With Grace and Grit - Life with Chronic Illness
Getting rid of clutter. Everybody’s doing it. But would you believe me if I told you to stop wasting your time decluttering?
Why? Because when you’re chronically ill, you can’t afford to part with your energy. Also, you’re probably doing it wrong.
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In spite of (or maybe because of) the roller-coaster year we’ve had, I’ve learned life-changing lessons from living with chronic illness – and have emerged stronger.
Self-reflection. It’s a good thing, right? And if ever there was plenty of time for wholehearted soul-searching, it was 2020. But damn, this year needs to be over.
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Our lives are fraught with missteps and mistakes. Here are a few of the big mistakes that chronically ill people make.
Do you ever feel stuck? Do you fee like you’re not moving forward or making progress physically or emotionally with managing and coping with your chronic illness?
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Living with chronic illness isn’t easy. It’s even harder when we fake being well – because there’s a price to pay for doing it.
Do you ever feel like the you’re the great pretender? It’s easier than you’d think – especially if you have a chronic illness that also happens to be invisible.
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Living with a chronic illness can predispose us to negative self-talk. It can be hard to prevent our limitations – real and perceived – from changing how we see and value ourselves.
I don’t know anyone who claims to be immune to the potential ravages of negative self-talk. We all do it – although not necessarily to the same degree. Self-doubt, self-loathing, self-consciousness, self-deprecation – I could go on. But I’m guessing you know exactly what I’m talking about.
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It’s widely prescribed and can be wonderfully effective. But the side effects can be wicked. Here are some tips for surviving the side effects of prednisone.
Have you ever taken prednisone? If you have a chronic illness or autoimmune disease that is inflammatory in nature – as so many are – you probably have. And taking prednisone is like balancing precariously on a double-edged sword somewhere between gratitude and madness.
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I never anticipated that I’d find the hidden upsides of chronic illness. If you dig a little deeper you’ll find them, too.
Have you ever been asked if you’re a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” type of person? I’ve never thought of myself strictly in terms of being optimistic or pessimistic. I choose to think of myself as realistic.
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Parenting with chronic illness presents unique emotional and physical challenges. But there are things we can do to help our children – and ourselves – thrive in spite of our illness.
I’m not the mom I’d hoped I’d be. I have – more than once – allowed myself to re-examine the past. And I wonder how I might have parented differently if I hadn’t been ill.
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Family and friends mean well. But sometimes their efforts to make us feel better actually make us feel worse. Here are the top three things not to say to a chronically ill person.
I struggled with the title of this post. I could have gone so many different directions! From the decidedly diplomatic “What Not to Say to Someone who is Chronically Ill” to the definitively assertive “How to Completely Alienate Your Chronically Ill Friend or Family Member in Three Easy Steps.”
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Pets enrich our lives, and there’s a proven connection between pets and our health. But do you know the science behind it?
It occurred to me that for the past thirty years I’ve never been without a pet. From the sweet brown tabby cat I adopted from a shelter in 1990 to our current trio of furry companions, animals have been a constant in my life.
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Your job does not define who you are. Here’s what you need to know about chronic illness and employment so that you can make the best choice to honor your health and your heart.
Right or wrong, we’re strongly connected to the work that we do. We allow it to define us, and that’s a mistake. I’ll set the stage: you’re at a party or some type of get-together and you’ve just been introduced to someone.
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There are three things that I wish doctors knew – because these are the things that make the good doctors great.
I have a love/hate relationship with the medical profession. I’ll bet I’m not alone. I envy people who see their doctor once a year for an annual check-up, and maybe make the occasional visit for a sinus infection or a rash. I’m not that person. If you’re chronically ill, you’re probably not that person either.
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Anger is often a mask for grief. It’s okay to be angry when you’re chronically ill. Once you acknowledge it you can find effective ways to cope so that you can live well.
There are moments – and not just a few – when I recognize that words are the way to the soul. Sometimes, a chain of simple words are tethered together so perfectly that they are extraordinarily profound.
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There are lots of techniques you can try if you want to fall asleep faster. But when the conventional approaches aren’t working, it’s time to give these two unconventional methods a try.
Sleep. A solid night’s sleep. Don’t I wish! Insomnia is an equal-opportunity condition. A quick Google search produces about 71 million results. And while it’s estimated that it effects 30% of the population, knowing that you’re not alone doesn’t make it any easier when you’ve looked at the clock at 1:20 am, 2:40 am and 3:45 am (you get the picture).
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Illness often forces us to change how we live – to find a “new normal”. But there are ways to define your new normal so that you can live well and thrive.
Has anyone told you that you’ll find your “new normal”? I remember thinking about my own “new normal” way back in 2006. I had completed a hell of a long course of treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was in what I like to call the “now what?” phase. The treatment was over. Now what?
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