Living with the unpredictability of chronic illness is incredibly stressful and the possibility of a chronic illness flare adds to that stress. You never know how you’re going to feel on a certain day. You have a tiny bit of control of your health through pacing, sleeping right, and eating right, but for the most part, you never know when a flare-up is going to hit. This can feel a bit like riding a roller coaster with your eyes clothes. You’re hitting huge highs and deep lows, but you never know when they’re coming and things could change at any moment. With that in mind, here are a few things to keep you going when you experience a flare-up.
1. There is an ending to every chronic illness flare, even if you can’t see it
We never know how long a flare will last, but the good news is it is called a flare for a reason. It will eventually pass. It is difficult to transition from feeling better to feeling terrible, so keep in mind that no matter how difficult it is you will eventually transition to a better place. Having a chronic illness is like being on a roller coaster that never ends. It’s unending ups and downs, but every time you go down you know that you will eventually go up again (and you might even have some fun along the way). Hold onto that.
2. Don’t blame yourself for your chronic illness flare
As soon as we enter a flare we all start blaming ourselves for what we did to cause it. We ate too much junk food, we partied too much with our friends, we exercised too hard, we spent too much time working, etc. There is no point in blaming ourselves, we did what we did so we just need to learn from our mistakes and resolve to do better next time. Our bodies just didn’t want to cooperate with us.
Guilt is the hallmark of chronic illness, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t do anyone any good. Feeling guilty will not help you feel better. What will help you get better is going back on your healthy diet, spending time resting, and doing easier exercise. Focus on the positive steps you’ve made instead of the mistakes.
Guilt is the hallmark of chronic illness, but at the end of the day it doesn’t do anyone any good. Click To Tweet
3. Engage in self-preservation
When you have a chronic illness you have to learn to be selfish. It’s similar to when you’re on an airplane and you are supposed to put your oxygen mask on first before you assist someone else. With chronic illness, you can’t be there for somebody else until you take care of your own health. Take time to practice some self-care. Make sure your boundaries are followed, don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something you can’t do.
4. Do something that makes you happy
You need to find something that makes you happy and will help you to feel mentally better even if you aren’t feeling good physically. This will look different for everyone, but it’s important to find something that works for you. Granted, this advice doesn’t always work for me because I’m a parent and I always have someone I need to take care of. So when I’m not feeling well I focus on my and my children’s needs and nobody else. Sometimes that means I have to drop the ball somewhere, but if I don’t take care of myself I will be useful to no one. At the end of the day, you have to make yourself a priority.
As always it’s easy to talk about these things than it is to do put them into practice. However, I’ve noticed I feel much but mentally and emotionally when I keep these things in mind.
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Thanks girl…I have the myalgia, both daughters have panic.
It really is so easy to sink into depression and defeatist thoughts when in extreme pain. Everything does pass but sometimes it gets so exhausting as there’s absolutely no call for it!