Essentials for Chronic Illness

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Sunday 1When you are first diagnosed with a Chronic Illness, what are the first things that go through your mind? I know when my doctor told me I had Multiple Sclerosis I thought my life was over! I was young and only knew it was a debilitating illness with NO cure insight. I lived the first year after diagnosed in denial and a lot of sadness. But, as I got older I realized my life was NOT over and I could live a pretty normal life! 

I have discovered there are crucial things that need to be done in order to control this disease as much as I can. The most important thing I can do is be positive about life. No matter what I deal with living with MS, it really could be worse. There are about 400,000 people just in the United States that live Multiple Sclerosis, some have a pretty “mild” case of this disease, whereas some have a really aggressive form. Yes, I deal with a lot of pain and some days are worse than others. But, I do not believe it helps me at all to create the lifesit and think about how much I hurt. I think it is better use of my time and energy to focus on the good aspects of life. I do have handicap parking because sometimes it hurts more to walk long distances. However, I do not have a walker or a wheelchair and have full function of my legs no matter how much they may hurt! I deal with a constant amount of pain in my back but shockingly enough a heating pad helps in short-term. 

I have the love and continuous support of a very loving family. I think painful and difficult times would be so much more difficult without love. I value my family more than I can even begin to explain. My husband is here with me day in and day out and will listen to me whenever I need to vent. He offers me SO much emotional support as we all have our bad days when we think that nothing will ever improve. When I have a weak moment and go to him crying because I just want all my pain to go away, he Love heartALWAYS assures me I will be okay and get better in time. He always makes sure I have everything I need in order to be comfortable when I am resting to get well! My husband has an incredible amount of patience and tolerates my stubborn behavior like a champ! My biggest problem is I want to do everything and never ask for help, but he works hard to get me to do less and rest more!

Another essential for living with a chronic illness is, getting the rest your body needs. As I have already made clear, I am really bad at this but doing my best to improve. I feel like I am being lazy when I just sit on the couch watching TV, but there are times I realize that is what my body is asking me for. Getting plenty of rest does not necessarily mean you need to sleep all the time, but it does mean you need to take time to turn your brain off and relax!

It is also essential to reduce stress from your life as much as possible. Life does come with stress whether it be work, relationships, money, health etc but we do have the relaxchoice on what extra unnecessary stress we allow into our thoughts. Is it really important for us to try to solve and worry about the problems a friend or family member might be experiencing? Now it does depend on the problem! If a family member is coping with something they just need someone to talk to someone about, that is perfectly fine as long as it does not consume our life to an unhealthy point. I have the compassion where I always want to help, but I also know there are certain things I can not do anything about and need to take a step back from the situation. 

It is vitally important to love and value yourself. If we do not take care of our own health, we will not be able to be our entire self. Sometimes it is urgent for us all to take a break and think about what we enjoy! It is not selfish to think about what we need in life, which I am honestly still working on!

Thank you for reading and commenting of my thoughts for the day. I hope you had a lovely and relaxing weekend! Hopefully y’all are ready for yet again another Monday. Thankfully, I have a short week so I can only hope it is an easy week as people are preparing for the holidays! As always, stay strong and positive and good things are bound to occur! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!

Love 2

Always, Alyssa

77 thoughts on “Essentials for Chronic Illness”

  1. When I was diagnosed, I was convinced my life was over ( I have two cousins that have died from “complications of ms”) I did a whole lot of drinking that first year, maybe even the second. I’m not sure when I started focusing on the positive, but it has definitely changed my life. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE

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    • WOW, I honestly did the same thing and drank a lot. I thought alcohol would dull the shock of the diagnosis. It helped me ignore the obvious of what I was going through. It was when I met my husband that I admitted to drinking way too much and told him I was worried it was out of control. But I did stop, never drove after even just one drink and now I only drink occasionally and never to hide from the MS. We are incredibly strong women ♡

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  4. Family and friends have been a godsend through dealing with MS, I can’t imagine where I’d be without them. Life with MS has been up and down since day one, looking for the best side of whatever may we’ll be hard, almost impossible at times, but trying to do it as much as we can helps so much.

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    • Thank you so much! I really try to maintain a positive mind set. I do remember it was really hard in the beginning but you will get there, I promise! If there is anything I can do to help you please never hesitate to contact me directly. I am always here to do what I can to help!!!

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  9. Love how positive you are Alyssa 🙂 It definitely helps. It’s so easy to think of what’s wrong but takes real strength to think of what’s right and how we’re not going to let this beat us xxx

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  10. Thank You Alyssa. Today I will visit a friend who is suffering from a chronic illness (caused by biofilm) she is very down and I was searching for the right thing to do/say. This article helped me realize that I will give her encouragement and let her know that she will get better.

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    • I am so glad this post gave you some good advice! I am sorry your friend is suffering from a chronic illness. It can be very difficult but she is lucky to have a good friend like you!! Take care and enjoy your visit. If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, please let me know. Visiting with your friend will bring her some happiness and a break from just thinking and dwelling on her illness. Take care!!

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  11. I can totally relate to that feeling.
    I’ve been struggling and battling chronic Lyme disease and it’s been an overwhelming journey.
    I recently started blogging and you might find inspiration in my posts!
    I’d love it if u come visit and leave some feedback!

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