coping Archives - The Health Sessions

12 Determination Quotes to Spark Your Persistence

The whole deal of chronic illness is that it’s a long-term thing. Normally, when you encounter a problem, you deal with it and you move on. But living with chronic illness means there is no easy fix – and sometimes no fix at all. To keep going, to make the most of each day even though you’re sick and in pain demands a lot from your emotional resilience.

I’ve always felt that living with a chronic illness feels a lot like starring in your own action hero movie. Everyday living can seem like a quest, demanding all your willpower to complete simple tasks and achieve your goals. You need a determined mind to continuously take action to finish your studies, get through your workday, raise your kids or pursue your dreams despite the obstacles on your way.

But unlike our movie heroes, in real life you don’t get inspirational speeches during those moments you’re struggling to hang. So to fuel your motivation, take a look at these 12 quotes to spark your determination and persistence.

How to Be a Good Friend Eventhough You’re Chronically Ill

Being a good friend and having a chronic illness are not mutually exclusive. Of course not; you can still have a good time together, listen to your BFF’s adventures and share your problems. But it is harder to maintain friendships when you feel sick every day. It’s harder to be a part of their lives when you’re housebound. It’s harder to do fun things together when you have limited mobility. It can even be challenging to find common ground when your friend goes to college, builds a career, gets married and has kids while your life is on hold as a result of your chronic illness.

Much has been written about how you can support your friend in need – I recommend There’s No Good Card for This – but what about the other way around? How can you keep friendships alive when you’re the one who’s sick?

Here are some ideas to be a good friend even though you’re chronically ill.

Why Chilling Isn't The Same as Real Rest (And What to Do Instead) | The Health Sessions

Why Chilling Isn’t The Same as Real Rest (And What You Should Do Instead)

Flicking through magazines, watching YouTube clips and browsing social media are welcome distractions when your body needs a time-out. Curling up on the couch with your latest Netflix addiction surely is entertaining, but there’s a big difference between chilling in front of the TV and real rest.

Real rest encompasses more than lying still and keeping activity to a minimum. It involves activating your body’s natural relaxation response, a state of deep rest that balances your nervous system and promotes healing.

When you feel under pressure, your body releases stress hormones, triggering your sympathetic nervous system to prepare for fight or flight. The adrenaline in your bloodstream makes your heart beat fast, quickens your breathing and tenses your muscles. That’s very helpful in dangerous situations, but unfortunately it’s also activated by everyday challenges like traffic jams and work deadlines.

Contrary to this all-too-common stress response, the relaxation response acts like a built-in tranquilizer. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system to slow down your heart rate and breathing, relax your muscles and boost your immunity. Research even shows that mind-body interventions that activate the relaxation response, such as yoga and meditation, can reverse harmful inflammation at DNA level.

And what’s best of all: you have the power to produce this relaxation response whenever and wherever you want.

So let’s have a look at how you can maximize your downtime with 7 powerful practices.

5 Actionable Tips to Stop Worrying

This article is written by David from Health Is King.

Worrying is a problem that affects almost everyone. It can be brought on by a minor problem all the way up to something major. For all individuals having something that can cause them to worry is different. Learning how to address things that contribute to anxiety are important, for almost everyone, especially someone who tends to struggle more. Perhaps due to a bad situation they find themselves in. or someone who tends to stress and have anxiety in general everyday life. Below I will list 5 tips that I personally use and stand by myself that have helped me and many others to stop worrying.

Road to Recovery: How Anne Doussan Took Her Health into Her Own Hands

When you’re diagnosed with chronic illness, is there anything you can do to improve your health and happiness? Can you (fully) recover from persisting health problems, and if so, how? In this interview on recovery, Anne Doussan from Still Moving shares her story.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hello, I’m Anne. I was diagnosed with chronic illnesses in my twenties, and for over a decade I followed the more conventional treatments. After getting little to no relief from surgeries and pharmaceuticals, however, I decided to take matters into my own hands. In February 2017 I went to an inpatient chronic pain and recovery center to get off all my medications and find alternative therapies. Since then, I’ve learned many new approaches to managing my chronic illnesses.