Coping With Chronic Illness - Caring Too Much What People Think Keeps You Sick

It is a natural human desire to fit in, to be respected, to be loved.  We naturally care what others think about us.  And that is not wrong.  But there comes a point when we care too much. 

For people with chronic illness just getting out of bed or out of the house very difficult.  We may worry about looking weird to others or worry about their opinion of us.

Have you ever had one of these thoughts / fears?

·         They will think I’m lazy

·         They will think I’m faking / malingering / they won’t believe me.

·         They will think I am looking for attention

·         They will think I am worthless

Coping With Chronic Illness - When I Have No Brain and No Body

Coping With Chronic Illness - When I have no brain or  body

Sometimes my whole body feels as though it has been run over by a semi truck.  Even my brain hurts terribly, like it has been used as a basketball and is swollen and bruised all over.  The slightest rollover of thought is excruciating.  I become very sensitive to light, touch, and sound.  This may last from a day to several weeks or months before I get relief.  

During these time periods I may be bed-ridden.  And I am physically, emotionally, and mentally in a very low state.  I can’t really function.  At the same time, I am not able to sleep all of the time.  So, I just need to be distracted by something completely undemanding, requiring no strain on my emotions or mental faculties.  

Coping With Chronic Illness - Other People Have Problems Too

Everything seems to be hard for me and requires a lot of thought and planning.  For goodness sake, washing my hair requires a plan of action and plenty of time afterward to rest.  Because everything is harder and requires more thought it is easy to become self -centered, focusing only on what I need and want, thinking only about what is happening to me.  

Also, illness often brings isolation.  Keeping my own company so much makes it easy to think only of myself.   

One problem with being too concerned with ME  is that I tend to downplay other people’s problems.  I never think they are as bad or important as mine.  This is simply untrue and unfair.  Their problems are usually just as valid and often very painful and frustrating.   

Coping With Chronic Illness - Getting to Know Myself - Part 2 - My Food

It’s easy to lose ourselves in our various illnesses.  So it’s important to be reminded from time to time that you are a person, not an illness.  You have a personality, interests, likes, dislikes, opinions, obligations, and responsibilities.  So every now and then I plan to provide some questions designed to help us get reacquainted with ourselves gradually.  Here is the second set.