It is difficult for people who do not have chronic illness to cope with the lifestyles of those who have disabiling conditions. One of the challenges for people with chronic illness and those who love them is coping with the impact of the unpredictable and disruptive nature of illness. We may miss out on family functions, may miss work, may find it difficult to keep appointments with doctors as well as a host of other commitments to friends and family. We just aren't as dependable in some ways as we would like because of the somewhat spontaneity of the symptoms.
I absolutely feel grateful NOT to have a terminal illness. I am grateful for the 'up' days. But I am also keenly aware of the setbacks, the missed opportunities, and disappointing family and friends. It hurts.
Adjusting to chronic illness is a process. For some, like me, there is a mourning the loss of the active life I once knew. There is the life 'before illness' and all that has come since.
The challenge is to find peace through a balanced perspective. Yes, there are some things that I have chosen to accept that I may not fulfill in this lifetime. Having chronic illness means change. But that is something that we all have in common-the predictablity of change!
I can list all the things that I find disparaging about living with a disabling illness-OR-I can share what I have learned from having to adapt.
acceptance: I was almost a 'type A' personality. I was a perfectionist and stressed out so much when I couldn't be perfect that I made myself sick! Getting smacked down with a migraine has forced me to relinquish control, to let go of that striving for perfection and to accept myself as I am today. That's not a bad thing.
compassion: It is so true that if you haven't gone through something yourself it is difficult to understand what someone else is going through. Ok. So-now I have the ability to be of service to others who are suffering, who are in pain, whose lives have been disrupted through illness and loss-I can offer empathy and compassion. If having illness forges my spirit into a more compassionate loving one then that is a good thing!
gratitude: oh boy. I cannot fully express how freeing it is to feel gratitude for every day I am alive-and every day my children are healthy and happy. Having an illness reminds us of our mortality. It reminds us that time is limited and we had better kick ass while we are here! It reminds us that we must cherish our time with friends, family, engage in our passions, to live life fully while we can!
Pain sucks. Being sick sucks. Don't get me wrong. I have wallowed in the pity, experienced the full-on depressions and felt, at times, like giving up. But that doesn't last long before I am reminded that life is brief and beautiful and I will savor every gritty, gorgeous, sensuous, meaningful, keenly felt moment of every day that I still am lucky enough to be alive.
Some links I have found with helpful information on coping with chronic pain:
The Frida Center for Fibromyalgia
The Frida Center Blog
Located in Portland, OR, the Frida Center is an integrative medical clinic with cutting edge research/treatment methods for helping people diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I ♥ the Frida Center.
http://www.health.com/health/condition-section/0,,20187891,00.html
This link offers a variety of information including tips on helping keep friendships endure for those coping with disabling conditions and tips for advocating for the best pain management care available.
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/chronic-pain.aspx
Links to American Psychological Association's tips on living successfully with chronic pain.
Wildmind Buddhist Meditation
I have found meditation and breathwork to be so helpful as part of a comprehensive pain management plan. This site offers up some inspiring info and an online store for tools to get you started on the path in your own home (for me it is difficult to attend classes outside the home, so finding tools I can use at home really helps!)
Art Therapy for Pain Management
This is a blog site that I find intriguing-moving and insightful on the use of Art Therapy to help people work through a host of issues in living with chronic pain. Wonderful!
Migraine Aura Foundation
This website pretty much has it all: medical info, visual arts and music therapy, migraine literature.....perhaps one of the most wholisitcally inclusive sites I have found.
Scilog Blog
This blog is devoted to blogging about the science of migraines as well as tying in cool historic references to notable people with migraines! Great blog!
and I want to include a wonderful book that I purchased that has really helped me emotionally cope with migraine pain.
Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within
link takes you to Amazon.com (good source for used)
Migraine Art includes more than 300 powerful illustrations and paintings created by migraine sufferers from around the world. It provides a thoroughly unique window into the subjective world of the migraine sufferer. *
from: North Atlantic Books.com
book can be purchased new from them at: North Atlantic Books.com
Thanks for the information.Exipure Reviews
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