💪I create resources to help people adapt to living with chronic illness so they can thrive.
A gentler way to move through the holidays ☃️
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Hi Reader, There’s something about this time of year that brings up a strange combination of anticipation and pressure. The world starts shifting into celebration mode, and even if you love parts of the season, it can still feel like the pace around you speeds up long before your body is ready to match it. Lately,a I’ve been noticing all the small ways the holidays feel different when your energy is limited and your symptoms don’t take a break just because the calendar says it’s time to gather. Not the big, dramatic moments, but the quiet ones. The ones where you’re trying to balance what you want to do with what your body can actually manage. The ones where you want connection without the days-long crash that so often follows. I’ve been sitting with those moments and how they shape this season in ways many people never see. And the more I paid attention, the more I realized there’s something worth naming here. Something about capacity, and the desire to participate, and the reality of moving through the holidays in a body that doesn’t always cooperate. So I put those thoughts into a new post. It isn’t about dwelling on the hard parts. It’s about finding steadiness and support in the middle of them, and offering a gentler way to move through this season without abandoning yourself. I’m grateful for you, and grateful for the thoughtful, supportive community we’re creating together, especially during a season that can feel heavy and hopeful at the same time. Warmly,
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April Smith | The Thriving Spoonie
💪I create resources to help people adapt to living with chronic illness so they can thrive.
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...
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....
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...