Since I have now been on this planet for 30 years,

and lived with a debilitating chronic illness for most of them,

-actually, probably all of them,

- I thought I should tell you the 30 key life lessons I have learnt in my journey.

Like every piece of advice on my channel, I don’t think that these all necessarily

apply purely to people with chronic illnesses.

I hope you can take at least one thing from this list

no matter what you’re going through or the adversity you have overcome.

Let me know in the comments below which you most relate to most and any you think I’ve missed.

30. The internet can save you.

Hello internet.

My connection to the world outside my house...

is just the internet!

I am so thankful for you.

If I lived 100 years ago I would just have to spend my days writing

copious letters to random addresses I had found in the directory.

And they would not subscribe to my letters, leave comments, click the ‘like’ button OR share it with their friends...

so… just saying.

[ding]

29. The internet can also destroy you.

So many weird medical articles that can only make you feel worse!

Don’t do that!

Once you have your diagnosis, don’t spend the next decade googling it at random intervals,

especially if you have memory problems

or else you’ll just be reminding yourself that it’s progressive and you’re eventually going downhill...

good times(!) Also, you can pretty much convince yourself you have anything

because most symptoms overlap!

28. You will become an excellent liar and faker.

“Me? I’m fiiine…

oh this?

It’s just my leg falling off.

Don’t worry about the bleeding...

let’s order some coffees!”

Or not... a good faker

I didn't claim you become a good actor

27. There is no such thing as a schedule.

You will be late, you will cancel last minute,

you will feel awful some evenings, you will feel amazing some evenings,

you will sleep in, or you will get up five hours too early and not be able to get to sleep again.

- Varied(!)

Keeping life chronically interesting!

[news roundup]

26. You’ll find out who your real friend are.

Generally the ones who don’t mind you cancelling last minute and being late to everything.

25. It is the most expensive thing that will ever happen to you!

Oh, you thought children were expensive?

At least they leave!

Or you can disown them!

Having a chronically ill body is like someone dumping screaming baby triplets on you

that never age

and you didn’t even get to have the fun sex part for in the first place!

Having said that…

24. You can enjoy life with a chronic illness!

Shocker (!)

I know (!)

It might not seem like it when you first get diagnosed

and there are definitely days after that when you don’t have a great time.

But, much like healthy people, your ability to find the fun

is based on your personality and resilience

- bar any separate mental health conditions but we’ll get on to that…

A chronic illness diagnosis is not the end of the world.

You can still have fun!

23. People will annoyingly think you have the dream lifestyle.

“I would love to stay home in bed all day”

“Oh my God, Susan, shut your face!”

22. If someone says “you don’t look sick”, you will want to punch them.

Even if you’re a pacifist.

Sometimes when people say “wow, you look really bad”

I almost cry with relief!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for seeing me on the inside!

I will be offended if you don’t mention how nice my hair is today though…

21. Mindfulness does not reduce pain.

Jog on.

20. Do not compare yourself to anyone.

Ever.

Even other ill people.

We all have different experiences and presentations of symptoms.

We all start from a different place

We all encounter different obstacles.

You’ve got this, you’re doing great,

you’re still moving forwards,

don’t look to those on the paths beside yours

or you’ll lose your way.

19. Other people WILL compare you.

Sometimes to yourself.

“You could do that yesterday.”

“Well I can’t today, Brian! Deal with it!”

More often to other people with the same or similar conditions

who are either doing a lot better or a lot worse.

There is a high level of guilt embedded in this

but no one knows why and it’s not always intentional.

18. Plants and flowers will save your sanity.

Bring the outdoors indoors, get a little feel

for what you’re missing and you won’t be missing it too much.

It’s also great to have a hobby... like flower arranging.

17. Have hobbies.

REASONABLE hobbies.

When considering a new hobby, don’t just think of the energy it takes to do the thing itself

but also the set up and clean down time.

Start small and expand from there.

