Tag: self care

How To Forgive Yourself For Getting Sick (& Why You Need To)

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 2 Comments

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I recently came down with the flu, and it reminded me of how ungracefully I can respond to sickness, even after years of dealing with chronic illness.

Yes, I’ve gotten waaaaay better at accepting that being sick means doing less and resting more.  But when I paid attention to my thoughts, I saw that I was still blaming myself for being sick and I caught myself feeling in turns frustrated, disappointed and guilty because of my symptoms.

Ultimately in order to heal I had to forgive myself for needing to heal in the first place.  Continue reading “How To Forgive Yourself For Getting Sick (& Why You Need To)” →

Self-Care Should Not Be Static: Shaping Self-Care for Where You’re At

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ Leave a comment

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It’s been about a year since my last podcast conversation with Kami Lingren of LivingGraceBlog. At that point I was just beginning to return to “normal” after first achieving remission from Lyme disease. In my new interview I open up about the ongoing surprises & challenges of transitioning from living with chronic illness to experiencing a New Wellness.  Continue reading “Self-Care Should Not Be Static: Shaping Self-Care for Where You’re At” →

How I Transitioned From a Chronic Illness Identity

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 8 Comments

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I’ve been sick for most of my life, and as such, illness ended up becoming a basic part of my identity: I was the sick girl, the one with all the weird symptoms and intolerances and diagnoses and treatments. The last several years, while I was full time healing from end stage Chronic Lyme Disease, my entire life revolved around illness.

So when I hit remission several months ago, it wasn’t just “Yay I’m better!” but also “Woah, now what?” Continue reading “How I Transitioned From a Chronic Illness Identity” →

Putting Everything on Pause & Putting Myself First: How I Finally Turned a Corner with Chronic Lyme

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 3 Comments

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It’s been several months since I last posted here, and I want to apologize for dropping off the radar without so much as a “hey, I’m taking a break.” If you’ve been following me on Instagram or FaceBook then you probably know what’s been up, but basically I crashed.

Last year I went from being at a “healing plateau,” to experiencing a number of health setbacks. By the end of the year, I found myself in yet another flare up, feeling chronically overwhelmed despite my dedication to daily stress-management & self care practices. Something had to come off my plate. It couldn’t be my Chronic Lyme treatments or self care. That left all things Hope Heal Cook.  Continue reading “Putting Everything on Pause & Putting Myself First: How I Finally Turned a Corner with Chronic Lyme” →