Gratitude Journaling and Chronic Illnesses
How I've learned gratitude for the smallest things from having chronic illnesses
When you have a chronic illness, like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME, Long Covid, or chronic pain, you may not be able to do many of the things that you used to do. You may not be as active or able to leave the house. However, through having this illness and through my recovery and maintenance stage, I've come to realise that things can be really tough and yet I can be grateful for the smallest things. I can be grateful for spending a short amount of time with friends. I can be grateful for being able to get out of my home and be out in the sun and feel happy for being able to attend a community event or have lunch with some business associates. All of these things wouldn't have been possible for me during a lot of the time in my early stages of having chronic illnesses.
I haven't talked about my other illnesses much, but the initial stages of having a fistula were incredibly painful, exhausting and embarrassing. It meant I was unable to sit properly, lie on my back, bend over or walk properly. I have also been left with a chronic knee injury as a result of my issues from having to sit awkwardly for years due to chronic pain.
During this time even the smallest things like getting out of the house or sitting at a table to eat dinner seemed impossible due to the fatigue, pain and postural issues I encountered. Thanks to a PA to support me, gentle restorative yoga, meditation, mindfulness and coaching, I have since been able to improve my posture, strength and energy levels. Through a good nutrition plan from my herbalist nutritionist, I’ve been able to maintain good bowel function. However, if I ever let any of this maintenance go, I could return to my former state of chronic pain and postural issues. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to maintain!
So, how does gratitude come into all of this? Well, I'm now grateful for the smallest things. I'm grateful for not being in pain on good days. I'm grateful on the occasions when my damaged knee works fine. I'm grateful for being able to have enough energy to get outside and spend time with my hens and grow my vegetables. I'm grateful for the people that supported me through this difficult time. I’ve tried to practise gratitude on a daily basis and I have done so throughout my journey with these chronic illnesses.
Establishing a gratitude practice whilst having a chronic illness
One way you can create a mindful gratitude practice is to think about something you are grateful for in terms of your body. What is something that is working for you today? It might be that you are able to see friends or that you can get out of bed today when you couldn't yesterday.
Who or what are you thankful for with regard to people and pets? Who's supporting you? Who are your good friends? These questions help you to think about your community and support systems in an appreciative way.
The third question to ask yourself is about something you have achieved today. What have I done today that I couldn't do yesterday, six months or a year ago? It might be something productive like ticking an item off your to-do list, such as applying for benefits. It might be you managed to take a shower today, or that you made it out of the house. What did you do that made you proud? What was even a small thing that you feel is a baby step towards progress? If you feel this is too hard, maybe think about something you appreciate about your home or local area.
Finding glimpses of positivity in a period of chronic illness
If you can think of three things a day that you're grateful for, then no matter how ill you are you will keep a positive mindset. The well-being industry is filled with toxic positivity and unsolicited advice. I am not saying lie to people to hide your pain, depression or fatigue. I’m definitely not saying you should diminish the negative aspects of the illnesses - they are part of our life, no matter how much we don’t want them to be. However, being able to pinpoint a few things that are good about your life can help establish a positive mindset. Keeping this positive mindset can go a long way to improving your quality of life and achieving small or even large goals. Think of it as a form of self-care!
A positive mindset is also essential for recovery or maintaining your health condition at its current level (if improvement isn’t realistic) and maintaining your mental health. Whilst chronic illnesses are often permanent, some vary. Some conditions get progressively worse with time, other conditions can be operated on and some are “boom-bust” illnesses with flare-ups. For example, some conditions flare up to become a bigger problem or can be kept under control so that the symptoms are almost invisible. Often this fine balance between a state of managing and flaring up is difficult to judge, even for the person whose body it is! Therefore, being able to cultivate a state of gratitude is important so that flare-ups affect mental health as little as possible.
Remember that even on days when you feel like there is very little to be grateful for, you might be able to find things that other people may not be privileged enough to have, such as a bed, a phone, a fridge with food in it, an indoor toilet, etc.
You can track your gratitude if you feel this helps. Some people just prefer to sit for 5 minutes and meditate on the things they are grateful for. There are apps that you can get that help you to create a habit of gratitude or you can just use a notepad or a journal. Try to write down three things every day, no matter how small. For example:
1) Today I am grateful to have eaten my favourite meal
2) My friend, Jen, texted me today to see how I was doing and I'm thankful to have a friend like her.
3) I am grateful I managed to get outside today in the sun even though it was for only 10 minutes - it made a massive difference.
So, what are you grateful for today?
If you are stuck on where to start with answering this question, this is where Earth Coaching can come in handy - to help unstick you! If you feel like you need unsticking or need more input into helping you to manage and navigate chronic illness life, you can take a look at my coaching services and book a discovery session.
