Hi there Reader, I wanted to share something a little different this week. I just updated an older blog post on burnout and chronic illness. Not a light edit, but a real revision that reflects how my understanding of burnout has changed over time, shaped by lived experience, boundaries I had to learn the hard way, and a much clearer picture of what doesn’t work. Burnout with chronic illness isn’t loud for most of us. It doesn’t always look like a breakdown. More often, it shows up as quiet...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, There’s a phrase I hear all the time in the chronic illness space, and I’ve said it myself more times than I can count. “I’ll catch up when I have more energy.” It sounds reasonable. Responsible, even. And yet, if you’ve been living with chronic illness for a while, you’ve probably noticed how often that plan quietly falls apart. The catch-up day takes more out of you than expected. The next few days feel harder. And suddenly you’re behind again, wondering why this keeps happening....
15 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, If self-compassion has felt distant lately, awkward, or just plain unavailable, this is for you. Not in a “you should be kinder to yourself” way. More in a “there might be a reason this feels hard right now” way. A lot of chronic illness advice treats self-compassion like a skill you can strengthen if you just try harder or practice more consistently. But when you’ve spent years overriding your body, managing symptoms, and staying functional under pressure, kindness doesn’t always...
22 days ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader,If you’re feeling more wiped out now than you were during the holidays, this is for you. There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that shows up once things finally slow down. The plans are over. The expectations ease up. And instead of relief, your body seems to… drop. Energy dips. Emotions feel heavier. Routines that usually help feel harder to restart. That moment can be confusing, especially when you’ve already done so much work learning how to pace, rest, and adapt. It’s easy to...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, The days after the holidays can feel strangely unmoored. Not quite rest. Not quite routine. Just that in-between space where your body is tired, your rhythm is off, and everything that used to feel automatic suddenly takes effort. If you’ve been feeling that lately, you’re not behind. You’re recalibrating. I wrote a new post this week about what it actually looks like to rebuild daily rhythm after the holidays when you live with chronic illness. Not the “get back on track” version....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I wrote this for you if the New Year already feels heavy. Not because you don’t want things to be better, but because the pressure to reset, optimize, and push harder doesn’t actually fit your body anymore. Especially when you’re living with chronic illness and your energy doesn’t follow tidy timelines. Every January, there’s this unspoken expectation that now is the moment to fix everything. New routines. New habits. New discipline. And even when we know that kind of thinking...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader,When winter slows you down more than you expected, it can mess with your head a bit. The quieter days, the lower energy, the sense that you should be doing more with your time even when your body is clearly saying otherwise. That tension used to show up for me every winter, especially while living with chronic illness. For a long time, I treated winter like something to push through. Shorter days felt like a challenge to overcome rather than a season to move with. And when I...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, As the year winds down, a lot of people start talking about clarity, lessons, and what they plan to do differently. But if you’re living with chronic illness, the end of the year often carries a different kind of weight. It can feel like you’re holding the sum of twelve unpredictable months in your body, not neatly tucked into a journal or tied together in a tidy reflection. I found myself reaching this season without the usual energy to make meaning out of everything. There wasn’t...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
There’s this point in December where the world seems to speed up—even if you’re standing still. The invites stack up, the errands multiply, and everyone starts talking about “making the most of the season” like that phrase means the same thing for everyone. But when you’re living with chronic illness, your capacity doesn’t expand just because the calendar says it should. That’s what I kept thinking as I wrote this week’s post—not about how to squeeze more joy into a season that’s already too...
2 months ago • 1 min read