Summary
Think about what your illness has forced you to learn about yourself … and feel gratitude because of it.
Gifts? What gifts?
Living with a chronic illness usually comes with many challenges. A fatigued physical condition often taxes our emotional and spiritual conditions. In turn, these burdens can affect work performance, finances, and relationships. Living with a “pre-existing condition” that precludes you from health insurance blocks you from the very help you need. These difficulties are real. However, some have successfully adapted a healthier perspective of the world and their place in it as a result of their condition.
The following are examples of ways to recalibrate our thinking about illness and are not meant to minimize the challenge of living with a chronic condition.
The following gifts of perspective speak truth to those living with chronic illness:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Small things which upset other people may not disturb you. Caught in traffic? Out of my control. The house is messy? I can get to it later. You can choose to shake off the small stuff and direct your valuable time to what is important to you.
- Mortality is a fact of life. Some of us must exert much more effort, energy, and faith in staying alive. But, we will all face death. Accepting this fact provides a truthful inner voice, wisdom blossoms within and reminds you, life is yours today. You choose to live your life now while you are able.
- You savor the present moment. As you understand death is a reality, you choose to put your energy into the current moment. It’s easy to get depressed about the past or anxious about the future. Illness can magnify these experiences. Eventually, however, illness teaches you to be present right now in this very moment. This moment is truly all any of us ever have. We learn this and we begin to live it. Life is the present, the gift.
- You choose to be more expressive with those you love. In one way, our relationships now are what we leave after we are gone. If you have children, you make efforts to demonstrate and express your love for them. You may not be able to nurture your family and friends in the way you had once hoped. But, in illness we learn how important it is to express and demonstrate the love we have for all our relationships.
- You find strength in your survival skills. You are surviving every minute you live with your illness. You are learning about endurance. You are learning about faith. You are learning about your inner strength, your capacity to keep going, to keep trying, and keep hoping. You choose to recognize this as strength; because the recognition itself strengthens you.
- Your relationships deepen significantly. Relationships have a way of growing when illness erupts. People you did not realize care about you, now reach out in ways that show they do. You realize that if you had never gotten sick, you may have never experienced this support and love from community, friends, and family members. You feel the care from others is life-enriching. You choose to let your gratitude flow to those who have offered care and concern for you.
What if I know these gifts are possible but I only feel despair?
Depression is common with all people including those with a chronic illness. Your depression may not have anything to do with it. If you are feeling hopeless and helpless, not sleeping or eating well, or are unable to make decisions or problem solve, seek help from a resource in your area. You are not alone. There are others living with chronic illness, whether it’s multiple sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or any other condition. Your search should reveal an organization that exists to help and support you through the challenges.
What can I do to explore these gifts more?
Ask yourself what you wish you had been told at the start of your journey with chronic illness. Could you provide that help to someone new to their diagnosis? As you work through your difficulties, remember your own strength, your growing insight, and the people close to you. You really are made stronger by facing adversity. This is a gift you can choose. Perhaps not one you wanted, but it has arrived.
Summary
Think about what your illness has forced you to learn about yourself … and feel gratitude because of it.
Gifts? What gifts?
Living with a chronic illness usually comes with many challenges. A fatigued physical condition often taxes our emotional and spiritual conditions. In turn, these burdens can affect work performance, finances, and relationships. Living with a “pre-existing condition” that precludes you from health insurance blocks you from the very help you need. These difficulties are real. However, some have successfully adapted a healthier perspective of the world and their place in it as a result of their condition.
The following are examples of ways to recalibrate our thinking about illness and are not meant to minimize the challenge of living with a chronic condition.
The following gifts of perspective speak truth to those living with chronic illness:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Small things which upset other people may not disturb you. Caught in traffic? Out of my control. The house is messy? I can get to it later. You can choose to shake off the small stuff and direct your valuable time to what is important to you.
- Mortality is a fact of life. Some of us must exert much more effort, energy, and faith in staying alive. But, we will all face death. Accepting this fact provides a truthful inner voice, wisdom blossoms within and reminds you, life is yours today. You choose to live your life now while you are able.
- You savor the present moment. As you understand death is a reality, you choose to put your energy into the current moment. It’s easy to get depressed about the past or anxious about the future. Illness can magnify these experiences. Eventually, however, illness teaches you to be present right now in this very moment. This moment is truly all any of us ever have. We learn this and we begin to live it. Life is the present, the gift.
