| Carol Norris, MFT : Psychotherapy for the body, mind, brain and spirit |
Chronic Illness
I don't much like the term "chronic illness" as it connotes a forever quality that I don't agree with. But it's the term that, for now, fits on a webpage tab and is a phrase most of us understand.
Many of us who experience a chronic illness like Lyme disease, mold/heavy metal toxicity, EBV, an autoimmune disorder, chemical toxicity/sensitivities, or a csf leak, which I have, often work diligently to get well, doing treatment after treatment. But, rarely do we give ourselves the time and space to truly and deeply explore the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects that can influence healing. As someone who navigated an impactful illness myself, I’m uniquely positioned to grasp the layers of potential challenges and needs, and ways to move through them. Just some of those needs might be:
In the coming days, I'll be adding more content about chronic illness. In the meantime, you can check out my article, "Greatheartedness." It explores a different way to be in relationship with our illnesses. Although the article is geared toward folks experiencing chronic illness, it expresses a universal idea about how we might all interact with ourselves as we move through life and its challenges.
If you live in the Santa Fe area, be sure to check back as I'll be posting info about groups and workshops I'll be doing for folks experiencing chronic illnesses.
Many of us who experience a chronic illness like Lyme disease, mold/heavy metal toxicity, EBV, an autoimmune disorder, chemical toxicity/sensitivities, or a csf leak, which I have, often work diligently to get well, doing treatment after treatment. But, rarely do we give ourselves the time and space to truly and deeply explore the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects that can influence healing. As someone who navigated an impactful illness myself, I’m uniquely positioned to grasp the layers of potential challenges and needs, and ways to move through them. Just some of those needs might be:
- identifying self-regulating resources, especially when symptomatic/triggered
- grieving the many losses caused by chronic illness
- working through conscious and unconscious beliefs and/or fears about illness and getting well
- processing existential issues triggered by illness
- exploring the relationship with and language of our bodies before and during illness
- considering chronic illness as trauma
- identifying how relationships, communities, cultures, and our individual histories within those inform our healing and how we experience illness
- accepting what is, for now
- cultivating true self-compassion
- seeing beyond the sick person identity/(re)claiming self
- finding purpose while ill
- stepping into empowerment/(re)connecting to strengths and resources
In the coming days, I'll be adding more content about chronic illness. In the meantime, you can check out my article, "Greatheartedness." It explores a different way to be in relationship with our illnesses. Although the article is geared toward folks experiencing chronic illness, it expresses a universal idea about how we might all interact with ourselves as we move through life and its challenges.
If you live in the Santa Fe area, be sure to check back as I'll be posting info about groups and workshops I'll be doing for folks experiencing chronic illnesses.
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Copyright 2014 | Carol Norris, MFT
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