You cannot fake your way into no longer being chronically ill. No matter how much you tell everyone you’re fine, no matter how much you over-work yourself, no matter how much you smile and pretend everything is ‘normal’— you cannot fake yourself into better health.
So rest. Take it easy when you need to. Give yourself grace. Push through when you can and stop when you can’t. It’s okay to accept you’re not like everyone else. The sooner you do, the sooner you will learn to love yourself again. Fighting against your chronic illness is exhausting and your energy could be put to better use. It doesn’t have to define you, but it’s a part of you and there’s no getting around it.
— Sincerely,
Your future self 🖤
