The Impact Your Chronic Illness Can Have on Your Mental Health

Trigger Warning: Suicidal Thoughts & Vomit I have occasionally mentioned here that I struggle with my mental health. I have been diagnosed with Anxiety,Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) as a result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)… And then I got sick. That's something they don't tell you about mental illnesses… as …

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As if Periods Weren’t Difficult Enough…

My Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD) has been a tad bit more touchy than normal lately. You may recall that in May of this year I was in the ER for an adrenal crisis when a tech came in to perform an EKG because my potassium levels were through the floor and she was wearing …

#ChronicallyIllAndThankful Posts

A few days ago I mentioned that during the month of November I would be posting daily one thing involving or surrounding my chronic illnesses that I am grateful for. Below you can read the posts that I have shared. Day 1: Today I am grateful for physical therapists. About 6 weeks ago I started …

#ChronicallyIllAndThankful

Did you know November is National Gratitude Month? What exactly is gratitude? The dictionary defines it as the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  Because chronic illness has taken a lot of my independence and therefore has forced me to rely on other people which has made …

Portable Medical Necessity Storage

If you are chronically ill, chances are you have emergency medications and or vital monitors that you need to carry on you at all times. I use this red first aid kit case that I found at Target for only $6. It came empty, with was perfect for me because I did not need any …

Sick People Doing Things Challenge

Last week I participated in the Sick People Doing Things Challenge on Instagram which encouraged us to not talk about our illnesses for one solid week on social media. The premise is that some in the chronically ill community (both on social media and in the real world) don’t know themselves outside their illnesses and …

Birthday Expectations

  Tomorrow (10/12) is my birthday… And as my birthday approaches, I have been struggling more and more with the fact that I am not where I expected to be at 27 years old.  If you had asked me asked me 10 years ago where I would be today, I would have said that I …

Communication is a Two Way Street Paved in Frequent Misunderstandings

Shortly after becoming ill, in June of 2016, I started a support group for people who have intracranial hypertension and their loved ones called IIH Warriors. This group gives people who have IIH or are a caregiver of someone with IIH a place to commiserate in their pain and difficult experiences, share helpful tips, vent, …

Hold On and Wait

Trigger Warning: Suicidal Thoughts This week (September 10-16, 2018) is National Suicide Prevention Week here in the U.S. There is no denying that living with chronic illness is a daily struggle and can take a toll on your mental health... Especially when those chronic illnesses bring along with them chronic pain and other debilitating symptoms …

Learning NOT to Equate My Self Worth with My Accomplishments

To be honest, I am not entirely sure how to start this post… But I feel like that may happen quite a bit in the future as we cover difficult topics that make me vulnerable. So in my last post I talked about how I have officially been sick for three years. In those three …