Análú Therapy

Chronic illness has taken a lot from me.

But it has also changed the way I move through life.

I don’t glorify being ill, and I’d never choose this life. But I’ve realised I don’t actually want to go back to the version of me who thought exhaustion was normal, who carried everyone else’s worries, and who measured her worth by how much she could do.

It’s okay to grieve who you were.

And it’s okay to embrace who you are now, illness and all.

Two things can be true at the same time 🤍

If you’ve ever walked away thinking, “They still don’t get it,” this is for you. 🤍

For a long time, I thought I’d only feel confident again if my body became predictable.

It never did.

But over time, I became more familiar with my illness, and that familiarity brought a little more confidence.

If you’re in the stage where everything feels unfamiliar and uncertain, I hope this gives you a little hope. 🤍

Maybe you’re not overthinking your symptoms after all. Sometimes understanding why your brain works the way it does can be the first step towards being a little kinder to yourself.

Some days, it’s not that you don’t know what might help.

It’s that your symptoms have taken so much from you that even the things that usually support you feel out of reach.

On those days, try meeting yourself where you are, not where you think you should be.

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for your nervous system is stop asking it to do one more thing 🤍

Nobody really talks about this part of chronic illness.

Maybe it’s time we did.

Go gently today 🤍

Chronic illness doesn’t always look the way people expect it to.

For years I think we’ve been taught to measure illness by what we can see. But some of the hardest parts of living with chronic illness are the parts nobody else can see.

Visibility isn’t the same as severity.

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood because you “look well”, you’re not alone. 🤍

People don’t always realise how much they protect you
sometimes by holding parts of themselves back.
But I still want to hear it.

Part 11: 11 years 11 lessons

The final lesson: I’m still not in charge of my illness. But I’m more in charge of me.

For anyone having one of those days where your chronic illness floors you.
You don’t have to solve anything today. You just have to get through this moment.

Save this for when you need it.