7 ways the chronic illness informed approach saves you spoons and energy

If you approached life - and life with chronic illness - in a way that was led by supportive, joyful, aligned, nourishing & feels good intention and energy, how would things be different for you?

A Chronic Illness Informed approach puts two fingers up to the suggestion that your every move should be geared towards getting rid of, controlling, managing, fixing and stripping yourself of what makes you, you.

The term Chronic Illness Informed was coined as a rebuttal to the whole idea that there ‘should be’ a controlling and managing relationship between chronic illness and person. It’s either said that you’re in control of your chronic illness (which tends to = good) or that it’s in control of you/you’re not managing it (which tends to = bad).

But I don’t agree with that language, or that notion. Chronic illness isn’t something we should be trying to control, or something we should see as controlling us. It’s something I believe in forming a partnership with so that we can allow ourselves to be inspired, influenced and informed by its wisdom and intelligence.

To live life in a chronic illness informed way means all of that. It’s not a dogmatic formula to follow (because we all know there are far too many of those in the wellness space that aren’t very helpful at all), rather, it’s a question. An approach, and an energy behind the way you both give and receive.

The Chronic Illness Informed approach is your friend whenever and whatever you’re planning or doing or experimenting. It asks; how can I do this - how can I live - in a way that will support and nourish my body & soul, that feels good, is fun & joyful, and in a way that will be most aligned and beneficial for both me, my life in general and the thing I’m trying to do?

It’s is something to both start with and something to work towards.

It requires an openness to see your chronic illness as your Ally, which if you’re coming from the status-quo struggle, you might find difficult to just jump into this way of thinking. And yet, I think it’s a really powerful way of showing you how your chronic illness can be your Ally; of being example in action.

With that, the Chronic Illness Informed approach is sliding scale, a spectrum, and the question is, what degree can you take it to?

As everyone is coming from a different stage in their chronic illness journey, these ‘stages’ of the CII approach might not be useful to you in this order. It’s a case of take what works for you and leave what doesn’t.

1.Intention

Chronic Illness Informed says that your intention is to live in a way that supportive, joyful, aligned, nourishing & that feels good. I mean, straight off the bat, how refreshing is that to hear as an approach to life with chronic illness?

2.Presence

Presence improves my life exponentially when I’m implementing the tools to help me be present…when I’m not implementing those tools, I notice it very quickly!

Presence means you’re able to pause and take stock, and navigate your life in a way that honours your intention. At any moment, you can slow time down and ask yourself; does this feel nourishing, supportive & joyful… am I giving myself what I need? And if not, what can I tweak to steer myself in that direction?

Side note: One of the most pleasurable things I’ve done in life this past year and a bit is slow down. It’s like this colourul, full bodied, tactile, muscle tension releasing way of moving through the world and I LOVE IT!!

3.Connection

Connection acts as an extension of presence and intention. A lot of what I described under presence involves connection, and being able to connect and check in with your goal/ambition/process as well…links connection with intention. Are you still with me?! Asking; is this thing actually aligned, true to me, and does it still feel good? Am I surrounding myself with a supportive environment and community? Am I giving myself what I need?

4.Going your own way

Throwing out the rule book and freeing yourself from all the ‘shoulds, obligations and expectations’, so that you’re able to live a life informed by your body, by your chronic illness and by your wants, needs & desires, means releasing yourself from other people’s ways of doing things.

Going your own way means wiping the slate clean and honestly asking yourself; how and what do I want, and then figuring out how to start moving in that direction.

There’s a multi-faceted privilege piece that comes in here, as well as a knowing that living life according to your own guidelines ‘isn’t all that easy’. When you’re living with rock bottom self-worth and esteem - very much compounded by the chronic illness struggle - turning your back on shoulds, expectations and obligations can induce a lot of fear. That’s why self-worth and self-esteem are key pillars in Your Chronic Illness Ally, and need to be in the bigger picture of how we understand what it’s like to live with chronic illness under the ‘rules’ of the status-quo.

5.Planning

Planning was something I resisted for a long time; that age old story that people living with chronic illness can’t plan because chronic illness is too unpredictable… I don’t agree, but won’t go into why right now… that’s another blog post!

How do you get from where you are now to where you need and want to be - in this moment and in the bigger picture - in a chronic illness informed way? What are the steps, and what’s the first step?

6&7.Compassion and Freedom

I reckon we can top everything off with compassion and freedom; freedom to experiment and freedom for things not to work. It’s so important to create space to give yourself what you actually need; that’s a beautiful act of compassion. As is freedom to experiment without judgement or backlash; no beating yourself up when things don’t work out as you’d hoped. It’s safe for things to not to go to plan, for your symptoms to be activated… you are safe within your body!

I’m aware how this looks; like an overwhelming and long list of steps!

Please know, it’s never a regimented thing, and it doesn’t take up chunks of time or energy (in fact, it saves you both). And once you get into the swing of it, these steps almost become second nature (with a healthy dose of presence 😉)

Use these steps, and the Chronic Illness Informed philosophy as an inspirational guide. Use it to be curious without judgement. A Chronic Illness Informed approach applies to anything, and beyond your chronic illness, it’s an incredible way to get in touch with your body and inner wisdom in the deeper, wider sense.