If life goes on without you
Chronically ill means you are always ill.
At start, if just has been discovered you did not make it up and it is not an illness "in between the ears" people do pay attention to you. They ask how you are doing.
If time passes by, you try to live with it, since it will not get better (DNA is even changing) and people forget about the illness and about you. What they are not confronted with daily by themselves does not exist. Life goes on, without you.
Chronically ill means you are constant physical or mental ill.
It does not always mean you are not able to live independently. In most cases people do. The government wants to keep people live independently as long as possible. Some governments give benefits to the chronic patients others do not. In some countries you have to pay extra for health care in other countries you pay less or nothing.
It is hard to deal with an illness especially with a chronic one.
Mainly because there is no cure, it will remain, change, get worse. Some illnesses can be (partly) controlled or managed through lifestyle (diet) and medication. But fact is, with a chronic illness you never know what your day or night will look like. One moment you might feel great, the next moment the illness is killing you.
There are many different kinds of chronic illnesses. One of the most common ones are allergies but also: chronic pain, depression (BPD), diabetes, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, Parkinson, kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, lupus, multiple sclerosis and some anxiety disorders are examples of chronic diseases.
If you are constantly ill it is hard to plan your day.
It is even harder to make plans for the future. Simple things like going shopping or meeting a friend is hard. The chronic disease is always interfering and ruling your life.
It is easy to get isolated and forgotten by family, friends, etc. and it is even easier to become depressed. At least 1 out of 6 of the chronically ill is depressed. The amount with symptoms is much higher. Seldom the (symptoms of) a depression are recognized as such. Feelings of sadness are normal if you are chronically ill. The symptoms can also be masked by medication or people simply stop mentioning it since nobody likes to have a whiner for a partner or friend.
Stress and also a depression make the condition worse
so do: pain, being rejected, seen as a whiner, poseur and a lack of sleep and good food.
Is it possible to avoid a depression?
No it is not but it is a good start to admit you are ill. To admit you have the right to grieve and to be sad.
To be aware of the fact you, somehow, has to find a way to live with that illness and this will cost you a lot of energy. To be aware of the fact "making plans" might be impossible and promisses you are not able to keep will cause you stress.
Try not to get isolated.
If contacts in real life are hard or impossible, use the internet. There you will find all kind of contacts (including help/support) that can make your life easier at the moments you need it and are able to.
See what you can find out about your illness and do not count on the fact your doctor is omniscient.
Make sure you have support from people you trust.
Talk about your feelings and pain (or write them down).
Is it possible to have a life with a chronic disease?
It partly is if you live a regular life, avoid as much stress as possible. Listen to your body, keep yourself busy, be able to accept your limits and find a way to enjoy the moments you are not suffering.
(Painting: "Anxiety" (1894) by Edvard Munch)
Meet my Steemian-mate. Please read what he has to tell you about this subject!
https://steemit.com/alldutchenglish/@enrique-dutch/being-chronically-ill
Like to know more about me? Please read my other posts.
Stormy wind
https://steemit.com/life/@wakeupkitty/stormy-wind
If life is not a fairy tale - Sara Baartman
Eshu - African trickster God
https://steemit.com/photocontests/@wakeupkitty/photocontests-czechoslovakian-wolfdog
A possesive and aggressive pen-pal
https://steemit.com/writeaprisoner/@wakeupkitty/he-became-too-possessive-and-aggressive
It sucks when you're sick. You don't have many friends and people will forget you. (They don't wanna think about it)
So true.. sometimes it makes me feel better without them since I do not need to cancel or apoligize time after time for not being able to...
Good thing we have the world wide web... even in bed
I can imagine that, if you get to know people, you have to maintain that relation, even if you can't at the moment. You feel the obligation. But if you get to know someone well, you understand eachother more and you don't have that problem anymore. In life, you meet many people, but only a few true friends. I consider you as one of them! Indeed, thank God for the internet!
I totally agree with you!
:-)