Five Effective Self Care Habits for People with Chronic Illness

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Introduction

Self-care is all about putting your own needs first and looking after yourself both mentally and physically. It is a necessity NOT a luxury! I totally understand that a lot of people don’t think too much about self-care; that’s how I used to feel. But you never know when something will happen that will change everything and make you realise just how important it is. Try to start a self-care routine now so that you are prepared for whatever life throws at you.

I used to be a dancer and it meant everything to me. I was also thriving at school. I didn’t have a care in the world. I was dancing in all of my spare time and never took much time to do self-care activities. I think in a way dancing was my version of self-care because that was how I expressed myself. My dance school was like a second family and the studios felt like home. I couldn’t see the need to do anything else for myself.

What changed?

That all changed when I started struggling with my health. In 2016, I started getting some symptoms which were affecting me at school and at dance, but I pushed through them and refused to stop doing what I loved. In 2017, things escalated until I reached the point where I was forced to stop dancing. For the first few months after I stopped, I struggled a lot! I had no idea what was causing my symptoms and I didn’t know how to express how I was feeling. That’s when I started to realise that I needed to think about self-care.

I have been learning as I’ve gone along; it’s not something you can just google and become an expert in! It takes time to find out what works for you and how best to look after yourself. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get some tips. I’ve put together a list of the most important things I’ve learnt about self-care since I started struggling with chronic illness.

These are things I learnt because of my chronic illness but they are things that everyone should know. Let me know which of these you know and if you have any other tips for self-care.

5 Self-care tips I Learnt Because of My Chronic Illness

Pacing

This term was thrown around a lot by doctors but I never knew what it really meant until more recently. Like many other chronic illnesses, mine makes me get fatigued quite easily. The difficulty is that it’s unpredictable. Before I learnt about pacing as a method of self-care, I was like most other people in that I did things when I felt up to it and I didn’t when I felt rough. That cycle just doesn’t work. It ended up in me doing lots one day and then not being able to do anything at all for a few days. The cycle would repeat over and over again. 

Self-care is all about working out how to be at your best for as much time as you can be. That’s what pacing helps with. The principle is simple: do a little less on the days when you feel good and a little more on the days when you feel rough. It’s about evening out your activity levels so that you have less of a rollercoaster of energy levels. Whether you get fatigued or not, this is a great way to manage your energy so that you can work effectively almost every day. Trust me, it works!

It’s OK to not be OK

This one is something that I only really started paying attention to more recently. I live in chronic pain and I got into the habit of keeping it to myself. My family and friends knew about it but I didn’t like to tell people when I was in pain or struggling emotionally because I was afraid of being seen as a ‘complainer’. That was a big mistake. I just ended up getting overwhelmed with everything because I had no outlet.

Luckily, my support network are incredible. They encouraged me to talk to them more about how I felt and I can honestly say that it makes such a big difference! Stop being afraid to talk. Stop thinking of yourself as a burden. Start trusting your support network. If they love you, they will want to listen.

Learn to Say No

I think everyone could benefit from this tip. Self-care is about listening to your own body and doing what’s right for you. If someone asks you to do something that isn’t right for you, say no! It’s not rude as long as you have a reason. Don’t feel guilty for saying no if it is what you need to do to look after yourself. 

Pushing yourself to do something out of your comfort zone can be a good thing but pushing yourself to do something which will make you feel ill or uncomfortable is not. Listen to your body and decide what is right for you. Those who love you will respect your decision and be glad that you are doing what’s right for you.

Breathing is a Powerful Tool

This might sound silly, and believe me I used to think so too, but breathing techniques are incredibly effective. I had always been very sceptical of anything like this until I did a pain management course. We were shown how to use breathing to cope with pain and anxiety. I couldn’t believe how effective it was! This is probably the self-care exercise that I use most often. 

Try it yourself. It’s about controlling the way you breathe rather than the speed at which you breathe. When you breathe in, make sure your belly inflates not just your chest. The other important thing is to relax. Close your eyes and take a few breaths. Just a few breaths have the power to calm down your sympathetic nervous system (the one that controls your “fight or flight” response) which reduces sensations of pain and anxiety. This technique will work for all sorts of situations from everyday stress to chronic pain.

Trust Yourself

I have always doubted myself in a variety of situations but the last few years have taught me to trust myself. Only you know how you feel, so it is important to express that and make sure you are listened to. 

I have had some bad experiences with medical professionals but they have made me a stronger, more confident person. I am by no means telling you not to trust your doctors. They are trained professionals and you should listen to them. BUT you know your body better than anyone else, so if something doesn’t seem right or you don’t feel like you’ve been listened to properly, make your voice heard. There is no such thing as a stupid question! The biggest favour you can do for your own self-care is to trust yourself.

Conclusion

So those are my most important self-care tips which I’ve learnt as a result of my chronic illness. If you are struggling emotionally with the current situation, there are plenty of other things you can do to stay positive. Let me know how you are coping.

Finally, Kiki has written a fantastic post over on my blog about ‘A day in the life with chronic illness’. If you want to understand more about chronic illness and spread awareness, go check it out!