WELCOME . . .
(I’m so glad you’ve found us!)
I am a Chronic Illness Warrior, but I didn’t always see myself as one.
Until I learned to . . .
- be creative and strategic (so I could get more done with limited energy)
- brain-fog proof my life (create systems and get more organized)
- adopt a different mindset (change the way I tackle challenges and limitations)
- learn to love myself and find my worth in life (despite feeling broken and a burden)
- make mental health a priority (through treatment and self-care)
. . . my life was dominated by my chronic conditions (yep, that’s plural.)
I felt like I was living on a roller coaster.
Some days I could manage life and had a positive outlook. Then on other days, a flare or medication change would suddenly cause me to go into survival mode.
I couldn’t enjoy life or even see that my life was worth anything because I so often felt like a “taker” instead of a “giver.”
Instead of thriving (which so many people around me seemed to be able to do with ease,) I was stuck in survival mode most of the time.
Well, I’ve always been an outside-of-the-box thinker. And I love to do research. When I came across this article about Warrior Mindset, I realized I could apply this to my own struggles with chronic illness.
So that’s exactly what I did.
As a former teacher, I knew I could teach others to do this too.
That’s how Chronic Illness Warrior Life blog came to be.
To be clear . . . I am not a licensed health-care professional and the information on my blog, Chronic Illness Warrior Life, is not intended to take the place of professional medical advice or treatment.
I strive everyday to inspire others and be a source of hope in an otherwise dark and unrelenting struggle.
And here at Chronic Illness Warrior Life, you are understood. Friend, I am walking right alongside you.
Keeping Up with All Your Medical Information
What to Do When You Need Encouragement
Ali is a contributing writer for The Mighty and ScaryMommy.
I am most proud to be a mother of 4 and so thankful for my loving hubby. They are the lights that help me see through the darkness. You see, I have struggled with Chronic Illness for most of my life.
Chronic Illness has been part of my life since college. Diagnosed then with Depression & Anxiety, I struggled to find balance and hope.
After becoming a mother in my twenties, I spent over a decade weaving back and forth between surviving and thriving.
Then right before I turned 40, the “heavy hitter” diagnoses started.
It started with my knees–achy and swollen . . .and I just felt like I had the flu.
I remember the day I saw my GP about my symptoms so clearly. I had just dropped off my preschooler and as I got out of my minivan I found myself walking like I was much older than my driver’s license said.
He gave me a round of steroids and told me that if the symptoms come back after I finished the prescription, then I might have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I was shocked because up until then I had only dealt with mental illness. And since it can take up to a year to find the right medications to manage the RA, my physical activity was severely limited.
It was at this moment that I was considering starting a blog. And I am thankful everyday that I seized this opportunity. Blogging became my way of coping with my sudden limitations and struggles.
After my RA was under control, it became evident that my chronic back pain was due to something else. All of this time my mood was becoming increasingly unbalanced. My psychiatrist was intentional about the medications she prescribed–focusing on ones that could help with both mood and the chronic pain.
My RA is pretty much under control and I haven’t had a flare in more than a year. I also had a spinal stimulator installed to help control my chronic back pain.
Life is not perfect, but I have found a way to create a fulfilling one.
More specifically, why do I think we can be warriors?
I built this blog on the premise that we all have a warrior within ourselves. That’s because I believe that waking up everyday to face the world and make the most out of life all the while living with a chronic condition means that we have the heart of a warrior.
We accept our challenges and are constantly looking for ways to make our lives better as well as those around us.
The missing piece that can truly help us to live out the warrior within us is to adopt a different mindset–a warrior mindset.
We spend a lot of time “reacting” to things that happen to us. But if we start thinking ahead and become proactive, we take back control of our lives.
A unique story about a donkey being dropped in a well because a farmer wanted to get rid of him really illustrates how this works.
So I would love it if you stick around and become a part of our community!
Not only do I share inspiration, I have created a VIP Resource Library (that over 6K people have signed up for) that will help you get started on creating the life you deserve.
*Once you sign up with your email address, you will receive the VIP password.
