Recognizing Your Bravery During Illness

Bravery comes in many forms and can be as “simple” as choosing to face the day with chronic illness. If you have been chronically ill, you know there is nothing simple about those days. Recognizing what is truly brave builds us up instead of tearing us down.

Cycology of Bravery

Bravery is not sleighing dragons and rescuing the princess.

Bravery is about facing the things that are scary and walking it out. Putting one foot in front of the other, over and over again. Sometimes even jumping in blindly to another day-in-the-life of illness.

During chronic illness, bravery can look like facing another day. Facing the monotony of it. Facing health intracacies and not knowing the outcome. Facing the financial and relationship struggles that come with long term illness.

Bravery can be facing all of the complications that come with illness. Putting one foot in front of the other, not knowing what will happen next but having hope. At times that means blind hope.

During chronic illness, what feels like bravery one day will be a cakewalk the next. Bravery is enjoying the cakewalk days while dealing with the fears that illness can bring.

Perception of Bravery

Sometimes we have to tune out what others think. Heck, sometimes we have to tune out what we think about what is brave.

Our perception of what we are “supposed” to be able to do looks and feels so different than what our bodies allow us to do while we are chroncially ill.

What bravery is supposed to look like gets a bit foggy.

Allow ourselves to be brave simply because we are brave…

• We chose to wake up with a good attitude, no matter what
• We chose to face the day with a bad headache on top of everything else that hurts
• We chose to drink our morning water because it is good for us, not because we want to
• We chose to put a smile on and reduce the complaining by ONE comment
• We put a load of laundry on because we are brave enough to expect a better day tomorrow and will need clean clothes
• We chose to remain calm regardless of circumstances because it is good for us
• We chose to be kind and gentle with ourselves because we are worthy of it
• We pick our battles wisely so we can win the war

Don’t disregard the brave moments that you face day in and day out while being chronically ill.

When we look at what is truly brave, we can see that choosing to face every day while being ill is bravery.

When we make choices to be brave we move in the direction of our personal healing journey.

Movement is the Cycology of Chronic Illness.

Do something brave today to move you along in your health journey.