate thing to say is.
Illnesses, especially ones that they do not understand, have a way of making people feel uncomfortable sometimes, which can sometimes lead to "word vomit" or impulsive, inappropriate, or insensitive comments.
For me, just gaining an understanding of that general concept, makes me a lot more forgiving when dealing with people who may not always say the right thing in reference to my health struggles.
That being said, there are some people out there (and we all know a few) that are just complete ******s and could truly care less about
what anyone else is going through. Those kinds of people I've learned to avoid, distance myself from, or cut out of my life completely. I think it's important to try and discern between those that make insensitive comments because of a general lack of understanding, and those who make them because they genuinely just don't care.
Post Edited (Intuition) : 10/9/2017 4:05:24 AM (GMT-6)