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Transitioning from Sick to Well
The journey from a "sick person" to a "well" one is a difficult transition for many chronically ill people. Being chronically ill means there has been a gradual deterioration of the body. Slowly your mindset has drifted away from normal life and moved to one struggling to function. As part of that process, your thoughts become overwhelmed by your disease. Your symptoms make it difficult if not impossible to forget that you are not well. From waking in the morning until laying your head on the pillow at night you are consumed by your illness. Your days are filled with timing medications, doctors' appointments, rest and naps and figuring out the best use of your limited energy. Your family and friends, and even you yourself, begin to see you as "unwell." Their fears and concerns color every interaction and family function. Pretty soon you have created a cocoon of illness around you, blanketed in depression, pain, and emotionally numb.
In moving through your healing journey, part of stepping out of your illness is changing that mindset. You've done the physical things necessary for healing (elimination diets, alternative treatments, supplementation) but you have come to a stand still. Now is the time to begin thinking yourself well. A well person is part of life. A well person is not selfish. (Chronically ill people bear a certain degree of self-absorption--they need to in order to make it through each day.)
Think about the well parts of you. You may not be wholly well, but you have come a long way. Though it is never good to dwell on the past, thinking back can sometimes help you to realize how far you've come. And you can begin to see that you are emerging from the shadows.
Begin to do the activities you enjoyed before you were ill, even if you are forced to modify them. Accept a new normal. Once you let go, your new life can begin.
This article has been contributed by an Alternative Health Journal community member. It reflects the views of the author and only the author. The Alternative Health Journal makes no claims to the accuracy of the information contained within.
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