It's easy to lose patience with ones self. We do it for so many reasons- we forgot something important, we didn't handle a situation well, we aren't reaching a goal fast enough or maybe we didn't reach it at all.

All of this gets complicated for those of us with chronic illnesses. Not only do we do all of the above due to pain, fatigue, discomfort and the whole host of problems that we have, we also have to gracefully decline invitations, miss fun activities and even let our families down by being laid up so often.

All of this can easily frustrate a person to no end, clearly, but if we treat ourselves with patience, with loving kindness, we can eliminate the negative feelings that often perpetuate the pain and so on. Constantly berating ourselves for what we can no longer do can bring on pain in all sorts of ways, depending on your condition. Even too many pity parties can leave us feeling worn out, fatigued, in pain and overly emotional.

Stuff happens and we just have to roll with it. When I don't I personally get the severe burning fibromyalgia pain in many parts of my body coupled with stomach problems, fatigue and often more. Sometimes it gets worse than that- all because I couldn't go to an event I wanted to or because my wrists hurt far to bad to type. So, guess what? I don't get to type that day. It really shouldn't be the end of the world. And, for the week I was really feeling bad the world didn't end AND my mac was waiting for me.

Unless living in Painland on Negative street is your cup of tea, maybe it's time to slow down and realize that, yes, we have a few limitations, but it's okay. The "bad" days are signals for us to slow down. Take a break. Take a nap. Take a hot bath. Take care of yourself.

If you find that you're getting impatient with yourself because of the things you really cannot control, don't force things. If you can't be patient and wait until next time, try giving yourself a time out. It works for me. I even let my family ground me so I have to stay home and rest. (I've been known to be a teeny bit stubborn.)

Basically, we all do what we have to feel good and get through the day (with a smile).

peace and love,

sunee