Easing into 2016 & Coping with a Chronic Pain Condition

Image source thecornwall.com

It's been rather slow over here on the blog and it's been rather slow in my life in general. Last November and December I was trying to cope with my Fibromyalgia and my CFS as well as being in and out of hospital for an unknown illness (which is still sadly ongoing).

I was tired and I still am tired. Always so so tired, always in pain and always one second away from snapping at the person/people closest to me. I had all these festive plans in the diary and week by week I had to cancel them, flake out on friends and the sofa became my best friend.

When you suffer with something like an invisible illness you have to put every ounce of energy you have into sometimes simply getting up, putting your face on, making a cup of tea or leaving the house. Some days even the simplest of tasks seem like the biggest of hurdles.

I have a fashion blog and I am very appreciative of the large social media following I have accumulated over the years; with that comes quite a lot of pressure though. People turn to you to give them advice, inspiration, hope 24/7; but what happens when you lack all of those things and you're at home rotating the same 4 outfits as your lust for everything has totally disappeared?

The key is to take that time out, enjoy that time out (where possible), enjoy that period of self-care and reboot. It's easier said than done but it is so important that you don't beat yourself up for staying in, staying as comfortable as you can, cancelling on friends/family and looking after number one.
I always get FOMO (fear of missing out) and hate missing fun things BUT you'll be able to attend other things in the future, more events will happen and the most important thing to remember is that the ones who love you, truly care for you and the ones that matter won't disappear.

I took time out, ignored my inbox and carefully selected things/events I felt I could comfortably attend. I also gained a boyfriend and this actually made all of the staying in...that little bit nicer!

My love of fashion drifted towards the end of last year but I've slowly started to get excited about emerging trends, building my spring wardrobe and experimenting more with vintage fashion. I'm glad the racks of sale items are slowly beginning to fill with new and exciting clothes! I am still firmly attached to the sofa but I'm slowly adding in things to my diary and summoning up the courage to venture out a little more. I'm shooting a lovely little outfit on Friday (all going well) so I'm excited to write that post up and show that to you all.

I hope that if you're sat there reading this and you suffer with a chronic illness; that you remember that you don't need to impress anyone, you can stay home if you need to and hold on to the fact there'll be better, warmer days to come.

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