Coping with Identity Loss: Losing the Ability to Dance

Hey friend! I'm actually a dancer, too. For the longest time I wanted to be a professional dancer and started going to college for it. And then... my first PsA flare happened. Coupled with EDS, it was so hard I made the decision to come home. For me, the most instrumental part of getting through the grief I felt over "losing" my future career was learning to accept that it's okay for something to be a hobby that I enjoy, rather than my whole life. It's not easy, but it's actually caused dance to bring a lot more joy to my life than it ever did before. When my mentally was "this is who you are and you can't do it anymore" it sucked the joy out of life for me. Changing it to "do it when you're able because you like it" helped me learn to be more gracious to myself during hard days, and thankful for what I can do on the easier days. Easier said than done but if I got through it, I promise you can too

Maybe not the most helpful of coping, but at least for right now the belief I’ll be able to get back to a point where I can be active again, even if it’ll never be to the point I used to be. I was never the most active person but I did go to the gym here and there, I rock climbed, and I was prepping my body for a 10 mile hike. Now I’m worn out and hurting by going up or down a flight of stairs. I just want somewhere between those two. It’s definitely not the same as any kind of dance, but when I have a little extra energy I like to play dance dance revolution on some of the lower difficulties (and take out jumps) Finally, if you have access to a pool at all, I’ve always liked that I felt light and like I could twirl like I used to when I did ballet. At the very least it’s a bit easier on your joints that way. Maybe my comment has given you ideas. I hope it can give you some hope. At the very least I’m sending you good vibes all around