
Self Care

Meditation
Say no
Listen to your body
I’m not sure how loud my body has to scream at me before I learn to listen to it, anyone else the same? I think that’s down to a longing to live that comes from having life stripped away from you but where will it get me if I never truly listen to my body’s needs? Not far, even I know that. So I’m learning to listen to my body’s cries before they become screams, again. It’s a learning curve for sure.
Accept help
Ok, no one likes to admit they need help. Whether we are eight or eighty, we want, strive for and often need our independence. This makes living with chronic illness and the limitations it can present incredibly difficult. Here’s the thing that I have learnt. In order to cope with our illness, it’s symptoms and all that it entails (medical appointments, household upkeep, shopping etc) we need help. We simply cannot face this alone. When we ask for help, when we accept help, our burden is lessened and we are more able to simply fight and that is surely hard enough.
Pacing
Be kind to yourself

Don’t beat yourself up
Do the diet that’s right for you & don’t beat yourself up if you can’t
Rest when you can

Join the online community
Affirmations

Find something that brings you joy
Most Importantly
What does self care look like to you? Because it is personal. So long as it’s right for you and it fits into your life, making a positive impact then that’s what counts.
It is ongoing, we have to remind ourselves to be kind to ourselves, to ask for help, to breathe and I mean really breathe. These aren’t a one off. We must prioritise ourselves so we can prioritise our health.
If you enjoyed this post you might like ‘Finding The Good Living With Chronic Illness‘.


Jen
November 19, 2019Learning to pace myself is key for me. I’m good at down time, but at the same time I’m a bit of a “doer.” My hypomania makes me want to work at a million miles a minute, so I have to remind myself that’s not always great and to slow down.
Amy
November 19, 2019I can imagine that’s not always easy. Pacing is certainly one of the trickiest things to learn and indeed stick at, so I applaud anyone and everyone who’s on that path, wherever they are on it!
Stuart Forster
November 20, 2019It’s way too easy to be hard on ourselves when things aren’t going the way we want. Thanks for the suggestions in this post.
Amy
November 20, 2019it really is isn’t it? And it’s often those times when we need to be kinder to ourselves. You’re very welcome.
Sophie
November 21, 2019This is a brilliantly written article. I totally see myself in your writing. I’m utterly dreadful at pacing (despite writing about it and knowing how important it is). I get overexcited on “good” days and end up doing too much. Anyway thank you for writing this article.
Amy
November 22, 2019Thank you, that means so much! I am exactly the same! And when I started writing this I thought it would feel wrong of me to not be honest about how bad I am myself at these things and how I recognise how much I have yet to learn. I’ve really glad you enjoyed it 🙂