It's time for PFAM 20! To recap, the question I asked was:
My question is about adapting - the ol' "bend but don't break." If you have a chronic illness, you may not be able to pursue the goals you'd have if you were healthy. My question therefore is, "how have you learned to adapt around your illness in order to accomplish things that are important to you - even though your illness may prevent you from achieving the goals you had before you got sick?"
PFAM is Duncan Cross's carnival so I'll start with his submission. His take is an interesting one and focuses on the spiritual idea of detachment as a way of dealing with illness in terms of setting goals and maintaining relationships:
-http://duncancross.net/2010/03/bending-without-breaking/
Annie talks about how it's hard to adapt to an illness when it starts so young that you don't really know anything else:
-http://a-b-martin.blogspot.com/2010/03/chronic-illness-and-life-goals.html
Maureen just wants to be okay one day at a time. It's about appreciating each good day as it comes:
-http://moisbloggingithink.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/i-just-want-to-be-ok-today/
Sandra's perspective is an intriguing one. Her illness forces her into a measure of solitude, and she tries to use it to achieve greater spiritual growth through meditation:
-http://healingei.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/adaptation/
Selena can't "just do it" anymore. Dealing with doctors who don't get it hasn't been fun, but she's shrunk down her ambitions and she's found ways to remain active in ways that her illness allows. Getting a dog has helped her to continue taking walks and do milder forms of exercise than before she was ill:
-http://www.ohmyachesandpains.info/2010/03/just-do-it-cure-for-fibromyalgia.html
Diana has has to give up some of the things that made her feel like "her." But she's adapted by getting involved in blogging and advocacy:
-http://somebodyhealme.dianalee.net/2010/03/finding-meaningful-path-when-life.html
Julia writes a fun post about a Sjoggie's version of housecleaning - or not housecleaning:
-http://reasonablywell-julia.blogspot.com/2010/01/sjoggies-version-of-housecleaning.html
Leslie reviews a book, Despite Lupus in her submission. "Despite Lupus makes me realize that in some ways, lupus, while making life decidedly more complicated, takes me back to the basics of things":
-http://gettingclosertomyself.blogspot.com/2010/03/despite-lupus.html
Sara talks about a wonderful trip she took to Egypt and Jordan in spite of her RA symptoms:
-http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/24582/87545/dead
There's a wonderful array of responses with many layers and dimensions. I hesitate to summarize due to the variety of the replies, but I think overall these stories encompass my own attitude toward the often intolerable pain that has been encroaching on my life. Foremost we must be real with ourselves. There's no point in pretending we're not ill. However, it's also important to set goals and appreciate and enjoy life as much as possible. I believe we have to do everything possible to avoid falling into depression over what is happening. Of course everything depends on the specific illness and how much it impairs daily life. Strangely illness has some positive aspects to it. It wakes us up to what is truly important, and lets us know who our real friends are. And sometimes, if there's a great experience to be had, maybe it's worth enduring some extra pain in order to go through with it after all!
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