An Open Letter to the Chronically Ill 

Maybe you opened this article because the title struck you. Maybe it caught your attention because you weren’t feeling well, too. Maybe things are difficult, maybe you are on the verge of giving up.

Maybe you are scrolling endlessly in social media, looking for comfort, browsing through articles trying to find some sort of solace.

When it seems like no one understands you

I may not give you everything that you are looking for, but I will try to at least make you realize two things: your feelings are valid and you are not alone.

I know how isolating and lonely battling chronic illness can get. I know how it feels to be invalidated and to be told that everything is just in your mind. Like you, I have also been called crazy, and that I am just making things up.

I know how painful it feels when it seems like no one understands you, or that no one is even trying their best to.

Your feelings are valid

Today, I am reminding you that the validity of your feelings should not depend on the failure of others to acknowledge them. Your feelings are valid and your pain is real. Acknowledge today that you are struggling and that you are hurting. Maybe healing starts when we start recognizing our emotions and when we allow ourselves to feel them without guilt.

Acceptance plays a huge role in healing. When we're finally able to accept that we're not okay, that's where healing takes place. Do not beat yourself up. These emotions are valid and they exist so they can be felt. So feel them, let them go under your skin, and let them settle.

You are not alone

Chronic illness can be isolating, especially if you shut people out. It leads you to a dark place. And at times, it can be so inviting that it tempts you to stay a little longer. Chronic illness makes you believe that people are better off without you, that you are just a liability to everyone, especially to those close to your heart.

As convincing as it may sound, I plead that you don’t let it fool you because all of that is not true. You are important, you matter, and you are valued, even if your feelings tell you otherwise, even though your circumstances convince you that you are not.

Silent but brave

So to you who has been struggling, to you who feel like you don’t have what it takes to overcome whatever it is that you're going through, to you who is so close to giving up, to you who has been feeling hopeless, lost, and stuck:

I see you. I feel you. You are not alone. You don’t have to go through everything on your own.

We may be fighting our struggles silently, but we are also battling each one of them courageously. I am here with you. I am here, too. And I am rooting for all of us to be okay - someday.