Adapting to Change: Thriving Despite the Challenges of Chronic Illness

An old, oft-quoted adage is that the only thing that remains constant in life is change. It’s usually referred to in the context of minor tremors, small alterations to the fabric of day-to-day life that take time to adjust to. However, if you have a chronic illness, the changes before you may feel more like seismic shifts that could displace everything around you.

Depending on its type and severity, chronic illness can most certainly change your plans. Whether you’re an ambitious student aiming to go to college or a middle-aged adult trying to maintain a workout routine, a diagnosis of a chronic illness threatens to disrupt the status quo and derail plans for the future.

However, you by no means have to sacrifice your ambitions for your chronic illness. Life throws things at us that we don’t always know how to handle, and you may be in a dark place right now. But you can take comfort in knowing you aren’t alone, and that others have dealt with this the same way you will — weathering the storm one day at a time.

Once you’ve found a way to deal with the uncertainty and unpredictability of your new reality, what can you practically do to adapt to your changed situation?

This article will break down some of the tools available to help you cope with your chronic illness, and equip you with the knowledge to keep moving forward. Let’s talk about how things will change, and how you can leverage those changes to reach your lifelong goals.

Adapting Your Lifestyle

The first step will be to take a thorough look at your day-to-day, understanding how your living space, hobbies, and habits either add to or detract from your overall health. Depending on the extent of your condition and what your body says about its own limits, you may find that some of the things you’ve been doing for a while just don’t meet your needs anymore.

This can be a hard process, as it forces you to confront change head-on. If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed, take it slow; allow yourself three to six weeks at least before changing your lifestyle. Let your diagnosis sink in and give yourself time to process your new normal.

Once you’re in the right headspace to attempt this, ask yourself these key questions:

• Do I have a routine I can follow that will help me retain some sense of normalcy? Especially if you experience depression, creating a routine that you practice daily can give you the energy to get out of bed on those harder days. Routines set the pace of the day in a slow, steady manner, providing you with much-needed structure in the middle of a time of upheaval.
• Does my home adequately support my day-to-day? Some homes may need modifications that help you get around, especially if you have an illness that reduces your mobility. Handrails, lever handles for doors, and modifying problem areas like stairs are typically good places to start.
• Does my car cater to my needs? Some chronic illnesses affect people’s ability to transport themselves – which is a severe nuisance, especially for those who like to kick back with friends at a bar, meet people at local hobby shops, or go for a walk in the park. However, there are modifications you can make to your car that will allow you to retain your ability to drive, like steering knobs, brake extenders, and mechanical hand controls.
• Which other areas of my life are affected by my chronic illness, and which tools could I use to make things easier? For example, a slow cooker will help you to put a nutritious dinner on the table, while getting an e-bike could increase your mobility as well as support your health goals.

By asking yourself these questions, you’re narrowing down the problem areas in your status quo, and proactively identifying areas where your illness threatens to impede your quality of life.

The solutions above are only some of the many options available to create a supportive environment, and the particulars of your routine may be different from someone else’s. But with this slight shift in mindset, you pivot your illness from a potentially limiting factor to… well, just another consideration.

Requesting Accommodations

Whether you’re working full-time, enrolling at a higher education institution, or just trying to participate in a favorite hobby, there are also accommodations that third parties can make on your behalf. From navigating your commute to avoiding strenuous labor, there are a wide variety of protections for people with disabilities enshrined in law — and knowing what they are and what you are entitled to can help you seize your goals.

Legally speaking, the accommodations that you’ll get are dependent on your ability to advocate for yourself and your needs. Communicate the nature of your disability to the third party, then propose potential solutions. You’ll want to conduct some research on federal and state regulations governing disability accommodations, especially if your chronic illness prevents you from performing your job duties or attending class. Depending on the entity you’re dealing with, they may already have accommodations in mind; still, it’s a good idea to come prepared, especially if their solutions don’t quite do the trick.

Despite the challenge of living with a chronic illness, there’s a vast network of people out there going through the same things — and they’re all rooting for you to succeed. With the right combination of internal changes and external accommodations, you can learn to live with your chronic illness instead of letting it impede your growth.

Get motivated by these 13 transformative quotes about change before you check out this ultimate guide to getting things done with chronic illness to adapt to your new situation.