The Holidays with Chronic Illness

The holidays are a busy time of the year and can make even the healthiest of people exhausted. Those of us with chronic illnesses or autoimmune struggle even more. This year I flew home for Thanksgiving for just a few days but it took me a week to recoup. I LOVED being home and seeing my family especially because its been over a year since I had been home but between the large shifts in weather from here to there and being on the go I found myself soo exhausted that I was falling asleep during Thanksgiving dinner.

Thankfully my family understands and I have learned how to express how I’m feeling and not push myself. I remember when I was first diagnosed I did everything I could to keep moving and going just so I wouldn’t get treated any differently because of my ulcerative colitis and after I got home I would be completely out of commission for days, missing work and unable to even do any of the normal day to day chores. It was so depressing because before my diagnosis I was like the energizer bunny and I could just go and go and go lol. Now, I’m lucky to get through a whole day without needing a nap.

The holidays can also be a hard time for us with chronic illness and it can be very depressing because we can’t show up like we want to! Baking, cooking and holiday parties used to be so fun for me. Every year I would cook a pumpkin, purée it and freeze it just so I could bake a ton of fall deserts but now my hands hurt soo bad from the rheumatoid arthritis that it would be impossible for me to do it on my own and that amount of work would require a full day or two to recover from. Thankfully because I flew in I didn’t have to cook or bake anything. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking and baking but I just had to learn I can’t do it for large events anymore.

I would love to hear from those of you with chronic illness or autoimmes on how you manage to get through the holidays and what tips or tricks you have! The best thing I did was forgive myself for not being able to do the things I used to and to allow myself breaks when I needed them. I am also very vocal with my friends and family now about my limitations and I put myself first. This wasn’t easy for me to learn but it was the best I could have done for myself.

I pray that everyone that is going through chronic illness during this holiday season can love themselves first and enjoy the time they have friends and family or however the holidays work or you.

Love,

Dare to Fly