Chronic Illness
Part of what makes chronic illnesses so challenging is even if two individuals have the same illness, they may not look the same or experience similar symptoms. That makes it cosmically difficult for you and your providers to identify what’s really going on and then figure out how to manage it. Another part of the challenge is the cliché expression you hear in social settings, “but you look fine!” The doctors you burn through in trying to get diagnosed echo that by saying your tests are “unremarkable.” After a diagnosis, you feel vindicated! But the ignorance and apathy you experience from others going forward doesn’t always improve in every circumstance, which feels baffling. You may still get pushback from loved ones, colleagues and bosses at work, restaurant waiters, or even physicians. The need for assertiveness and self-advocacy, in a way the average person won’t grasp, will be your lifelong friend. Some days that feels easy! Other days you feel breathless even thinking about having to speak up.
Your life was limited pre-diagnosis as you constantly compensated for being sick. After diagnosis, over time, you may be privileged to spend more time at baseline. Now you’re trying to maintenance your health and accept the changes in your appearance and level of functioning. Accepting changes in appearance and functioning is challenging when you’re living in an ableist and fat phobic society. Doctors will tell you to reduce stress and take on less responsibilities, but trying to figure out how to do that in a way that maintains your income, relationships, and household is super tricky. You also have to make time for grocery shopping and cooking, which may be much more involved if you have a variety of foods you can’t eat. Don’t forget about physical therapy exercises, working out, and taking your fistfuls of medications and supplements, while you’re at it!
How I can help:
2022 was a busy year for me. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, Fibromyalgia, and Interstitial Cystitis/painful bladder syndrome all by March of that year. It is these chronic illnesses that I know the most about, but my therapy services are not limited to those. It is important to remind therapy clients of this: I am not a medical provider. I cannot provide any medical diagnoses, advice, or treatment plans. Nonetheless, I have spent 20+ years (yup!) going to doctors and specialists, trying to understand what’s going on in my body, and finally received answers and proper care. So, there’s a lot of medical language I’ve picked up along the way.
My work with chronic illness clients is multidisciplinary.
Primarily, my work with you will be around identifying what self-care and life engagement look like for you along the spectrum of your personal baseline; ramping up to, riding through, and recovering from a flare; and then trying to spend more time at baseline between flares. I’ll regularly stress the importance of building new routines around HAES (health at every size) and anti-ableist paradigms. I’ll encourage you to share tidbits about what was discussed in your doctors’ visits and what care plans your doctors are prescribing. It helps me learn more about your condition and troubleshoot some of the barriers you have in getting started with and maintaining your care plan. Chronic illness and mental health are inextricably connected. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, identity concerns, and/or medical trauma are inevitably experienced by chronic illness sufferers, which have additive effects regarding their physical health. It is my value that all therapy should be holistic. However, when therapy clients are afflicted with chronic illnesses that is categorically fundamental.
In addition, there aren’t enough knowledgeable mental health and medical providers who can develop a decent hypothesis, give proper referrals, or help patients/clients ask the right questions. I can impart what I knowledge I do have, so you can advocate for more specialized care. At times, I may also assist you with writing down some specific talking points for your next doctor’s visit. If you have confirmed IBS, Celiac Disease, Fibromyalgia, or Interstitial Cystitis diagnoses, I might be able to assist in brainstorming self-care strategies that are more specific to those. (Notice the “might” and “may” wording. I’m in no position to offer guarantees.)