15 GIFs That Perfectly Describe Living With a Chronic Illness During the Holidays

The holidays can be a difficult and stressful time if you have a chronic illness. It is often a tricky balancing act trying to enjoy the holidays while also taking enough time to rest and manage your health, and on tough days when your symptoms are flaring, it can be hard to get into the holiday spirit at all.

Struggling with illness during the holidays isn’t funny, but sometimes, having a good laugh can make a difficult situation seem a little more manageable. If laughter helps you cope with your illness, then you might enjoy the following GIFs. Happy holidays!

1. When the stress of the holidays overwhelms your body:

2. When your illness makes you sensitive to the cold:

3. When people doubt your invisible illness, but you know your symptoms are real:

4. When you finally make it home from a holiday party and collapse in bed:

5. When you’re trying to decorate but are low on energy:

6. When you’re getting excited about Christmas but then a flare hits out of nowhere:

7. When someone asks if you need any pain relief products for Christmas:

8. When you don’t have enough energy to cook a fancy Christmas dinner:

9. When you’re fighting through your symptoms to spend time with loved ones:

10. When the prednisone kicks in and you’re feeling the holiday spirit:

 11. When you’re trying to keep all your illnesses under control:

12. When the cold weather starts affecting your circulation:

13. When a relative tries to offer you unsolicited medical advice over dinner:

14. When you’re trying to plan out your holiday schedule:

15. When a loved one asks you questions so they can learn more about your illness:

All GIFs courtesy of GIPHY