Learning to Listen to My Body: A Journey with Chronic Illness

Having been chronically ill for a decade now, I have always pushed myself to keep up with those around me who are healthy. Starting at age 12 my mantra became 'I can do hard things'. Recently, I have been encouraged by my doctors to work on listening to my body and resting when I need to, but years of that mantra came with automatic guilt if I choose NOT to do hard things. Today is a bad fatigue day and I've been laying down in compression leggings most of it. I am not lazy, I am not a bad person, I am disabled. My body needs extra rest and that is okay. If nothing else, I hope someone else sees this and is reminded that it's okay to give yourself a break. ❤️

Your answer

SunInAugust

1y ago

You are not lazy. You are not a bad person. You have value. I hear you. I dont so much as ask friends to slow down when we are walking a short distance. J don't them im too tired to turn my head and talk to them. I keep pushing thru it. Thank you for allowing yourself to rest. Maybe I can learn from you

ibetonlosingfrogs

1y ago

This!! I consider resilience to be one of my personality traits, and it took me a loooong time to realize that didn’t mean pushing past exhaustion to get something done, it meant resting responsibly to be able to fight the next battle!

StormyGirl89

1y ago

I've constantly had people tell me to be more active when they don't realize how much it hurts to move because of my back and how hard it is to walk around when I can't feel my feet and can't keep my balance especially during the daytime when my migraines are the worst, I tried to keep up with my friends when we were younger but after they got into car accidents they realized how hard it was for me and stopped trying to push me

Art_therapy

1y ago

I also have always been what my friends call a “try hard” always pushing myself to do everything and to do it well. When i got sick i had to learn quickly that the way i used to live only makes me sicker. In any case, it takes a lot of courage to choose to be kind to yourself rather than to follow ingrained expectations. Good job on resting today ❤️

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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