4 tips For Finding Focus With Your Chronically Well Habits
Can you do less to gain more out of life with chronic illness?
With all the messaging out there telling you to “do this” to feel better, or “do that” to find your magic cure, it can be a bit noisy. It can be hard to remember that what YOU think is best for you is more important than the noise.
And, maybe you don’t need to do MORE things. Maybe you need to focus on what is most important to you, or the most effective for you….and, let the rest go.
You might not expect a health coach to advise you to put the brakes on making a healthy lifestyle change, but sometimes too much is too much.
My hope is that you will be successful in whatever habits or practices you take on. But, there is a limit to how much you can do to overhaul your health and life at one time—-especially, when you are living with chronic illness and have a limited body budget.
Sometimes the amount of information and advice that comes to us when living with chronic illness can be overwhelming. Whether you are seeing lots of lifestyle advice on social media or getting a lot of advice from people in your life, it can be hard to take in *all the things* and know what is right for you.
It can feel overwhelming if you truly want to make a lot of changes in your lifestyle but have limited energy to make it happen.
If reading this is already stressing you out, let’s take a pause. Maybe a deep breath. And, then consider these 4 tips for sorting through the noise in order to determine what is right for you.
4 Tips For Finding Focus With Your Chronically Well Habits -
ONE - Check Your Gut reaction
How does the advice or info land with you? Does it seem like a “yes,” “no,” or “maybe later?” Tune into what you think about a particular practice or habit and whether it seems like a good fit for you.
Maybe a certain practice worked for someone else that you know. But, it might not work for you. Or, maybe the timing might not be right. Whatever is feeling “not quite right” about advice or information is worth noting.
On the other hand, if it sounds like a “hell, yes,” then that is also useful information. And, if it sounds promising, but you are not really sure, then take some time to sit with it. Take some time to research.
Your mind/body is wise, even if it might take the day off from time to time. For more discussion about listening to your intuition, check out this blog post about Unlocking The Power Of Your Informed Intuition.
TWO - REmember that there is no one-size-fits-all
If there was a one size-fits-all approach to wellness, those of us who are interested would all know about it, and do it. But, there is not a simple answer or magic pill that will cure everyone of chronic illness. There are definitely some overarching ideas about what we can each do to take care of ourselves (e.g., stress reduction, rest, nutrition, hydration, movement, etc.). However, the specifics can vary for each of us.
For a deeper dive on finding out how to fit wellness into your life in a realistic and sustainable way, check out this blog post and find out more about Chronically Well.
Three - Notice when too much is too much
Speaking for myself and many of my chronic illness coaching clients, we have all tried a lot of different things - different diets, different exercise regimes, different supplements, different mind/body modalities, etc. And, sometimes we have hit the jackpot and find something that helps to level up our individual wellness, and sometimes we are disappointed.
Unless you are newly diagnosed, you have probably “been there, done that” on a lot of things. It doesn’t mean that you might not want to try something new or retry something again. However, you likely have a sense of what helps you and what doesn’t. Maybe you need to tweak as your situation changes, or as you plateau.
But, sometimes adding more habits and goals to the mix can be counterproductive. Sometimes, adding more is not necessarily going to help you out if it drains you.
For example, if you have been advised to do certain physical therapy exercises, but you start to experience a new level of fatigue or symptoms that make it difficult to do these as advised, it might not be your time. In this case, it would make sense to reach out to your PT, let them know, and see if there is a modified version you can do until your energy level comes back up. You are not stuck! You can make modifications that help to meet you as you are feeling any day.
Remember - You are the expert on you. You know your life situation, your health situation and your values better than anyone else. Do not discount your expertise on what is right for you and when. You know when you feel up to taking on a big lifestyle change and when you don’t. You also know when you might be putting off a change for a valid reason (or, not!).
While I would definitely advocate for having a sense of open-mindedness and experimentation when making a lifestyle change that might help you, I believe that you know best about whether you have the bandwidth to take on something new.
The key is to be focused on what you are doing so that you can feel confident in keeping it up over the long-term rather than trying to do too much at once, be unsuccessful at it, and then burn out. It would be great to take a more incremental and sustainable approach so that you can be successful and reap the benefits in the long-term!
four - Have Self-compassion
When you have a chronic illness, there are a lot of things about it that are outside your control. And, there are a lot of lifestyle choices that are within your control. However, sometimes there is only so much body budget you have to work with. Be gentle with yourself. When you are not feeling well and don’t have a lot of energy, it can be ridiculously hard to make a bunch of changes all at once. You don’t necessarily want to aim for a complete overhaul of your life when you are feeling like you are running on fumes.
Small efforts over time can add up. And, that approach makes a lot more sense when energy is low.
Frankly, it makes sense even when your energy level is fine. Habits are typically a slow build. It can be hard to make even one change at a time. So, it would be difficult to expect a complete lifestyle overhaul all at once.
Looking For Clarity?
For more information on where to focus to find you balance with chronic illness by accepting the free 7-Day Chronic Wellness Challenge
My hope is that you find a lifestyle balance that works to nurture you and what you want out of your life and health.
And, when you take on a lifestyle or habit change, I hope you find a way to fit it into your life in a way that works for you. This frequently looks like finding your own balanced approach - not too extreme, not too fast, not too much at once. The point is to take a sustainable approach that you can maintain over the long-term.
If you are looking for more clarity on finding where to focus your energy to find a better balance with chronic illness, I invite you to accept my free, 7-day Chronic Wellness Challenge.
When you try to make a lot of habit shifts at once, what has been the result?
How could taking a balanced, step-by-step approach improve the sustainability of your habits?
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