16. Resting is a lie.

Resting beforehand may increase the odds that

you’ll be less sick than usual on the day of an event... but it’s no guarantee! The

misconception can lead to friendship-threatening misunderstandings if you’re too tired to

make an event and the host feels it’s because you didn’t rest enough beforehand. Naps

are also a lie- I always wake up from a nap feeling worse!

15. Taking care of your mental health is vital! Setting aside any unrelated mental health

issues you may have, physical and health problems can have a huge impact on your mental wellbeing.

Conversely, poor mental health can then impact on your physical state. Even able-bodied people

feel the physical impact of stress: your heart races, your shoulders tense, you get a headache.

In a body that’s already under pressure, those same responses can be very harmful!

Keeping mental stress to a minimum is vital when you’re chronically ill and sharing

your feelings is a big part of that. I’d encourage you to keep a diary, talk to friends,

even just vent your feelings though a good chat with your dog.

[beat]

I’m not kidding, Walter is a great listener.

If, however, you feel you might need a professional to share their expertise or just to talk to,

I would definitely advise you to consider counseling.

I’ve talked about the online counseling service BetterHelp before and I honestly would

recommend them so I’ve asked them to partner with me on this video.

I remember trying to go to therapy when I first got really ill, to help me deal with

the stages of grieving you invariably go through when you’re first diagnosed, and it… just…

was NOT practical. I was so ill that getting from my bed to the bathroom, which was less

than five meters away, was a big deal. Getting dressed, getting downstairs and then having

to sit upright in the car for half an hour to get there was just too much and often I’d

be unconscious by the time we got there or I’d sit on the steps beside our front door

and just cry because I was so exhausted.

I wish I had been able to use the internet to access such a great resource!

With BetterHelp all you have to do is fill in a short questionnaire to be matched with

one of their 3,000 licensed therapists. Then you can message your councillor whenever you

want through their website or mobile app! If writing isn’t your thing they also offer

telephone or video chatting and cover a wide range of languages- including American Sign

Language! You pay monthly and it covers all of your messages, chat, phone and video sessions.

I know there were some misconceptions about BetterHelp flying around the internet last

year but they’ve given me some really clear answers to the questions I had and I’ll

copy/paste them into the description for you.

Whatever route you take, even if it’s just talking to your cat, internalising isn’t

good for your mental health- let those feelings flow…!

14. You have sooo much time on your hands… Oh, the hours and hours and hours you spend

in bed…

13. You also have no time. Because those long hours aren’t healthy

hours, you can’t actually do anything with them.

My mother once told me: “Your father is very disappointed that you haven’t spent

all this time in bed reading more classic books” and I honestly have never been so

devastated.

12. Being constantly ill can be painfully monotonous

After ‘giddy’ and ‘enthused’ my third most common feeling is ‘I’m ready for

something new! Can we be done with this illness thing now? It’s very boring’

Generally my day-to-day symptoms are just… day-to-day… they don’t really change.

I’m ill. I’m in pain. I’m tired.

At this point it’s kind of exciting when I have an injury- just because it’s different!

*11. You’ll get cabin fever: originally meaning you get stuck in a log cabin for an

incredibly long winter. Chronic illness meaning: “oh my god, I hate this house, get me out

of here!!!!!!!!!!” I recommend window shopping for new houses

online. Saves me from chewing my own arm off.

10. You need to surround yourself with only positive thoughts and comments.

Sometimes people in my life like to give me a ‘dose of reality’ when they think I’m

being too optimistic. To which I ask:

- are you a sociopath? Why do that? Do you think you’re bringing something new to my

life?

Having a chronic illness means you’re starting at a negative; being positive and happy can

only be a good thing. I’m not stupid,

- I’m cognitively impaired! [joke noise]

Ahem. I’m not stupid, I know that it is more likely things will not go in my favour

but don’t you think that positivity is keeping me going?

If you take my happy future away, why do you expect me to keep going…?

[long stare]