Set it free... And let it go
Let it go, let it go....
Saying goodbye to 2016 was bitter-sweet for me.
Personally, 2016 was an amazing year! I graduated from nursing school, bought a house with the love of my life, landed my dream job, and finally after years of being sick was diagnosed with EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome).
That last one has to go in both the bitter and the sweet category. While it is a relief not to have to shuffle around from doctor to doctor with no answers, it meant officially saying goodbye to the hopes of "getting better".
It meant learning to become a new version of "healthy" and handling flares as they come.
I learned towards the end of 2016, that when you finally realize you have a chronic illness, you need to grieve and let go.
Grieve for your health.
Grieve for the family and friends you have lost because they don’t understand your new limitations.
And grieve for future plans that may never come to be.
More important than the grieving process, though is LETTING GO. Once you have said your goodbyes, set them free and let it go. There is a whole new wonderful you that you need to embrace!
Embrace this "you" that is an advocate for yourself and people like you.
Embrace the "you" that seeks out knowledge about your own disease, and others.
Embrace the "you" that spreads that knowledge so that others may not suffer as long as you did.
Embracing the new "you" is like embracing the new year; it’s a wonderful opportunity to start fresh.
I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and one quote has played in my mind since being diagnosed: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live".
Make adjustments and achieve the dreams that you can and the ones you can longer do, let them go and continue to live your life. Live your new life as the best version of your new self that you can be.
What do you need to grieve and let go of? How are you going to do that? Feel free to share with us in the comments.