I'm a pretty confident person but sometimes living with a chronic illness can feel like there's this endless debate going on in my head about what I should or shouldn't do, or what I am still capable of doing without causing problems.
Everyone experiences self-doubt from time to time but when life is dictated by your day-to-day health sometimes it's hard not to listen to those little negative voices.
Can anyone relate?
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BeHealthyNow
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Hi BeHealthyNow I very much relate. what seems to help is reeling myself in from the future or the past. "Be here now" works for me. I have no idea what i will have to do in the future. When i imagine my future healthwise it's not pretty so i stay away from it to the best of my ability.
Be here now is great advice! I actually don't think of my future health as much anymore. My indecision is in planning the day-to-day stuff when it involves other people or if I'm not certain that it won't cause fatigue or symptoms. Like, should we have our multiple xmas parties, should we go to the beach, what if I get too hot and need to leave? I've been wanting to try to work again or start some projects but my health is always a factor. I never used to have such anxiety. I think covid threw me over the edge since now we have the added safety factor to think about.
I get it. Covid threw us all into chaos. nothing is predictable anymore. i recently decided to take 5 conscious breaths a day. Really helps me slow down and be in the moment.
My future is looking shakier now. We just discovered my husband has heart trouble and getting into a cardiologist won't happen until mid January. Yes, stress is not good for heart problems or MS!
I am so sorry to hear of your hubby’s heart problem, I hope and pray that he gets the attention he needs. How is your wrist doing, you are not back at work are you? Keep us updated please, 🤗
I went back to work right away after breaking it. I have a desk job so it wasn't too bad. It's quite stiff and I have therapy to help it. Thanks for asking.
I eventually came to understand that this is the new 'me'. It took a few years after my 1st MS attack, with a long time of depression, thinking, and searching for where I'm going. But what helped me the most, was going to a support group where I met other people with MS. I learned that people do live with this disease, and I could move forward. So my life now is very different than it was 10 years ago. But I've learned so much about how people, myself included, view disabilities. Yes, only a part of the 'old' me is still here, but the 'new' me is still a good person, and I'm gonna be OK.
I agree that acceptance is vital when living with a chronic illness. I'm fine with who I am now. I'm just a bit exhausted with always worrying if things will go ok when I make plans. I stopped making plans for a while with covid and there was so much less stress. Now, with the holidays I'm back to trying to figure out how much is too much. Ughh.
I found part of the answer for that is to back away somewhat, and let others do the planning. With MS, I have only enough bandwidth to be a participant, not a planner. This is a big part of moving forward as the 'new' me. It's hard. I used to be a VP, managing 40 people, but I had to let go of that 'old' me. Meditation, deep breathing, good music, all help relax the mind and body. Know who your real friends are, and talk to them a little. They can give you a good sanity-check.
I’m generally not making big decisions that warrant worrying often. I have less room for negativity of any kind in my life now, if I have control over it. I usually respond to negative thinking with something sarcastic and equally ridiculous 🙃
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