Before, I wrote about my diagnosis of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and detailed how I eventually got my charge back!

Yet, like most fighters of chronic illness, our journey is often not a linear one and we have to pace ourselves, rest and reset our charge regularly. So in this article today, I will outline to you the ways I charge up my batteries and keep that charge, so I can be the best chronic illness warrior I can be.

1. Blogging

I have always enjoyed writing and achieved A’s and A* at GCSE and A levels in writing. However, when it comes to writing, despite the love I have for it, I have to have a purpose for my writing. I couldn’t just sit and write something and be happy that I wrote it without it having a reason or a place for it to go. So one night, the idea of writing a chronic illness blog for parents slowly formed in my mind.

I wrote my first ever post called ‘How to have a hobby when you are a parent’ and it got amazing views! I started to look into how I can make more out of my blog, how I can share it and curate it and now I’ve written over 20 articles with over 1000 views to my site in total. It has been a great outlet for me to come to terms with my conditions and offer myself advice but also it is a great feeling to know that I am helping others in the same position as me. I want people battling a chronic illness to feel less alone! I use whatever charge I have left and put it into my blog writing to help myself and others keep fighting.

2. Jewellery making

In a way, I would say that my appearance is my identity! I like bright hair colours and change it regularly. I have been blue, purple, blonde, pink and every other colour under the sun! (this is my current hair colour and one of my necklace creations). I like funky, unique, bright clothing and shoes, headbands and bright lipsticks and eyeshadows. I like to stand out from the crowd and express my personality through my clothes and jewellery. So, a few years back, I dabbled in jewellery making for myself and tried to make this into a business on Etsy. I called it Becboodesigns. Even though it was fun and enjoyable to make the items, I found it incredibly stressful and was constantly checking my stats, how many people liked the item, how many sales I had and my hobby ended up losing its shine. In the end, I decided to close my business down for my mental wellbeing but continued making jewellery for myself; the original intended purpose.

The pride I feel in creating myself a necklace or earrings to wear is overwhelming and the compliments I get makes it all worthwhile. Seeing my finished creations makes me want to come back and make more, feel fulfilled and ready and raring to go.

3. Reading

My book preferences have changed over the years. I used to enjoy a good chick-flick book but, after a while, the pattern became slow and predictable and I began to get bored of them. Nowadays, I like nothing better than a good thriller/mystery book to relax and reset with! Books transport you to another world, out of your troubles and into the reality the book is creating around you. Books can be friends when you feel low, books can help you laugh and cry and books can show us hope when there is no light.

At the moment, I am reading a book called Kill for you, Kill for me the new thriller book by Steve Cavangh and so far it is unputdownable! I love curling up with a good book on the sofa with my cup of tea and hot water bottle. It feels like a perfect use for the small amount of energy I have.

4. TV and film

My husband and I have always been avid film and cinema goers and, despite not having a lot of time to go to the cinema at the moment, luckily, it was our 2 year wedding anniversary on 5th August! So we decided to go and that terribly romantic film ‘Openheimer’!

Now, at 3 hours and 1 minutes long it is not my normal sort of film or a film I can sit that long for but we really wanted to see it after watching trailers and realising Cillian Murphy was in it (who doesn’t have a secret crush on him…). Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the hype, was so long and could have ended at the 2 hour mark. Don’t get me wrong, the visuals were stunning but it wasn’t a film that was in a specific linear order, was quite confusing at times and had far too many characters for my brain fogged mind to keep up with.

However, the whole point of going to the cinema was to reignite our spark as a couple, rest and recharge our batteries and come back with a fuller battery than we had when we left and the time alone did just that. For a list of TV and films I have been watching at the moment please do read my blog post here.

5. Listening to music

It is not often I get the chance to listen to the music I want to listen to. However, on the rare times I do get to listen to music I get fully immersed in what I’m listening to, feeling the raw emotion of a song, matching songs to my current mood, get a boost from a motivational song or have a good sing along.

The other night, as I was blogging, I had my headphones on and began to curate a playlist called ‘Mummy the Fibro Warrior on Spotify’. At the moment, I have 6 songs on it which will be guaranteed to make you laugh, feel inspired, feel sad, have fun, sing along and rest and rise up stronger! Please do go and check it out (Some songs do have E next to them so please do check for explicit content before listening aloud).

How to be a Chronic Illness Warrior Top Tip:

1. You wouldn’t let your phone run completely out of charge before plugging it in so why do it to yourself? Find ways that can help you rest up, recharge, keep the charge you have and use the charge wisely. 

If there is one takeaway I’d like you all to remember today is that as chargies, as chronic illness warriors and as fighters we only have limited energy. We need to figure out how we want to use that energy to keep the fire going inside of us! I need you to know you are doing the best you can, your family and friends love you just as you are and you are a chargeable chronic illness warrior.

Until next time, 

X

Becca "Mummy The Fibro Warrior"

P.S For further help and support with chronic illness and to feel less alone in our journeys please do come and check out my blog at www.mummythefibrowarrior.co.uk