One of the aspects of chronic illness that some people seem to have a hard time time understanding is that if you have a job, plans with friends, chores or any other activity people might expect you to do, you can’t simply “push through” your symptoms and participate. Even if you don’t “look” sick or “seemed fine yesterday,” that doesn’t mean your symptoms aren’t a big deal. Exerting energy you don’t really have can lead to even more fatigue and pain the next day, so it can actually be dangerous for you to force yourself to do things — making it frustrating when people urge you to “just push through” anyway.

So when someone does suggest that you push through your illness, what do you say in response? Of course, you don’t owe anyone an explanation of your illness and the choices you make, and if you’re more comfortable simply ignoring the comment or changing the subject, that’s completely OK! But sometimes, you might want to explain why their question is misguided or even hurtful (especially if the comment is coming from someone you interact with regularly), or at least have some sort of response ready to go since it can be hard figuring out what to say in the moment. So we asked our Mighty community to share a “comeback” you could use when someone asks you to “push through” your illness.

Hopefully, these responses can help correct and inform others about the reality of chronic illness and why their question can do more harm than good.

Here’s what our Mighty community shared: