Guidance and Signposting for Life's Challenges
Somewhere along the way, we started treating help like a reward. Like something people have to earn.Prove.Justify. Instead of something given because someone is struggling. And that mindset is doing real harm. The “Deserving” Narrative We hear it all the time: “They should just work harder.”“They made bad choices.”“They shouldn’t have had kids.”“They should budget […]
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Hidden Disabilities Awareness Week might be ending, but the reality of living with an invisible condition goes on. Whether you live with fatigue, pain, trauma, neurodivergence, or mental illness — we hope this week has helped you feel seen, supported, and a little more understood. The truth is, it can feel incredibly isolating to carry […]
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Workplaces aren’t always designed with hidden disabilities in mind. And when your needs aren’t visible, they’re often ignored. You may be masking chronic pain, fatigue, sensory overwhelm or mental illness — all while trying to perform at the same pace as colleagues who aren’t facing the same barriers. Too many people burn out, quit, or […]
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When your disability is hidden, you often have to work twice as hard to be believed — especially when navigating systems like benefits, housing, health care, or employment. You may be told you ‘don’t look sick,’ ‘seem fine,’ or are ‘too articulate’ — as though being ill means losing your ability to speak or try. […]
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Fatigue isn’t just tiredness. It’s bone-deep exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. For people with conditions like ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, Long COVID, lupus, and even some mental health disorders, fatigue can be a full-body shutdown — often triggered by doing too much, too soon. This is where pacing comes in. It’s a self-management strategy that helps you […]
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Mental illness doesn’t always look how people expect. It doesn’t always come with tears, breakdowns, or visible crises. Sometimes it’s a quiet struggle — getting out of bed, masking anxiety, zoning out in conversations, or feeling like you’re carrying the weight of the world and no one notices. That’s the reality for many people living […]
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Next week, from 1–7 September, the Mark Hewitson Foundation is running our first ever *Hidden Disabilities Awareness Week.* It’s for everyone who’s ever been told:– “But you don’t look sick.”– “You seemed fine yesterday.”– “You’re just being dramatic.” Because disability isn’t always visible. Pain, trauma, fatigue, and neurodivergence don’t always come with a walking stick […]
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Living with chronic illness is exhausting. Not just the pain, the brain fog, the fatigue, the flare-ups… but the endless admin, the explaining, the guilt, the “you don’t look sick” comments. It’s a full-time job in survival — and most days, it pays in exhaustion. And some of the worst moments? They’re not even about […]
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Some disabilities you can see. Others you can’t. But just because it’s invisible doesn’t mean it’s not there. And if you live with a hidden disability — physical, mental, sensory, neurological, or autoimmune — then you already know how exhausting it can be. Not just living with the symptoms, but *proving* them to people who […]
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At the Mark Hewitson Foundation, we see it all the time — someone comes to us for support after a traumatic event or diagnosis, but the truth is, they’ve often been holding it together long before things fell apart. We know that mental and physical health don’t live in separate boxes. They are tangled, messy, […]
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