- You choose to be more expressive with those you love. In one way, our relationships now are what we leave after we are gone. If you have children, you make efforts to demonstrate and express your love for them. You may not be able to nurture your family and friends in the way you had once hoped. But, in illness we learn how important it is to express and demonstrate the love we have for all our relationships.
- You find strength in your survival skills. You are surviving every minute you live with your illness. You are learning about endurance. You are learning about faith. You are learning about your inner strength, your capacity to keep going, to keep trying, and keep hoping. You choose to recognize this as strength; because the recognition itself strengthens you.
- Your relationships deepen significantly. Relationships have a way of growing when illness erupts. People you did not realize care about you, now reach out in ways that show they do. You realize that if you had never gotten sick, you may have never experienced this support and love from community, friends, and family members. You feel the care from others is life-enriching. You choose to let your gratitude flow to those who have offered care and concern for you.
What if I know these gifts are possible but I only feel despair?
Depression is common with all people including those with a chronic illness. Your depression may not have anything to do with it. If you are feeling hopeless and helpless, not sleeping or eating well, or are unable to make decisions or problem solve, seek help from a resource in your area. You are not alone. There are others living with chronic illness, whether it’s multiple sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or any other condition. Your search should reveal an organization that exists to help and support you through the challenges.
What can I do to explore these gifts more?
Ask yourself what you wish you had been told at the start of your journey with chronic illness. Could you provide that help to someone new to their diagnosis? As you work through your difficulties, remember your own strength, your growing insight, and the people close to you. You really are made stronger by facing adversity. This is a gift you can choose. Perhaps not one you wanted, but it has arrived.
Summary
Think about what your illness has forced you to learn about yourself … and feel gratitude because of it.
Gifts? What gifts?
Living with a chronic illness usually comes with many challenges. A fatigued physical condition often taxes our emotional and spiritual conditions. In turn, these burdens can affect work performance, finances, and relationships. Living with a “pre-existing condition” that precludes you from health insurance blocks you from the very help you need. These difficulties are real. However, some have successfully adapted a healthier perspective of the world and their place in it as a result of their condition.
The following are examples of ways to recalibrate our thinking about illness and are not meant to minimize the challenge of living with a chronic condition.
The following gifts of perspective speak truth to those living with chronic illness:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Small things which upset other people may not disturb you. Caught in traffic? Out of my control. The house is messy? I can get to it later. You can choose to shake off the small stuff and direct your valuable time to what is important to you.
- Mortality is a fact of life. Some of us must exert much more effort, energy, and faith in staying alive. But, we will all face death. Accepting this fact provides a truthful inner voice, wisdom blossoms within and reminds you, life is yours today. You choose to live your life now while you are able.
- You savor the present moment. As you understand death is a reality, you choose to put your energy into the current moment. It’s easy to get depressed about the past or anxious about the future. Illness can magnify these experiences. Eventually, however, illness teaches you to be present right now in this very moment. This moment is truly all any of us ever have. We learn this and we begin to live it. Life is the present, the gift.
- You choose to be more expressive with those you love. In one way, our relationships now are what we leave after we are gone. If you have children, you make efforts to demonstrate and express your love for them. You may not be able to nurture your family and friends in the way you had once hoped. But, in illness we learn how important it is to express and demonstrate the love we have for all our relationships.
- You find strength in your survival skills. You are surviving every minute you live with your illness. You are learning about endurance. You are learning about faith. You are learning about your inner strength, your capacity to keep going, to keep trying, and keep hoping. You choose to recognize this as strength; because the recognition itself strengthens you.
- Your relationships deepen significantly. Relationships have a way of growing when illness erupts. People you did not realize care about you, now reach out in ways that show they do. You realize that if you had never gotten sick, you may have never experienced this support and love from community, friends, and family members. You feel the care from others is life-enriching. You choose to let your gratitude flow to those who have offered care and concern for you.
What if I know these gifts are possible but I only feel despair?
Depression is common with all people including those with a chronic illness. Your depression may not have anything to do with it. If you are feeling hopeless and helpless, not sleeping or eating well, or are unable to make decisions or problem solve, seek help from a resource in your area. You are not alone. There are others living with chronic illness, whether it’s multiple sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or any other condition. Your search should reveal an organization that exists to help and support you through the challenges.
What can I do to explore these gifts more?
Ask yourself what you wish you had been told at the start of your journey with chronic illness. Could you provide that help to someone new to their diagnosis? As you work through your difficulties, remember your own strength, your growing insight, and the people close to you. You really are made stronger by facing adversity. This is a gift you can choose. Perhaps not one you wanted, but it has arrived.