One of the hardest parts about a diagnosis of a serious, life-altering chronic illness is just that: it will alter your life. But often we focus on the word “alter” (or harsher pronouncements such as “mess up” or “destroy”) and forget that the word “life” abides. Yes, although we might have an illness that requires…

Bringing comfort to our lives with a chronic illness can be very difficult, especially if the illness comes with physical and emotional pain. We might not have the energy for stress-busting activities we enjoyed before our diagnosis. We might not have any money for recreational activities after we’ve paid for our medical care, medications, and…

Allowing people into our life with the diagnosis of a serious chronic illness is an important step to building the support system that will sustain us and provide us with a way to “give back” to the goodness from which we benefit. This can be very hard, especially if we experience loss among the social circle…

As you begin to find answers to your questions after a diagnosis with a chronic illness, you and your doctor will be working on fine-tuning your condition and setting up an approach for treatment and follow-up. I discovered quickly that my life changed drastically – from social and professional appointments I went into days when…

More from Beliefnet and our partners
More from Beliefnet and our partners