With every flare-up, I get overwhelmed with despair. Having always been an active and vibrant woman, getting knocked on my gluteous maximus on a regular basis is hard to take. One of the things I've found most helpful is sharing my experience with others in an attempt to help them. That's my hope with this thread. I'm going to share some of the things I do to fight against the emotional part of chronic illnesses in the hope of helping some of you (thus helping myself), and if you all share your great tips with me, we'll all benefit. So...Here's my list
Helping others by sharing things that work for me
Laughing--full-on belly laughs
Prayer and meditation
Positive, uplifting music
Writing out a list of things for which I'm grateful
Surrounding myself with people who tease me
Watching the Cubs win (You cannot IMAGINE the despair I felt when we blew the first round of playoffs! I was counting on my Cubbies to get me through October!)
Sunshine
Please pass on those things which help you combat these feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and self-pity. Of all my symptoms, these are the worst.