12 Mantras People With Chronic Illnesses Use to Get Through Tough Days
There will always be hard days, and for those who face chronic illnesses, another 24 hours can sometimes seem insurmountable. On days like these, a little uplifting reminder can help. We asked our readers who live with chronic illness to share some of their favorite mantras for getting through tough days.
This is what they had to say:
1. “Breathe.”
I have to give myself permission to slow down, rest and ask for help. — Rachel Jackson
2. “Keep going.”
If you give up you’ll never know what kind of wonderful might be around the corner. — Tarry Jo
3. “My track record for getting through difficult days is 100 percent.”
I can do hard things. — Jodi Duke
4. “What 10 things can I be thankful for right now?”
Sometimes it is just that I got through the last hour, but it still counts! — Cammie Sheldon
5. “It’s OK to not be OK all the time.”
It isn’t weakness to need to take care of my health. It’s OK to have fears for the future (that it may get worse, that a treatment may stop helping, etc.) as long as I don’t live in them. It’s OK to grieve for what I’m missing out on and the life I had before, and sometimes it’s even OK to wallow in it. But mostly, it’s OK to just be and to get by. I don’t have to be Superwoman or a poster child for strength in my illness. — Selena Marie Wilson
6. “I will not fight my body,
And I will not fight my pain.
But I will fight the fear,
And the one from which it’s made.”
I came up with this mantra based upon my faith. I don’t want to fight myself because I feel as if that would make my condition worse. I will fight the fear that this illness strikes into my heart because I know I can be much healthier without that fear. — Hayley Rose
7. “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.”
A friend on my support group app for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) told me that one day. No matter how tough things get, nothing can knock me down. I will always get back up and fight stronger than before. — Amber Thomson
8. “This is just today, not forever.”
You have to allow yourself to celebrate the small things; they’re what help us push on to another day. I’m too stubborn to give up. — Carris Brown
9. “It’s not ‘Can I do this?’ It’s ‘How can I do this?’”
I’ve told myself that my whole adult life because giving up and not doing certain tasks are not options for me. — Racheal Nodurft
10. “It’s my life, and you can’t have it.”
On the days when it’s hard to even get out of bed because of the pain, I tell it that. — Kimberlee Brown
11. “Everything counts.”
On bad days I tend to focus on [everything] my pain and fatigue are keeping me from accomplishing (i.e. the kitchen is a mess, I didn’t get the laundry folded, etc.). Reminding myself self-care is an accomplishment and an important one, helps ease the tirade of negative thoughts. So ‘everything counts.’ I got up today, remembered my meds, managed to keep breakfast down, colored a page in my new book, etc. It counts, it’s important too. — Tia Borkowski
12. “Breathe in strength and blow out your fears.”
A few days ago I went for a test, and the lady told me that, and it has kinda stuck with me. — Megan Wall
What are your favorite mantras? Let us know in the comments below.
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
melissa-mcglensey