Day 29 of the 30 Day Chronic Illness Challenge on 7 Cups

Day #29: What has helped you cope with the stress of this lifestyle?

I'll list a few things that come to mind. 

-My cats. They've always given me a reason to keep going, and they're really good at comforting me. It's also nice that they'll come to visit me when I'm lying down when I don't have people who can/will. 

-My partner. I've never been as comfortable around anyone else. He knows me really well, and we've been through some tough times together I didn't think we'd make it through. He's stuck around when he probably should have left. Several years later, he's still with me and understands the whole chronic illness thing surprisingly well. 

-My mom. We usually don't get along too well, and things can be chaotic between us, but she lives with many of the same illnesses. I learn a lot from her, and she plans a lot of my appointments for me because I can't get myself to talk to people. This lifestyle would've been much harder without her.

-Coffee. It seems to help with my pain and therefore makes me more functional.

-Online communities. Knowing others who also live with chronic illness can be comforting and can help me have lower expectations of myself. 

-Food that's easy to get and eat. Do I really have to explain this one?

It's Thanksgiving and I'm Exhausted

Today's been better. Still getting that constant vertigo and weird bladder issues, but I've been able to manage. (To be honest, it got to the point where I lightly peed my pants yesterday without warning. It was during a time when the constantly-needing-to-pee feeling was finally leaving me alone for once. That feeling doesn't seem to trustworthy anymore, but I know my body's trying its best.) It's been the most productive day I've had in a while, even though I spent most of the time zoning out. Now that I think of it, I can't really remember what I've done today. I just know that I've checked a lot of items off my to-do list. I'm good with that.

It's only about 11:30PM (which isn't that late to me), and I'm ready to lie down in bed and instantly fall asleep. I've spent much of the past few hours eating and spending time with my family. (Maybe that's why I'm so exhausted.) We didn't have much of a variety, but the food was all really good--at least to me. It's been a while since I've had that much real food. We also picked up some gluten-free bready things from a nearby (meaning an hour away) bakery. I really wish my stomach could hold more of that stuff.

Compared to yesterday and the days before, everything feels a lot clearer, and I think I'm less depressed. At least I could say I'm much more motivated than before. I mean, there's no way I would've been able to get any of this stuff done during the last however many days. Maybe I'll continue to feel this way tomorrow.