GUILTY FEELINGS FROM CHRONIC ILLNESS

Then there is the GUILT

(This exert was taken from http://transformyourchroniclife.com Titled “Guilt and Chronic Illness) The illness, guilt is a factor, and it can sabotage our efforts to improve our situation if we let it. In addition, unhealthy guilt can actually make our illness worse by increasing our stress levels and making us feel that we “don’t deserve” to do the things that help us feel better. If I feel guilty about feeling exhausted and not being able to do the dishes, so I force myself to do them anyway, it makes my symptoms worse and I am even less able to do the things I think I “should” be doing.
Notice those words, “unhealthy guilt.” Guilt actually comes in two versions, healthy and unhealthy. The healthy version is the kind of guilt you feel when you do something “wrong” like hurting someone else. This is the kind of guilt that causes you to correct your behavior and make amends, and is a learning experience that can make you a better person. Unhealthy guilt, on the other hand, is the kind of guilt we feel about things that we have no control over, like our illness. This kind of guilt serves no purpose, makes us suffer for something that isn’t our fault, and frequently leads to self-hatred and feeling like a failure.

So the next time you think your friend or loved one that has been diagnosed with a chronic illness is being lazy… you might want to put yourself in their shoes and show a little compassion over something they have no control over because those kind of comments lead to guilt and guilt leads to more pain emotionally and physically.

Written By Jen Reynolds
Creator and Founder of FibroTV.com