Chronic Illness Truth #28

This is such a COMMON MISCONCEPTION about chronic illness!!

I am finding myself escaping judgment like this the more I discover healing and am able to do more things. But, for the first 3 years of my Lyme journey when I was home-bound and bedridden, I received many comments about how lucky I was to just lay around at home all day.

To this day, I still receive comments about how my illness gives me "so much more time." That's just simply not the case.

Whether you're chronically ill, or healthy as can be, managing time is something that everyone has to learn. And an illness adds extra to the list of to-do's and compels one to re-prioritize.

It's a DAILY, CONSTANT battle.

Daily appointments.
Daily protocols.
Daily fatigue.
Daily pain.
Daily stress.
Daily heartache.
Daily discomfort.
Daily routines that if I don't do I'll be sicker than I already am.

Chronic illness doesn't make life any easier just because I can't hold a full-time job or go to college full time.  It's not a constant vacation, and it's not an excuse for me to be lazy. On the contrary, it often adds to my life because I have to work twice as hard to acquire QUALITY of life.

Don't assume that anyone's lot is easier than yours. Instead, offer compassion and love. I know I have it easier than some of my other chronically ill friends, but that still makes me journey hard for me. And through the hard, I'm learning how to ask for help and rely on God and the people who love we me the most to give me the daily love and help that I need. We are all learning how to do that, and we will be a lot more successful as we work to encourage and help one another through it all. Asking for help and not being able to do "normal" things is nothing to be ashamed of. My story looks different than the average young person, and that's okay. My job is to live life with this illness to the fullest that I can manage.​

Comment below if you relate, and remember that taking time to rest and do treatment is nothing to be ashamed of!