Personality Connect

With Syndromes, Diseases, and Disorders on the rise, more and more people each day are living with chronic pain and illnesses. Already some of my friends have been diagnosed with severe autoimmune diseases and have difficulties with daily life activities due to immobility and pain. It’s debilitating, frustrating, and discouraging to say the least.

Without proper support and resources it can be very difficult to feel like a thriving human being. Regardless of personality type, chronic illness changes the way they interact with others on a regular basis and how they feel towards themselves. If one is an introvert they may be more reclusive and less willing to socialize due to their pain. Someone who is usually laid back and free-spirited may find themselves being extremely lethargic to the point where they do not get out of bed for days. Those who used to work a lot and experienced a rigorous schedule may find themselves being more negative and rude than usual because they’re not able to fulfill their desired goals.

Many may not feel like a whole person and struggle with low self-esteem because of outside pressure. The challenges of dealing with chronic illness differs from person to person; for many different people it can be hard to express what they are going through and may be met with a lot of judgmental attitudes. They can often feel alone and afraid to share their personal experience with others because of pre-conceived misconceptions.

Whenever I work with clients who have debilitating pain, I encourage them to go back and think about the interests they previously enjoyed and to work on re-incorporating them into their life if they haven’t done so already. Everyday will be different and present it’s own set of challenges. It may not be possible to wake up in the morning and go for a walk or exercise. But it could be possible to blog, draw, read, create a collage or comedy clip for fun. Sometimes it can be very difficult to focus on what is possible because of the obstacles staring at you in the face. Instead of staring back, capitalize on the moments you feel better and start to reclaim your interests.

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