What’s weird about this for me: I was married to a Navy vet who, after nearly fifteen years in service, couldn’t go on those 10-mile hikes on the aircraft carrier any more, so after testing for everything they could, it came down to MS. I was with him for…in total…uh…five years.
My son is Aspy. Or ASD. First diagnosed as ADD at 5, then ADHD, then w/Tourette’s (the 1990s and early 2000s, I spent a lot of time at his school and doctors’ offices and trying to work - basically on my own), it wasn’t until he was 15 or 16 that Asperger’s/ASD would be the diagnosis that fit him best. Now, at nearly 29, he’s been diagnosed as ASD, plush adult ADHD (never really doubted those two) with depression and unspecified learning disability (hah? Still don’t get that one.)
I guess until one either has a “condition” or is close to someone who does, one may be aware it exists, but one doesn’t comprehend just how much the “condition” impacts lives. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE, lol.
And I’ve only seen “Rain Man” once, and I didn’t really watch it. I’ve also never watched one episode of “The West Wing”.
Point well taken, and to be clear, I was referring to the general public “getting” things (at least on some basic level) - in this case general public meaning people who don’t know anybody personally.
That’s why I know more about MS from The West Wing than anywhere else, because that’s the only place I’ve encountered more than a brief mention it - a character has it and is shown having symptoms and attacks, and a doctor explains what it is. Whether it’s perfectly accurate I don’t know, but the point is that with regards to any medical condition, this is the kind of thing that actually helps with awareness - because it’s not just wearing a wristband or whatever, it’s viscerally showing you what it is. Not the same as living with somebody with MS obviously, but no awareness campaign or charity walk or reading about it on the internet will really give me even as much understanding as the TV show did.
I know about autism because I am autistic (Asperger’s etc.), and I’ve seen firsthand the power that Rain Man and Atypical have on people - even people who know me well - to bring them to a point of understanding what it really is (and isn’t) and why I may act certain ways. Some argue that Rain Man did more harm in the long run since most autistic people are not savants (e.g. I am honestly pretty bad with numbers), but hey, it makes me cry every time, and for an emotionless robot like me that’s a plus in my book.
Your message struck a chord with me though because I wasn’t diagnosed as a child (though a lot of things from my childhood make so much sense now). I lived with it my whole life without knowing or understanding (and thus not being able to do anything to address the inevitable problems) - even though, yes, I saw Rain Man as a kid (Atypical may have been more useful to me as a kid). I became more aware of autism and what it is and what it looks like around the same time I started having serious issues integrating into society in college and grad school (the first place where it really mattered to my success in life), and eventually put two and two together, and over subsequent years have been able to address it in positive ways.
But again what I’m saying is directly echoing your point - even people living with things often aren’t aware of them. How do we raise awareness and show solidarity in a truly meaningful way (not the superficial ways the topic was originally about)? I don’t know.
Well said. I’ve known a couple of people with BPD and even psychiatrists and counselors have trouble with that although they’ve professionally studied it. It can take years of other diagnoses before they ultimately hit on that one. Of course, they only see the person for an hour at a time on rare occasions in one controlled setting. And it tends to coexist with other problems which complicates things.
I don’t think any ribbon or pledge or walk could raise awareness of what it’s like. And just knowing that it exists isn’t really much.
I’m sorry if my reply came off as some sort of a making a point, because I was merely trying to relate my experiences of awareness vs. impact. I’m in total agreement with you re the general public.
I hope it was a good chord! Like a B or something.
Thanks. And I LOVE YOUR AVATAR!
Well, whether you meant to make a point or not, I appreciated your thoughts and thought it worth replying to and expanding on since it was an important aspect I didn’t touch on, and our experiences are different 
True, but if it spreads then you have a significantly larger issue. So saving the breasts is a really good place to start with saving the person…
yes, I have old Dr. Who on the brain, sorry (although, since Red Nose Day is an awareness/fundraising thing, I suppose it’s not too off the topic…)