Living With a Chronic Illness
Living with a chronic illness or disease is often life altering. Your day-to-day life no longer looks the same as before. Sometimes you feel like you’re just merely surviving and you’re just taking one day at a time, feeling as if you have no control over your own life anymore. These changes can bring about feelings of hopelessness, defeat, and fear.
A change in perspective is needed.
You DO have control over your life. You DO have a future. You CAN experience joy again.
The reality is there is a lot that is outside of your control. But another reality is that there is a lot IN your control as well.
Here are some things that are in your control that can help alleviate pain, instill hope, and shift your perspective:
-Diet: You are in control of what you put in your body. We are constantly making decisions about our food throughout the day. Are we going to eat vegetables and protein or go for a fast food meal on the go? It’s important to ask yourself “is this food going to heal me or hurt me?” Nutrition is key when living with a chronic illness – it has been shown to dramatically impact your body’s levels of inflammation. You are in control here.
-Exercise: Increased inflammation, joint pain, and muscle weakness are often symptoms of chronic illnesses. Because of this, movement is often hard to accomplish. While you may be limited on what you can do physically, there are often times modifications that can be made. This may look like walking, swimming, or biking instead of running or HIIT programs.
-Self-Care: Through the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, sometimes taking care of ourselves gets put on the back burner. However, self-care needs to be a priority when living with a chronic illness. Your kids and family can still remain among your highest priorities, but you do need to be intentional with finding a way to implement time for YOU.
-Therapy: Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. The reason being that our mind and body are in sync and when we are off mentally, our body will follow. Due to the effects chronic illnesses can have on our mental health, it’s important to check in with yourself regularly and get connected with a therapist.
