Do Not
Eat, Breathe, and Sleep Your Illness
It is a very tricky balance to find. Too little interest in my illness can mean
I’m in denial of reality and that can be detrimental to my health and
healing. But focusing too much on my
illness can cause feelings of depression, anger, hopelessness, worthlessness,
and ultimately giving up / despair. It
can sink me even further into my illness.
It can also push others away.
So, for me the key is to diversify. I try to be interested in my illness
intensely but not exclusively. This
illness is a big part of my life. But it
is not the only part of my life. It
affects me deeply, but it is not the only thing that affects me. It shapes who I am, but it is not the only
thing that shapes me. It is important to
live congenially with my illness, not pushing beyond my limits, keeping in mind
the requirements of my health. It is
equally important to engage my mind and heart in better things. So, here are some of the "other things" I engage myself in.
Cultivate
other interests.
- Keep as much of a social life as possible, even if I can’t leave the house or get out of bed.
- Continue to educate myself on a subject I am interested in.
- Learn a language.
- Set up an account on pinterest and dream.
- Read books.
- Take up an undemanding hobby.
- Find ways to make a difference in the lives of my niece and nephew.
- Find something that makes me laugh.
- Think about other people. Do something nice for someone else.
- Work if possible.
- Set specific and reachable goals. This sets your mind toward the future. You get a feeling of accomplishment and it can help rebuild self-confidence.
My illness does not need to smother everything else that I
can share. It sometimes threatens to do
so, but this lesson is one I go back to time and time again. My illness is not me.
Now it's your turn. What do you do to keep your mind occupied with better
thoughts?
photo credit: <a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/insomnia90/6916429863/">Silvia
Viñuales</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a>
<a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>
This is essential to sanity when chronically ill. Thank you for additional ideas. It is important to have different interests to match different energy levels. Then to analyze your energy for that day or week and choose which suits your level. This helps to keep a positive outlook.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's good to have a list of various activities based on various energy levels. I'm glad you enjoyed this post. Thanks so much for sharing!
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