Not a pity post, I don’t need sympathy, I just want to share my honest experience of chronic illness, the tribulations that come with it and the importance of keeping positive in easing these challenges.
As an individual with a number of chronic illnesses, many of which I have had since I was very young. I will be honest some days are definitely more of a challenge than others, there have been days when my fatigue is so high that I have curled up in my bed midday for a couple of hours as I didn’t sleep the night before due to pain. Other times I have had to take rain checks on plans I have made as I am in too much pain or too exhausted from overdoing it earlier in the day. And sometimes there is a general malaise from brain fog that means I need to take some time to recharge my batteries.
On the flip side I run a business helping others through their own life challenges, I am also a wife and parent to two wonderful kids. Utilising relaxation techniques, coaching and low impact exercise to channel my focus and keep myself positive, which helps with facing the challenges out of my control.
Like I said this is not a pity post, its about acknowledging the battle of many others in similar situations to simply stay afloat and succeed despite hardship, maintaining a positive mindset which at tough times can give relief and is often not given the recognition it deserves.
Its easy to fall foul of the negative, it happens to the toughest of individuals and that’s ok! As long as they don’t sit in it for too long! It is important to keep pushing against the current, fight the torrent of pain, fatigue and endless negative thoughts, there are things that will help of course: a friendly ear, a warm bath, that afternoon nap, taking some ‘me’ time and doing comfortable exercise. Doing whatever keeps pushing them forward, without causing them issue.
I wanted to take a moment to share a little boosting thought that I hope offers some positive to those who share that struggle,
A long time ago a friend of mine gave me some great advice ; they told me to look for the light no matter how dark the day seemed.
This advice stuck with me. So, no matter what trials or challenges are faced always look for the positives (no matter how small) in every situation. If you cannot complete a task focus on what you could do and not on what you couldn’t, if you have a tough day with work/home-schooling/life in general, focus on the things that went well and not what didn’t go so well. This way of shifting focus can allow for relief from a great deal of day to day stress , and can make life that little bit brighter
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