Lilybear, It was really sweet of you to respond to my post, so I'm going to return the favor and respond to yours!! Yes, I have definitely had this issue. With some people, there's just nothing I can do or say to help them understand, so I just kind of detach from them and say brief noncommital things like, oh, or you might be right or thanks i'll give that some thought.
With other people, giving them something to read about it helps tremendously!! Like my husband. He always thinks EVERYTHING is in my head at first. He can't help it, it's just the way he was brought up. But he's very logical and scientific so if I give him something to read that explains it, then he TOTALLY gets it and becomes SO supportive and actually helps explain it to other people.
And yes, sometimes people have unrealistic expectations of me. A friend of mine says an expectation is a premeditated resentment! Isn't that funny? Or it would be if it weren't so true. One of the biggest, most helpful life lessons I've learned is that I can stand to have people mad at me. It's uncomfortable at first, but with a lot of practice, I've gotten very comfortable with letting them have their feelings and not letting them affect me.
I've learned that the only one I can count on to give me the support I need, is ME!! And the more support I give myself, the less I need it from people who just can't give it. I still love those people, they're still my family and friends, I just don't discuss my IBS with them!!
Hope this helps, sweetie, and thanks for your suggestions to my post.
Hang in there!!
-------------------- Laura
Keep it simple!
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