The Chronic Illness Diaries

  • Home
  • The Chronic Illness Diaries

The Chronic Illness Diaries �
� Fibromyalgia
� Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
� 12th Rib Symdrome

It’s been a while…starting off posting again with a Let’s talk.. Did you know that fibromyalgia and depression/anxiety g...
15/09/2022

It’s been a while…starting off posting again with a Let’s talk..

Did you know that fibromyalgia and depression/anxiety go hand in hand?

They compliment each other in the worst way. If your mental health is suffering your fibromyalgia will worsen causing you to go into a pretty intense long lasting flare.

Recently my fibromyalgia got really bad. Therefore my mental health took a dive. It got so bad I was having panic attacks and anxiety attacks daily. It got to a point where I had to reach out for help.

I was lucky to have an understanding GP, strong support network and the mental health practitioners were quick to contact and assess me. Now I’m on the path to getting better. It’s going to be slow and there might be some wobbles but I will get there. Here are some things that have happened immediately since I reached out for help:

My medication for depression has doubled

My pain meds have doubled

I’m on new anxiety medication.

I’m booked in for CBT.

I felt it was important to share this as fibromyalgia can be a lonely disease and can make you feel misunderstood, isolated, alone and many more emotions. Whilst you can never be rid of fibromyalgia you are strong and you are worthy.

Your not alone. The DMs are always open and I’ve included some helplines in this post for Mental Health 24/7 open lines of communication to reach out for help.

31/01/2021

Be kind to yourself - the audio version 🙂

A little bit of a different post today but I thought it would be important to share! Amelia has had a difficult few days...
31/01/2021

A little bit of a different post today but I thought it would be important to share! Amelia has had a difficult few days (see our highlights) and been feeling really guilty that she couldn’t go through with her plans. I can’t talk for everyone but I know this can be a real struggle for those in similar situations to us. You are constantly battling with thoughts like “I can’t be lazy and rest, I need to do more” and “it’s your own fault you feel ill, you shouldn’t have over done it”. Amelia has been really unwell and with conditions like ours, pushing too hard only exacerbates symptoms so she should definitely be taking care of herself but why does this feel so wrong? Unfortunately, being kind to yourself can feel very uncomfortable but you try and learn that it’s the best way to progress because if you aren’t kind to yourself, even with all the will in the world, your body doesn’t physically allow you to carry on. Changing a mentality you’ve always lived by is really hard. So if you know someone who is chronically ill, please appreciate that even the ‘tiniest’ of tasks are a great challenge because chances are they are pushing themselves more than they feel capable of whilst beating themselves up for ‘not doing enough’. Whether you’re ill or not, give yourself a break and be kind to yourself💜 My brain fog is really bad at the minute so I’m not sure this even makes sense but hopefully it does! (PS I apologise for the hypocritical post because I HATE being kind to myself and am TERRIBLE at taking my own advice😂). B x

Chronic Illness & Lockdown. 🍃 Having a chronic illness can really impact your mental health on a daily basis - Pair that...
19/01/2021

Chronic Illness & Lockdown. 🍃

Having a chronic illness can really impact your mental health on a daily basis - Pair that with lockdown it can really exasperate any chronic illness symptoms and have a further impact on your mental well-being.

It’s so incredibly important to make sure you talk to someone. Everyone is important. Please reach out.

Our DMS are always open if anyone wants to talk - no one will be turned away. Numbers are also included on this post if you wish to reach out anonymously or wish to share the information to a loved one 🍃

13/01/2021

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? The audio version 🙂

When I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I felt very alone; pretty much everyone I knew had never even heard o...
13/01/2021

When I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I felt very alone; pretty much everyone I knew had never even heard of it! I so desperately wanted there to be more awareness of the illness and who better to raise awareness than someone living with it? Yet, due to negative comments I received from people, I was too scared of what others might say. I am still scared but after finding different people who are doing wonderful things to raise awareness, I know how much it can help to be able to relate to someone! So, I am going to try and put my worries aside and help as best I can😌 I’m not a medical professional, just someone who knows how it feels! Finally, a massive thank you to Amelia for helping me along the way💜 B x

Things I’m doing to help my fibromyalgia. As it’s getting colder my pain is getting worse, coming on faster and getting ...
02/01/2021

Things I’m doing to help my fibromyalgia.

As it’s getting colder my pain is getting worse, coming on faster and getting harder to manage. I’m relying on my painkillers which is something I don’t want to do considering constant use of painkillers can:

❄️ Become addictive
❄️ Become pseudo helpful.

Things I’m doing to help combat the pain without having to rely on pain killers are:

❄️ Using my pain slayer balm

❄️ Super hot bath when I can feel the pain coming on

❄️ A body heat pad

❄️ Distraction techniques

One thing I’m finding works for me is a hot bath keeps the pain at bay for a few hours. I then lather my pain areas in .c.c_co pain balm, lie on my heat pad & listen to one of my favourite podcasts . This helps me focus on the podcast rather than the pain. I repeat this until the pain is at a manageable level for me to relax.

When your in pain - especially for myself I find my body goes extremely stiff and I can’t relax so I do the above which makes me relax more which I’m turn relaxes my muscles.

Be safe in this weather ❄️

- A x

Welcome to The Chronic Illness Diaries. This page is where we can spread awareness on our chronic illness’s, how we mana...
02/01/2021

Welcome to The Chronic Illness Diaries. This page is where we can spread awareness on our chronic illness’s, how we manage them, techniques we use and also products we use.

We started off on Instagram and I realized not a lot of people use Instagram who might find this helpful so I thought a page may also be useful.

We are here to spread awareness of our conditions and how they affect us day to day

Address


Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Chronic Illness Diaries posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Be kind to yourself - the audio version 🙂

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? The audio version 🙂

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Alerts
  • Videos
  • Claim ownership or report listing

  • Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic?

Share