This is the last week of Crohn's Confidential. Thank you for reading along with these posts and letting me tell my story. I think everyone's story is so unique and we can all learn from each other. Today I am talking about what I learned from this journey. Throughout my Crohn's Disease adventure, I have learned a lot of things; these are the things that jumped out to me right away when thinking about this post.
What I Learned:
Being Mentally Stronger- having being told you have a chronic disease, hit me really hard when I was 27 and I had to be strong and not let all the scary things I found online scare me into not wanting to know anything. I have been constantly tested both mentally and physically over the years and I have gracefully gotten through every thing that I didn't think would get through. Its hard to imagine the end result when you are in the thick of it, but I think I've learned to take it one step at a time and you will ultimately get through it, gracefully.
To Stand Up for Myself and Speak Up- This was so important when I was in the hospital; sometimes the doctors or nurses would say something that I didn't agree with. I had to rely on myself and my medical advocates (aka my parents) to communicate exactly what I wanted and what I thought. Sometimes I agreed with the advice they would give me, sometimes I didn't. I needed to trust my gut and do what was best for me.
Lean on My Support Team- This was hard at times because I never wanted burden anyone with my problems but I have learned that if I let people in, they can help me- being a distraction, bring a little sunshine into your world and let you mentally escape even for a little bit. The people in your support team will never think of you as a burden or a problem.
Listening to My Body- Sometimes I ignore the little voice of reason inside of me when something is wrong. I know how my body feels when it feels good and I know when something is wrong. I have to trust those feelings and not dismiss them so quickly. Only I know what I am truly feeling and if I don't communicate effectively, no one else will know what is truly going on.
Giving Myself Grace- this might be the hardest thing that I've learned and for me to remember to do. I am terribly hard on myself ALL. THE. TIME. I am still working on this and I know if I give myself a little more grace, then things will be easier.
A Sense of Strength-I never thought of myself as a strong person per se but after these last few years, I've seen myself improve in strength both mentally and physically. To have a chronic illness, you are constantly tested (mentally and physically) and yet you get through it all, gracefully. When I'm in the midst of it, I sometimes don't know how I will get through it all and yet I do.
More Patience- I feel like I have a lot of patience to begin with; more than most people yet somehow I have become even more patient. I have become more patient waiting for test results, waiting for answers and waiting in doctors offices. Like everything else, this isn't always easy but things take time and as much as I want things to be instant
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I think a lot of what I learned can be applied to every day life and anyone can apply this to their own lives. I always like to learn something from an experience and the things I've learned above can be applied in all different scenarios.
You are so much stronger than you actually think; sometimes you need to go through a hard situation to be reminded of that. You got this!
What have you learned from a tough situation?
[[Courage doesn't always road. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says "I will try again tomorrow."]]
-gabrielle
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