ARCHIVES
I believe that there is always a “silver lining” behind the dark clouds of life. Finding our way through the toughest challenges teaches us many things about who we are and about the hidden strengths that lie within. It also helps us develop an abiding empathy for those who suffer under the weight of similar difficulty, which in turn inspires us to offer a helping hand to others who struggle. One of the most difficult struggles of my life was the time spent suffering with a chronic illness, which was not understood by my medical team. It required me to seek my own answers and search for a professional who could help, while at the pinnacle of my illness. My hope is that by sharing my story, others who also struggle with chronic illness (and illusive answers), might find some new light. These articles are focused on the things that I learned through my own health journey, as I walked “Through the Valley”, ultimately climbing back onto the precipice of Wellness. I am not a doctor, but I have a story. I hope my story will somehow find those who need to hear it.
Stepping Away From the Shadows -Misperceptions around chronic illness can force those, who suffer, into the shadows. Awareness around the validity of their plight will help them step away from the shadows… into healing light.
Through the Valley -This is the account of my long struggle with a chronic illness that had proven to be impossible for my physicians to figure out, my inner resolve to find the elusive answers that would uncover the root cause, and the ultimate healing that I found. Chronic illness is pervasive. Many people struggle, unknowingly, with the same underlying root cause that drove my illness. My hope is that by sharing my story, those who also struggle with chronic illness (and no answers) will find encouragement, hope, and new information, which might shed light on their own healing journey.
Barren –It was early. Pre dawn. I had recently learned of the underlying cause of my long struggle with a chronic illness. It had been one of those good news/bad news things. However, I hadn’t really grasped that, in the beginning. Initially, it had felt as though blazing floodlights had been thrown over a darkened sports arena, temporarily blinding me with the brilliance of hope -that I finally had a decent shot of winning the big game. But this morning, the reality of how this particular game would unfold had come into clear focus…
How I Changed My Mind and Opened Up New Possibilities For Healing –It’s tough to maintain emotional wellbeing while suffering with chronic illness. The constant barrage of symptoms wears us down and can dishearten even the most resilient among us. Hopeful thoughts can easily be pushed into the abyss of hopeless expectation, making it imperative that we get intentional about identifying the thinking that shuts us down...
6 Things Chronic Illness Taught Me –Inherent in all difficulty is its power to teach us invaluable truths. Life with chronic illness is no exception. Things change when people find themselves immersed in the unstable world of chronic illness. The quality of my life changed, dramatically, during the years that I struggled with both CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, triggered by toxic mold exposure) and the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis…
