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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional however these posts are based on my personal experience/knowledge as I have had to become my own medical advocate as it is so, so difficult to get help for this illness.
For those of you who usually come here for beauty posts, you'll be happy to hear that this is the last in the Lyme series and then I'll be back to beauty, although I can't promise that they're won't be posts in the future! In the final of this current series, I want to talk about how life doesn't have to be all doom and gloom if you have a chronic illness. It is possible to live a positive life, even if if isn't what you had envisioned for yourself.
When you first become ill and you know it's something serious or you can't actually get any answers as to what is wrong with you, it's scary because your life has been turned on its head. It can be easy to panic as it's difficult to process what's happening. My best advice is not to think long-term or bigger picture. Just take it day by day or week by week and tell yourself that it's temporary. Even now (almost 20 years later), I tell myself that this is still temporary. We don't know what is around the corner, what tomorrow will bring - good or bad, so there is no point in worrying about it. Just focus on today.
Be grateful to be alive to fight another day! There have been a few occasions when I really felt that I must be dying because of ill I was, I couldn't use my legs, was barely coherent and a host of other symptoms but to wake up the next day is a gift.
I have always focused on what I am grateful for and, believe me, in the midst of even the worst days, there is always something to be grateful for. When I was bedridden, I was grateful for hearing the birds singing outside, for a blue sky - simple things like that.
When I am at my most ill, I am at my most grateful and I will list everything in my head - my husband, my parents, my own resilience, my friends who haven't given up on me, medication, the fact that I have, luckily, been able to afford treatment, the roof over my head - the list can go on!
There is no certainty that things will stay this way - life could turn around tomorrow. I was very ill when I was 13 and missed a lot of school for a period of 6-8 weeks. In that period, my GP couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and we tried various medications, diet changes etc (I basically couldn't retain ANY food). One day, I woke up and instantly knew I was better and that was it - all symptoms literally disappeared overnight so who is to say that this could not happen again?
A cure might be around the corner - we don't know for sure so we have to keep hopeful.
I set myself small goals - ones that don't put pressure on me but give me a sense of achievement when I complete them - starting this blog was one of them and I still enjoy it. If the joy ever leaves it, I'll stop but this has been a great outlet for me. I've made friends, worked with some amazing brands, discovered fabulous products and it has also given me something to focus on other than the hard times.
I find watching shows or films that make me laugh daily, really helps to lift my mood. Also, music (if my head isn't too throbbing) really lifts my spirits.
I am absolutely determined to get my full health back so I also make long term goals and plans. I have a vision board filled with things I want to do, places I want to go and I have been lucky enough to tick some of them off already.
I'm a very lucky person (probably in every way apart from my health!) and I think it stems from the fact that I am inherently positive - it's in my dna - I actually don't know how to give up, which is a really good thing.
If people bring you down or make you feel bad about yourself, eliminate them. There is no place for people like that in your life if you are already having problems and even if you're not, who needs negativity? Leave the drains to live their own miserable lives if that's what makes them happy.
I can re-visit the worst of times in my head but I have to dig deep. If you make any progress in your illness, leave the past behind - don't necessarily bury it but just let it go to help with the healing process.
Don't let bitterness over lost weeks/months/years consume you. You can't change the past and if you let it consume your future, there would be no point in even getting better! Just do it Elsa style and "Let it go".
If you have a bad day (and we all do), just tell yourself that tomorrow will be better and if not, then the next day will be.
I could honestly go on and on but, like some of my other posts, it could turn into a book. The main thing to take away from this post is that there is always, always something to be positive about - you might have to search harder on some days than others, but it will always be there.
Thanks for reading! When you first become ill and you know it's something serious or you can't actually get any answers as to what is wrong with you, it's scary because your life has been turned on its head. It can be easy to panic as it's difficult to process what's happening. My best advice is not to think long-term or bigger picture. Just take it day by day or week by week and tell yourself that it's temporary. Even now (almost 20 years later), I tell myself that this is still temporary. We don't know what is around the corner, what tomorrow will bring - good or bad, so there is no point in worrying about it. Just focus on today.
Be grateful to be alive to fight another day! There have been a few occasions when I really felt that I must be dying because of ill I was, I couldn't use my legs, was barely coherent and a host of other symptoms but to wake up the next day is a gift.
I have always focused on what I am grateful for and, believe me, in the midst of even the worst days, there is always something to be grateful for. When I was bedridden, I was grateful for hearing the birds singing outside, for a blue sky - simple things like that.
When I am at my most ill, I am at my most grateful and I will list everything in my head - my husband, my parents, my own resilience, my friends who haven't given up on me, medication, the fact that I have, luckily, been able to afford treatment, the roof over my head - the list can go on!
There is no certainty that things will stay this way - life could turn around tomorrow. I was very ill when I was 13 and missed a lot of school for a period of 6-8 weeks. In that period, my GP couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and we tried various medications, diet changes etc (I basically couldn't retain ANY food). One day, I woke up and instantly knew I was better and that was it - all symptoms literally disappeared overnight so who is to say that this could not happen again?
A cure might be around the corner - we don't know for sure so we have to keep hopeful.
I set myself small goals - ones that don't put pressure on me but give me a sense of achievement when I complete them - starting this blog was one of them and I still enjoy it. If the joy ever leaves it, I'll stop but this has been a great outlet for me. I've made friends, worked with some amazing brands, discovered fabulous products and it has also given me something to focus on other than the hard times.
I find watching shows or films that make me laugh daily, really helps to lift my mood. Also, music (if my head isn't too throbbing) really lifts my spirits.
I am absolutely determined to get my full health back so I also make long term goals and plans. I have a vision board filled with things I want to do, places I want to go and I have been lucky enough to tick some of them off already.
I'm a very lucky person (probably in every way apart from my health!) and I think it stems from the fact that I am inherently positive - it's in my dna - I actually don't know how to give up, which is a really good thing.
If people bring you down or make you feel bad about yourself, eliminate them. There is no place for people like that in your life if you are already having problems and even if you're not, who needs negativity? Leave the drains to live their own miserable lives if that's what makes them happy.
I can re-visit the worst of times in my head but I have to dig deep. If you make any progress in your illness, leave the past behind - don't necessarily bury it but just let it go to help with the healing process.
Don't let bitterness over lost weeks/months/years consume you. You can't change the past and if you let it consume your future, there would be no point in even getting better! Just do it Elsa style and "Let it go".
If you have a bad day (and we all do), just tell yourself that tomorrow will be better and if not, then the next day will be.
I could honestly go on and on but, like some of my other posts, it could turn into a book. The main thing to take away from this post is that there is always, always something to be positive about - you might have to search harder on some days than others, but it will always be there.
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