I see your judging eyes watching me as I get out of my car that's parked in a handicapped spot. Sometimes I fake-limp so I won't feel guilty for parking there when I have every right. Having an invisible disability is so frustrating because people treat you like you're fine and don't believe you when you tell them you're not.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather you treat me like everyone else, but if it's at the cost of my mental and physical health, I refuse.

I have a condition that causes me daily pain called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS for short. This disorder causes pain in random places on my body at random times, and it's not the dull ache like a small headache; it's sharp and stabbing. Some days I have to call out at work because I can't walk due to the pain being localized in my ankle or knee. I used to be on Social Security, but I had to go to work to save money for college, and now I no longer get that check to help with doctor's appointment fees and whatnot. Truth be told, I'd much rather work than sitting at home all day, but I can't work when my pain is so bad.

I have a heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy that causes me daily problems if I don't take my medication on time or exercise and eat properly. With this invisible disability, I get shortness of breath, palpitations (my heart beats too fast to be regular), chest pain, or dizzy spells. Thank God, I haven't had a dizzy spell in close to three years now, but I experience the other symptoms sometimes two to three times a week or two to three times a day. I also am not able to participate in sports due to this heart condition. When I was told that, I thought I'd just be a coach or something or I could try to start a league for kids like me so they could experience a team that has similar heart problems. Instead, my mother got me interested in golf - the only sport I could play. I got good at it - good enough at it that I went to my school's end of year tournament (which is the equivalent to a championship game for other competitive sports).

The tissue that connects your muscles and skin together is called connective tissue (surprise, surprise). I have a problem called Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (or EDS for short). With EDS, I can dislocate my joints with abnormal ease. I can no longer do it on impulse as I built the muscle up enough that my muscles can hold my joints into place. I could also dislocate other organs in my body. My skin is abnormally stretchy, and my fingers are more flexible than normal. Another problem comes when I go to have surgery. My body burns off the anesthesia faster than normal people. I remember I once got a tooth removed and the dentist numbed me up to the point that they said I was going to be numb for hours. I had a 45-minute drive home from the office, and the numbing agent had worn off before I got to my front door. This is a sort of superpower in my eyes because then I'm not numb for as long, but it sucks because I start feeling the pain so much faster than regular people.

I have back problems that were mostly solved when I had leg surgery to correct the alignment in them, but every now and then I have a bad day where my back is in excruciating pain. This is caused by scoliosis and spina bifida. I was diagnosed with both when I was very young. Scoliosis is where the spine develops it grows into a curve. Sometimes the curve is big and requires immediate surgery upon discovery. Other times it requires a back brace to correct. Spina bifida is where the vertebrae of the spine develop the bones overlap and grow incorrectly. Both cause me immense pain and are incurable unless with surgery (and I am not about to subject myself to surgery as long as I can help it).

These invisible disabilities are difficult living with, and your judging eyes don't help me feel any more normal than I look.