Yes, it has certainly also been my experience that people do not acknowledge pain that they cannot physical observe in us through the use of a wheelchair, walker, etc. When I am having an extremely bad day painwise, I tend to break into bad sweats and get very red in face (normally my skin is really fair). It has only been after observing that over time that my family really began to see how excruciating my pain truly is. It really hurts to have your family think that you are a "drug seeker" or a "lazy individual," especially after how hard we have all worked to keep it together in light of the pain we are in everyday. What I hear nowadays that brings me some comfort is, "I don't know what to say. I don't know what I would do in your situation, and I can't imagine being in it." By saying that, it as though it is being acknowledged that loved ones don't understand the position we're in and do not judge us for how we handle it since they now know that they don't have the background to tell us how we should be handling it. Unfortunately, it took getting a harsh diagnosis and several years of pain before I received this kind of empathy from others.