A Reminder When Struggling…
To all those who feel stuck in chronic symptoms or anxiety: let’s be real. Invisible illness sucks. It really sucks. You feel unseen, invalidated. “You don’t look sick, so how could you be? Everyone has gut issues, that’s normal. You have anxiety that’s all.” Wow, if I could count the times… When you hear this, you aren’t just feeling ill at this point, you are now depressed. You feel stuck and emotionally drained from the different opinions from doctors and all of the google searching you’ve done. It can be a rollercoaster and with all of it, you just want to feel better. I am here to remind you of two things:
The true you is inside. We halt our lives searching for a cure and plan to do the things that make us happy after we are “healed.” Does this sound familiar? No matter what you are going through, even stuck in bed, there are so many ways to find joy. To discover who we are and what is truly meaningful to us. Often, when purpose is found, there can be a natural resolution of many symptoms. It’s all related. Your body is meant to heal, but sometimes there are roadblocks in it’s way. Remember, your body is always trying to regulate. Always trying to work for you. It is not against you. It does not want you to suffer, but sometimes in ways that it adapts, you do suffer. And suffering is a state of mind. You can move out of suffering, even when symptoms are still there. It’s not easy, but it can be done.
Find support. It breaks my heart how many people I’ve met with chronic illness whose partner just couldn’t cut it. Whose family didn’t believe them. Who were gaslighted by practitioners they met with. It is hard for people to try to understand what you are going through. We are so conditioned that you get sick, you take antibiotics, and you are better in days. Chronic illness is not like that. It is a marathon of healing, not a sprint. If you can’t afford specialty practitioners, there are other ways to find support. There are TONS of free resources out there, and people who can be your cheerleader. Including me! Be open to receive that love, that compassion. Because that is what you need. You don’t need to be alone in this, because you are not. Stay away from the Facebook groups. Those are easy to get sucked into and I was in them for over a year. It creates more fear. It drives fight or flight and convinces you that you will never get well. That is not the support you need. You need encouragement, you need love, you need understanding, and you need compassion. You need that from yourself and from others. Maybe this is the time to figure out who in your life is creating additional toxicity. Maybe it is time to cut those ties. I am very grateful for the support I have been given. Both in the chronic illness space and outside. Life is a hard journey in general, but couple that with dis-ease and you got yourself a whole lot of discomfort. Revel in the fact that there is good waiting for you, perhaps you already have it and just don’t see it yet. But you will. Stay strong.
