Day six of the Advocating for Another Blog Carnival is about quotes and free writing.

Prompt: Let someone else’s wise words inspire you. Find a quote that moves you in some way then free write about it. Don’t stop writing for 15-20 mins. Now post!

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou

 Those of us who have autoimmune diseases don’t like it. We wish that awful diagnosis never came about. We despise that others are hurting and have horrible symptoms. The life changing aspect of our conditions suck. And when we learn about children with the same conditions as us, we can’t even imagine what it’s like for them or for their parents. Some of us are living that situation.

We can react to our diagnosis and all that surrounds it in a number of ways and sometimes these reactions are based on the Five Stages of Grief from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: Denial, Anger, Bargaining and Acceptance. I know I’ve been through those stages and go back and forth if I have another health problem pop up, if I have a relapse, I’m too sick to take part in a special event (negative emotions which lead to anger, denial or bargaining). When I feel well and take on a lot of work, start traveling, enjoy times with friends I often go back to denial. I’ve even stopped taking my medications. Soon, I’m overdoing it and get sicker.

It’s a vicious cycle, but one that I’m finally getting a handle on with the help of others. My husband is really good about keeping me accountable with my meds and not overdoing it. My friends want me to have fun but know my limits. I’ve learned that when I’m tired, I need to rest, when my symptoms start to flare up I need to call one of my doctors and to pamper myself at least once a week.

I’ve accepted that I have limitations (a lot of them), that I don’t need to be super woman and that it’s OK to say no. My attitude has changed from feeling sorry for myself to making the most out of my life.

As I reach out to the autoimmune community, I share my story to help them reach acceptance. And so do many others. We aren’t wimps, but it’s imperative to our health that we acknowledge the physical limitations we have and how much we need to care for our bodies.