Getting Through the Holidays While Balancing an Autoimmune Disease

The holidays are among us. There are so many of us who are thinking, “How am I going to do it?” It’s usually financially, or emotionally.

But, think for a minute, about physically. That’s always added to our plates. It’s kind of like when you’re at your grandmother’s for Thanksgiving and you have made a huge plate of your favorite food. Then, you turn around… and notice you forgot a roll. Well, of course, you put the roll on top. And it teeters, and moves around, it’s become a balancing act to save that roll from the floor.

You are the roll, if you’re living with ankylosing spondylitis, or any other autoimmune disease.

I, literally, don’t know how I’m going to do it, at times. I rest between household chores. I always put the kids’ needs, even if it’s basic needs, first. Then, my little misfit zoo of animals. I tend to put myself last, as many of us do. Teetering as if I were that extra roll on the top of our favorite food at a holiday dinner.

As the holidays approach, I’ve had to make a very important decision. I can’t remove “the roll” from my life. It’s there. It’s not going anywhere.

And, chances are, not everyone will see you struggling. Some will turn your ” I can’t” into ” I won’t,” and you have to expect that.

Shop online. Wash your hair! (That’s specifically for me.) Make lists. Ask for help. Set boundaries. Don’t overdo it. Ask for help, again. Plan. Savor every bit of beauty that you can. Take naps. Talk about it. Say “I can’t.”

Plan. Plan. Plan.

Be mighty.

You don’t think you’re mighty? You got up out of bed today. That’s pretty mighty.

Happy early holidays,

Angila

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