Great interview MM. I adore Lene. She is an inspiration to us all. I have learned so much from her and from you as well. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to you and Lene for all of your help.
I feel that I have two homes where I truly feel safe and comfortable, where I can ask questions and not fell embarrassed, where I can relate with people like me and those homes for me are MyRACentral and MyDepressionConnection. I have learned so, so much from both of these sites. They have been a life saver for me.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago, even thought I feel that I have had RA for much longer and I have been struggling with depression my whole life. My depression got much worse after I was diagnosed with RA, I must admit. The RA was "the straw that broke the camel's back" so to speak, for me. I had a really, really hard time with being diagnosed with a chronic illness in addition to being an ACoA and struggling with depression. I had myself a huge almost 4 year "Pity Party". I am now beginning to get my head above water again and working with a therapist specializing in cognitive behavior therapy. She has been a life saver for me as well.
I know that I still am and probably always will struggle with the RA, the medications, my depression and etc. but I am beginning to become ok with it and finding positives in my life again. I believe that knowledge is power and just learning from you MM, Lene, my therapist and everyone at MyDepressionconnection and MyRACentral has made a world of difference in my life. THANK YOU MM, LENE AND EVERYONE HERE! Peace! 
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I think you especially nailed the acceptance part really well, Lene, and the family, friends and work part, too.
Acceptance, once done, is not then forever. Some days it's impossible to reconcile everything we are feeling that day, or hour, and we don't need to feel guilty about it. The pain is real, and sometimes so overpowering, that, Acceptance, packs it's bags and doesn't recognize us at all. To keep it near and have it, and sometimes families, stay home, is hard.
Trying to explain some physical or mental disability, or pain, the intensity, the eternity of it, the difficulty, is always so hard; we all have been on both ends of it. It's not something anyone wants for themselves. We can imagine with all empathy and sincerity, but we can't know, not really, unless we wear the same shoes.
I understood your outlook, especially the part about school, about how you felt. I went to a parochial grade school and a public high school and do not remember ever seeing anyone in a wheel chair. Of course, there was nothing to assist someone even get in the door, or to a rest room.
Thank you for sharing part of your life, I'm glad you found something which helps to some degree, the pain.
it's one of the reasons I love community such as this - regardless of what challenges we have, we understand to a much deeper degree the issues others face in terms of reef, acceptance, etc. Whether it's depression, rheumatoid arthritis, other autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease - it's a shorter trip for us to understand in ways healthy people can't. That's not to say they can't offer comfort and support, but that true understanding, that restful "click" of feeling known, is something that I've found only in other people who are living withchronic illnesses or disabilities.