From skeptics to know-it-alls to helpers, here are the people you face as you live with arthritis and how to deal with them.

No one knows your chronic illness better than you do, yet you find that everyone has an opinion about what you are going through.

I have been chronically ill for almost seven years now and the most life-changing aspects of my chronic illnesses have been linked to specific types of people. I have found that others are responsible for some of the best lessons I have learned — good and bad — without even knowing it.

Here are five types of people we all meet living with chronic illness.

Type 1: The Skeptics

I look perfectly healthy. I could sit across from someone for hours and they may not see a single symptom raging behind my chitchat and smiles. I can feel well and productive for hours and then be curled up in pain, nauseated, dizzy and weak for the next several hours or days. That is difficult for most people to understand, imagine or even believe. And living with chronic illness, chances are you have dealt with people who refuse to believe you are sick or the extent of how sick you are. How do you deal with the skeptics in your life?

Be clear and confident when you address the skeptics and never apologize for their doubt. If people continue to question you, the best thing you can do is not share details of your health with them. If they are more trouble then they are worth, feel free to remove them from your life altogether.

Type 2: The Know-it-Alls

The know-it-alls are probably the most obnoxious people you will meet because they claim to know all about your illness. These know-it-alls are usually well-meaning family, friends, acquaintances or even strangers who think they are helping. It often takes a lot of patience and self-control to deal with them but the truth is, they are quite harmless. Unfortunately, however, their advice can be quite outrageous.

Such examples include:

"Gluten causes so many problems. If you give it up, all your health worries will be behind you."

"Oh, my sister's boyfriend's niece has fibromyalgia and she is now in remission after she started taking Vitamin D supplements!"

A personal favorite I have heard: "You know a lot of these autoimmune diseases don’t really exist. It is just the doctors working with the drug companies to make themselves all rich."

While know-it-alls are annoying, most of them actually believe they are helping. Thank them for their advice and resist the urge to throw an object at them.

Type 3: The Scolders

These people berate and scold you for using disability services or for making a not-so-healthy food choice. To them, if you do not appear sick or disabled, then you don’t belong in a handicap parking spot. Or if you have symptoms, they blame them on the food or lifestyle choices they assume you make rather than your illness.

These people do not believe or understand or even care that you are chronically ill. They will write off your bad days and then call you out when you are having a good day. They want to pick a fight with you and jump at every opportunity to downplay the days where you are feeling tired and ill. These people are nothing but a reminder that even though we are sick, we don’t look it.

Pay no attention to the scolders because even if you broke it all down into small pieces, they will still doubt your illness and any accommodations you need. There is little you can do to change their attitudes so don’t let them take space in your mind or your life.

Type 4: Those Who Try to Understand

There are people that will make the effort to "get it," even though they don’t. The point is they are trying. This person cares for you immensely and will watch you like a hawk from afar to make sure you don’t experience any unnecessary inconveniences. They won't smother you with love and kindness but they would like to. They also hurt simply seeing you hurt.

They carry your burden as if it was theirs but they don’t always actually lighten your load. Sometimes they make you feel guilty. All you can do is love these people back because you know how lucky you are to have them.

Type 5: Those Who Know Exactly What You Are Going Through

It is very easy to feel alone in your struggles and suffering with chronic illness, especially when you don’t know a lot people going through the same thing. But sometimes, you get to meet people who know exactly what you are going through.

Support groups are great places to meet the people who have experienced what you’ve experienced. These people have been in your situation and triumphed. They offer you room to vent and much needed advice.

You may never meet them in person and you may not even know their real names. They go by names such as, "Chronie123" or "SickChick2015." They are special and unique because they don’t make you feel awkward when you share your medical photos and test results or your worries and despair. These people may not be in close proximity to you but they are a very real part of daily struggle and are usually an email, instant message or text away.

You may encounter all these different people in your life with chronic illness. Remember that you have the power to decide who is in your life, and only surround yourself with positive people who love you and want what’s best for you and your treatment plan.

To learn more about arthritis and your relationships:

Chronic Communication at Home: Getting Enough Quality Time?
Stop Arthritis From Killing Your Relationship
Recognizing and Dealing with Toxic People in Your Life