“I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
I know this much is true, as I was obsessed for a long time – thinking about my lack of health, reading about my lack of health, talking about my lack of health – and it made me no longer a person that anyone wanted to be around. When you let something consume you like that, you lose the dynamic inner being that makes you magnetic and wonderful. We are all more than our illnesses. Our illnesses may show up every day and invade every part of our life, but we have to make sure to still cultivate a rich set of interests. Our own well-being improves when we can distract ourselves by the things that we love. The more focused we become on what we love, the more love makes up our being. It works the opposite way as well – the more one concentrates on the negatives of life and how they have been harmed, the more anger and hatred grows inside.
I know that I want to be a person who shines through with love and appreciation for the beauty still left in life, instead of someone who only spouts despair. I’m not saying I can entirely eliminate that side of me, as it’s hard not to think of something that spends its time knocking you down. The best I can do is to try not to let it have full power over me. Each and every one of us are more than our illnesses.
Keep exploring my friends…keep exploring.
xoxo,
Annie
I so identify with this! I see a therapist regularly, and we’ve been talking a lot recently about how my identity needs to be something other than “the girl with ME/CFS.” It can be quite difficult to not let it consume your life, especially when it invades EVERY part of your life, and I, for one, really feel the need to keep researching to see if I can find anything that might help… when you devote so much time and energy to something, it can take over your life very easily. It’s difficult to find the right balance, but I think it’s important to try to find it, even if I’m not always perfect at it!
I love this post! It’s so inspiring and hits the issue right in the middle. Everyone with a chronic illness needs to read this, remember it and take it with them on all of their tomorrows! Thank you for your wonderful blog!