Welcome to Krissy's Thoughts & More

Dear Healthy Friends,

Here's what you can do for me:

-be thankful you don't have a chronic illness.

-be thankful you don't have to deal with pain every second of your life.

-be thankful you don't have to choose between making breakfast and taking a shower before you leave the house..

-be thankful you don’t have to plan your life around your physical limitations.

     Living with a chronic illness is no walk in the park. When you’re sick with a cold or the flu, you know that eventually, you’re going to get better and life goes back to normal. A chronic illness is very different. It’s 24/7 and most likely may never go away. You have to reframe and redirect your life and thoughts to support a different narrative. Here are some tips to not only help you live a better life with your chronic illness, but help you thrive.

For a lot of people, the Holiday season is “the most wonderful time of the year,” but everyone doesn’t feel that way. For some, this time of year can be stressful as some may be experiencing SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), financial issues, or experienced a loss.

     Self care should always be a priority, but practicing self care around the Holidays is a MUST. You can do more for others once you’ve done right by yourself. Remember, you can’t drive other people around if you don’t have any gas.

1. Remember to Laugh

     Living in chronic pain has made my sense of humor pretty dark to say the least. I can laugh at pretty much anything. Remember this when things aren’t going your way. Sometimes you have to literally laugh to keep from crying.

2. Create a...

Well Warriors.... I did it. I went to a different country... a whole other continent by myself. I still can’t even believe the “solo-cation” actually happened.

     Weeks before departure time, my entire family was nervous for me; I wasn’t the least bit bothered until the day it was time for me to board. I had tears in my eyes as I was leaving my mom and headed through airport security.

     When I arrived in Bangkok and checked into my hotel, I found...

1. Acknowledge and accept your limitations.

     13 years of living with a chronic illness and I still struggle with this. Acceptance isn’t something you master and get over, it comes and goes. You can go an entire week being completely okay with your limitations and then BOOM; some thing or event sets you back. It’s important to remind yourself that limits are just that. It’s perfectly normal to get mad or be sad; you absolutely have the right to be, but you must not stay in that place. It’s not good for your mental health. 

1. Get moving

Even though you may be in pain when you get started, you HAVE to move. Not only will you start to feel a little better, your joints will be less stiff, but you will get a boost of endorphins.  During exercise, your body releases these chemicals which interact with the receptors in our brains that reduce the perception of pain.