When I was first diagnosed with a chronic condition, I felt completely lost. It took me months , and several mistakes, to learn how to manage my health. If you’re just starting your journey, I want to share what I wish I’d known sooner, some of the biggest mistakes I made living with a chronic condition.
This is not a medical advice, I am here to share some wellness and lifestyle tips I learned throughout my journey.
Neglecting Sleep:
Getting enough quality sleep at night is essential for the body to build and repair itself, regulate hormones and maintain normal immune function. One of my biggest mistakes during flare-ups was not maintaining a regular, healthy sleep schedule. This had a huge impact on my energy levels and recovery.
I know, it was not that easy especially when I was dealing with symptoms that kept me up at night. Here are a few things that I find helpful:
- Having a cup of peppermint tea before bedtime to relieve pain and help with relaxation.
- Breathing exercises.
- Not using the phone at least an hour before going to bed or using the blue light filter.
- Having a clean and refreshing sleeping environment to boost relaxation and reduce stress before bed time.
- Listening to calm and relaxing sounds such as the rain, or the sea soundtracks.
I realised that good sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s one of the best medicines you can give your body.
Falling into Negativity:
Living with a chronic condition is difficult and challenging, especially during flare-up times where you live with debilitating symptoms and low energy daily.
My condition disrupted my plans and forced me to slow down. For the first few months, I lost hope and I thought I will never be able to resume my life normally again. I was stressing out about everything. That is a major mistake that I made. unfortunatley, I realised too late that maintaining a positive mindset is crucial and has a positive impact on chronic illness recovery process.
During difficult times, I reached out for family and friends (people that I highly trust and know well) and shared with them my concerns and feelings, they could provide support by listening and providing support with daily tasks.
Journaling or writing are healthy ways to express negative thoughts and acknowledge them, much better than keeping them bottled up. Eventhough I am not a good writer, nor I write that much but I still keep a dairy close to reach in case I need to share when no one is around to listen and understand.
Also, one thing I found personally helpful to cope with my chronic condition, was reading about others experiences and learning from their journeys. It is kind of comforting to know that there are many people out there who share the same or similar challenges.
Staying hopeful doesn’t mean ignoring your struggles, it means believing you can heal and grow through them.
The lack of physical activity:
Staying physically active is scientifically proven to regulate the immune system and boost physical and mental well-being. The problem is, it is difficult to maintain physical activity with limited energy.
“I was resting”. That is what I thought, but over-resting is a problem I would not want either. The lack of physical activity is a big mistake I made during my flare-up. Not being physically active contributed to lower energy levels, that is what I realised too late. You do not need to do strenuous work outs, especially when your body is recovering from a chronic condition, Doing light exercise, such as a morning walk, can improve mental health and help regulate the immune system, which is crucial for chronic conditions.
Even a short walk or gentle stretching can make a big difference, consistency matters more than intensity
Final Thoughts:
Living with a chronic condition can be deeply challenging, especially with fatigue and constant symptoms. Small lifestyle changes and healthy habits helped me cope with my condition and maintain remission. Lack of sleep, inactivity, and negative thinking were my biggest mistakes , and ones you can avoid. Remember, progress is slow but real. Healing isn’t linear, but it’s always possible.
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