Everyone, in every situation, from every place in the world, will wake up tomorrow and have challenges they need to overcome. Navigating these challenges can be a daunting task and require resiliency and mental energy to find solutions to these challenges. Now, imagine, on top of all these challenges is a challenge that never goes away--something that holds us back through each obstacle we face.

Carrying a Bag of Rocks

Imagine you are lining up to run a 10,000-meter race with another opponent. Both of you at the starting line have the same amount of training, skills, strength, speed, etc. Both of you are equal matches on paper. Now, before the starting gun fires, you are handed a bag full of rocks by the race official. “Sorry” the race official says as he hands you the bag, “you’ll have to carry this bag with you during the race. You can find ways to mitigate your symptoms, but you have no option to drop the bag.”

You were not prepared for this added weight. You spent your entire life training for this race and now, an added barrier to your success will hold you back during every meter. Anxiety and fear spirals through your mind with questions without concrete answers. “How can I manage to run, when this bag of rocks weighs so much?” “Why do I get a bag, when my opponent doesn’t?” “How could this be so unfair?” What keeps you from giving up at this point?

The starting pistol fires, and now you start to feel the physical disadvantage this extra weight gives you. Your peer, who did not receive a bag of rocks, barely breaks a sweat through each step they take. You, however, spend so much exhausting physical energy trying to find ways to carry this bag, while simultaneously, your anxiety, fear, and worry consume your mental energy. Carrying this bag is physically and mentally exhausting. There is no option to drop the bag--you must find ways to cope.

The Physical and Mental Burden of Chronic Illness

In this instance, carrying this bag of rocks represents chronic illness. People who were handed bags to carry that represent the physical and mental strain of a diagnosis. People with chronic illnesses carry this through every challenge they face in their lives. Some days are easier, some days are harder, and each diagnosis and each person are different. These individuals did not ask for more challenges but were given them with no other option than to learn to cope with them.

How can they cope with this obstacle? Who can they talk to? What resources are available? Fortunately, we have experts in medicine who can provide care for the physical strain and symptoms that people with chronic illnesses face. Great! But what about mental health support? How can a person truly learn to cope?

How Do We Cope?

All of us cope every day, sometimes without knowing it. We are all finding ways to navigate life’s challenges and to handle our stressors. Some coping mechanisms are healthy for us, and some are unhealthy. People who are “carrying rocks” through chronic illness can find coping mechanisms helpful for the mental load and distress caused from navigating life with a chronic illness. However, some circumstances are harder to cope with and a lot of problems can’t be solved simply through coping.

For example, if your doctor or medical professional suggests medication, finding coping mechanisms alone cannot and will not treat your medical symptoms. It would be recommended that you work with your doctor on finding medications that help with your chronic illness in congruence with finding healthy ways to cope with the psychological burdens brought up from having a chronic illness. Some healthy ways to cope are:

Attending Psychotherapy
Meditation and Mindfulness
Attending support groups

A great source for finding healthy coping strategies is attending psychotherapy with a mental health professional. Mental health professionals are trained to help empower you to find healthy methods of coping for your situation. Therapy is a great source for navigating these challenges that we face and can be a great source for people with chronic illnesses (Nagy, et al.,2023). Psychotherapists will use methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, and support groups to help you cope with chronic illness.

Attending support groups is a great way to feel validated by peers in a similar situation. A licensed mental health professional will help guide the group to find commonalities, resources for support, and validation and support for your challenges that arise from living with a chronic illness.

Let’s Run This Race Together

If you or someone you know is living with chronic illness and need support, here at South Counseling, we have mental health professionals with the tools to help you cope with your chronic illness. We provide individual therapy through telehealth and in person and our providers are empathetic, trustworthy, and educated in empirically proven strategies to help support people with chronic illness. You can book an appointment through this link.

At South Counseling, we also offer a Chronic Illness Support Group, where you can attend a support group with other individuals living with chronic illness who may have similar experiences. You can book a group session through this link.

Remember to give yourself grace. You did not ask to carry this bag of rocks. You are a person, and each person deserves happiness, support, and hope. While finding healthy coping mechanisms is crucial, dealing with a chronic illness is not easy and whatever is necessary to make it through each day is valid. However, I implore you to find those healthy coping methods that you deserve. Whether we carry a bag of rocks or not, all of us are running this race together. Together, let’s find ways to make running this race manageable, lined with hope, and as comfortable as possible.

References:

Nagy, Zsófia et al. “The Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA):

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Life (Basel, Switzerland) 13.3 (2023): 849. Print.

Sources for royalty free images:

Image 1: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/starting-line

Image 2: https://depositphotos.com/photos/therapist.html

Chronic Illness: More Than a Physical Challenge

How do Different Types of Therapy Affect You?