This thing is among those that have helped me tremendously in WD. I catch your drift perfectly, Mike. The emphasized piece especially (though, the entire paragraph is very important, too). Living with it *and* trying to draw a philosophical, as it were, satisfaction (despite the pain of symptoms) of adding more and more of the recovery pieces into place...
Well said, Luc. I think this whole time I've been putting off living until I am well vs just giving it a go while I am sick. I guess I am still trying to decide what "living with the illness" would look like. What changes I would make.... In part it would be not waiting to be well, just doing the best I can with what I got. I would also work to stop pining for the symptoms to go away. On a good day I might push myself a little more and take small risks, small experiments... On a bad day though it gets harder... I have days were I am literally in agony and so it's harder to just carry on... I suppose on these days I can change my criteria for what living with the illness is, to count my small accomplishments. I could also practice coping techniques (e.g., relaxing into the discomfort, letting go of frustration, and flowing with it).
Do you have any ideas. I'd like to hear your thoughts of what living with the illness means to you... Thanks,
Mike
