đź’ŞI create resources to help people adapt to living with chronic illness so they can thrive.
🫶What to do when self-compassion feels out of reach
|
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 feel safe or accessible on demand. Sometimes it feels like one more thing you’re failing at. I wrote this week’s post to slow that narrative down. It looks at why self-compassion with chronic illness often feels out of reach, especially after long stretches of survival mode. Not to fix it. Not to push gentleness. But to help you understand what’s actually been shaping your self-talk and why your resistance makes sense. If you’ve ever thought, “I know I should be nicer to myself, but I just can’t get there,” this post was written with you in mind. You can read it here: Why Self-Compassion Feels Out of Reach With Chronic Illness​ ​ And if language is what’s hardest when kindness feels inaccessible, I also shared the affirmations I use when my own compassion runs thin. They’re practical and designed to reduce pressure, not add to it. Take what’s useful. Leave the rest. With care, ​
|
April Smith | The Thriving Spoonie
đź’ŞI 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...