Why Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month Is About More Than Sharing a Ribbon
Before my first diagnosis, March was simply another month.
Now, it carries weight.
I live with two autoimmune diseases: Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis. March now represents bodies like mine—bodies that are fighting battles other people cannot always see.
March is Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, a time dedicated to increasing understanding of conditions that are frequently misunderstood, underrecognized, and invisible to the people around us.
It is a time to educate.
To advocate.
To amplify patient voices.
And to remind the world that someone does not have to look sick for their body to be fighting a very real battle.
For me, awareness is personal.
Crohn’s Disease causes chronic inflammation in my digestive tract.
Myasthenia Gravis disrupts communication between my nerves and muscles, causing weakness that can affect my ability to move, speak, swallow, hold up my head, and breathe.
Neither condition always announces itself to the outside world.
But both have changed my life.
🧬 What Autoimmune Disease Really Means
The immune system is supposed to protect the body from harmful invaders.
With autoimmune disease, that protective system mistakenly targets the body’s own healthy cells, tissues, or structures.
Depending on the disease, this misguided immune response may affect the digestive tract, joints, skin, nervous system, thyroid, connective tissue, blood vessels, or almost any other part of the body.
You may see different estimates for the number of autoimmune diseases. Some health organizations recognize more than 80, while other researchers and advocacy groups identify more than 100. The number varies partly because scientific understanding continues to develop and conditions may be defined or classified differently.
What does not vary is the reality that millions of people are living with them.
Some of us live with more than one.
The presence of multiple autoimmune diseases in the same person is known as polyautoimmunity.
For me, polyautoimmunity means living with both Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis—two conditions affecting my body in very different ways.
In Crohn’s, my immune system contributes to chronic inflammation in my digestive tract.
In MG, the immune response interferes with communication at the point where nerves send signals to muscles.
In other words, my immune system—the system assigned to protect me—occasionally behaves like an employee who completely misunderstood the job description.
Unfortunately, I cannot simply schedule a performance review. 😂
Autoimmune disease is not a bad day.
It is not “just stress.”
It is not something that can be overcome through positive thinking or willpower alone.
It is chronic.
It is unpredictable.
It is exhausting.
And it is frequently invisible.
🎭 The Invisible Weight
Many people living with chronic illness become skilled at masking their symptoms.
We show up.
We smile.
We work.
We parent.
We maintain relationships.
We lead.
We make jokes.
Meanwhile, we may be calculating how much energy we have left, managing pain, monitoring symptoms, locating the nearest bathroom, or wondering whether our bodies will cooperate long enough to complete the day.
A photograph captures a moment.
It does not capture the preparation required to reach that moment.
It does not show what happened before the picture was taken—or how long someone may need to recover afterward.
When someone tells me, “But you don’t look sick,” I understand that the comment may come from a reassuring place.
But it can still feel dismissive.
Autoimmune disease does not always announce itself.
Sometimes it whispers.
Sometimes it flares quietly.
Sometimes it causes pain behind a smile.
Sometimes it steals your breath in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day.
The absence of visible symptoms is not proof that someone is well.
💜 Awareness Is More Than a Ribbon
Awareness campaigns often include colors, ribbons, graphics, and hashtags. Those things can be valuable because they start conversations.
But awareness cannot end with a ribbon.
True awareness means listening when someone says they are tired—even when they appeared fine yesterday.
It means believing someone when they say something feels wrong.
It means understanding that chronic illness is not linear. Symptoms can fluctuate from one day to another and sometimes from one hour to the next.
Awareness means recognizing that rest is not laziness.
Canceling plans is not a lack of interest.
Using mobility aids is not giving up.
Accepting help is not weakness.
And treatment does not always mean cured.
Sometimes treatment reduces symptoms.
Sometimes it slows progression.
Sometimes it helps maintain stability.
Sometimes it allows someone to function just enough to continue participating in their own life.
Awareness also means discussing delayed diagnoses, inaccessible treatment, insurance barriers, employment challenges, disability, medical dismissal, and the emotional cost of repeatedly explaining an illness no one can see.
🫶🏽 If You Live With Autoimmune Disease
I see you.
I see the appointments.
The laboratory tests.
The insurance calls.
The medication side effects.
The treatment schedules.
The sudden energy crashes.
The symptoms you try to hide because you are tired of explaining them.
You are not dramatic for acknowledging your pain.
You are not lazy because your body requires rest.
You are not unreliable because your symptoms are unpredictable.
You are not weak because you need treatment, accommodations, mobility aids, breathing support, or help from the people around you.
You are navigating something complex, exhausting, and frequently misunderstood.
You are doing the best you can with a body that does not always follow the plan.
That counts.
🤝🏽 If You Love Someone With Autoimmune Disease
Your support matters more than you may realize.
Your patience matters.
Your flexibility matters.
Your willingness to listen matters.
Your belief matters.
You do not need to understand every medical term to be supportive, and you do not always need to offer a solution.
Sometimes the most helpful thing you can say is:
“I believe you.”
“How can I help?”
“Do you want advice, or do you just need me to listen?”
Grace often goes further than advice.
Understanding helps more than comparison.
And continuing to include someone—even when their participation looks different—can help reduce the isolation chronic illness creates.
📣 Why I Continue Sharing
March reminds me that sharing my journey is not oversharing.
It is educating.
It is advocating.
It is helping someone find language for an experience they may not know how to explain.
When I tell the truth about Crohn’s Disease and Myasthenia Gravis, I am not claiming that my experience represents everyone with either diagnosis.
Autoimmune diseases affect people differently.
Even two people with the same diagnosis may experience different symptoms, limitations, treatment responses, and daily realities.
I can only tell my story.
But my story may help another person feel seen.
It may help a family member understand.
It may encourage someone to ask another question, seek another opinion, or continue advocating when something does not feel right.
Awareness creates conversation.
Conversation can create understanding.
Understanding can create change.
That is why I keep sharing.
🎵 Music Playing…
“Brave” — Sara Bareilles
Because using your voice does not always mean speaking loudly.
Sometimes bravery is telling the truth about what hurts.
Sometimes it is asking for help.
Sometimes it is correcting misinformation.
Sometimes it is saying, “Something is wrong,” even when no one else can see it.
And sometimes it is sharing your story so another person knows they are not alone.
💭 Reflection Corner
Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month is not only about teaching people the names of different diseases.
It is about helping people understand the lives behind those diagnoses.
It is about recognizing symptoms that cannot be photographed.
It is about believing experiences we cannot personally see or feel.
And it is about making room for people whose bodies require them to move through the world differently.
Autoimmune disease may be invisible—but the people living with it should never feel unseen.
If you live with autoimmune disease, what is one thing you wish more people understood about your daily life?
If you love someone living with autoimmune disease, take time to ask what genuine support looks like for them. The answer may be simpler—and more meaningful—than you expect.
Thank you for spending time in my story today. Whether you are living with chronic illness, supporting someone who is, or simply learning, I am grateful you are here.
Until the next diary entry, remember: you are never alone on this journey. 💜
With honesty, hope, and a little humor,
Kia Lorice
Founder • Author • Advocate • Future Wellness Coach
The Dual Diagnosis Diaries
thedualdiagnosisdiaries.com
Leave a Reply