Balance & Boundaries

 Anyone living with a chronic illness knows all too well the difficulty of finding just the right balance between pushing through the pain to get more accomplished and knowing when to press pause. Debilitating fatigue is indeed one of the most common and well documented symptom among those with an autoimmune disease. Often times chronic illness and systemic diseases are invisible. For some, the manifestation is only noticeable if a mobility aid--cane, wheelchair etc.--is in use and sadly makes testing or quantifying the effect virtually impossible. As of this writing, there is no litmus test or treatment for fatigue. 

Living with what I like to call an "abstract" illness, often leads able bodied people, including loved-- ones to question the seriousness of your disease. By default, this judgement often causes  chronic illness warriors to push above and beyond what we should. The result??  Pure exhaustion at best, a crisis level flare at worst.

Chronic and systemic disease such as Lupus, Sjogrens and Multiple Sclerosis for example are all energy vampires. Autoimmune diseases( especially this trifecta) cause systemic inflammation. The cytokines that regulate normal cognition, sleep and mood functions are completed disrupted causing inexplicable fatigue.

Every person's needs will be different--what you eat, how long you sleep--anything that may make lofe a little easier, but the on constant is finding your balance and setting meaningful boundaries. All Spoonies understand the importance of figuring out how much you can do--without effectively using  up all your spoons( energy) at one given time.

Your village or support system may not be able to fully understand the weight of this burden, but it's up to each person to carefully examine the task, the iportance of the task and how much energy you can afford to put into it without causing harm. This is easier said than done, but an absolute necessity. 

Whether you need a quick nap or two throughout the day, a longer lunch break at work or need to say no to that invite you agreed to last week--do what's best for you!! There is no one size fits all when battling chronic fatigue. You must put yourself first and conserve your energy no matter what. Find your balance and set your boundaries. Protecting your health mental and physical is absolutely vital. Remember, everything counts as a win--washing your hair, making the bed, getting dressed--no tasks is menial when living with chronic illness. Do what you can and leave the rest. You're worthy, you matter, and you're enough just as you are. 💖

#health #fatigue #chronicillness