The Struggle
Ah, the struggles with living with chronic issues. These things can plague the best of us. It can feel and actually be debilitating. When your job is to be a homemaker and a mom it can be an even larger struggle. I’m constantly using my hands, my core, my body, and needing a lot of energy to get my job done. I’m never off work. When you have a chronic illness or issue that is affecting the use of your body or zapping all of your energy the struggle is no joke in keeping up with all life throws at you. Keep reading to see how I keep my head above water and fight the anxiety or depression that can come with chronic illness and its effects on day to day life. Homemaking with a chronic illness is possible!
Life Is Not Over
Life isn’t over if you have a chronic illness, although you may feel at times like it is. It can be a challenge to fight the negative thoughts and feelings that go along with the pain you may be having to live with day in and day out.
Even the cost of dealing with health issues is stressful. Plus all the extra things you have to do to survive the day can feel exhausting and you may wonder, “why can’t I just be normal?”.
Despite the toll the illness you may be facing is taking on your body and mind, as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. As a Christian I often think about the apostle Paul. He had some sort of (unknown to us) ailment, “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). No one knows exactly what he suffered from but scholars believe it was likely some sort of physical ailment. Despite his condition, Paul learned that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness.” (v. 9)
“For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong” (v. 10)
I take a lot of comfort in what Paul found in God’s teachings. It gives purpose to my suffering and only brings me closer to Christ. It does not make the day to day struggles, pain, or frustration easier to deal with but does bring mental comfort. And that goes a long way for me!
My Ailments
I won’t share all that I’ve been dealing with as there has been a laundry list of things in the last few years; however, two issues I’ve struggled with as of late I feel very much could relate to this community.
My first issue I’ll discuss is hormonal struggles. If you are reading my blog, odds are you have had, are in the process of having, or would like to have children and boy do hormones really complicate things no matter where you are in your journey.
The other ailment is dealing with severe dishydrotic hand eczema. You may not have eczema, or the same version I have, but having an issue that affects you and your direct day to day job can be debilitating.
Hormones
I probably need to do a sole blog post on this topic as it’s been quite a journey. I will say this, I’ve found that for any medical issue I have to be my own advocate. Usually, no one, including, maybe even especially doctors, has my best interest in mind. If you don’t fit into their medical symptoms categories check list then you’re usually out of luck.
Fortunately, when it came to my hormone journey my Ob-gyn was on board with working with me but I stayed persistent in finding a resolution. After almost a year we found that a recurring functional cyst was likely the issue. After months of going the watching and waiting route to see if it would resolve on its own as most do it became clear it was here to stay and I had a laparoscopy performed to have the cyst on my ovary removed.
The day after my surgery I already could tell a difference. A year and a half of unresolved issues cleared up nearly overnight! I had done everything right on paper for my hormones. I eat well, workout, try to prioritize sleep, stay hydrated, and so on but no amount of supplements or following the basics (even stringently) made any difference. Sometimes, things are going on internally that we can’t resolve on our own and it takes medical help, maybe even surgery, to find relief.
Eczema
As I am currently recovering from my recent laparoscopy surgery, I am also in the midst of sorting out my eczema. On a day to day basis, as far as pain and discomfort goes the eczema takes the cake. It also is costly to deal with because I use special soaps to wash my hands, wear cotton gloves at night, wear disposable gloves to do things like clean or wash dishes, and so on.
It can be hard to feel things, tough to pick things up or have good grip strength, and the list goes on for cost and discomfort. I won’t share much of my medical journey yet because I’m smack dab in the middle of it (when I find the cure to my relief I’ll let you know though), but I bring the eczema issue up because it directly effects my day to day life especially as a mom and a homemaker. Which leads perfectly into the next topic of what I do to get through the tough days and still get all my tasks done without too much struggle.
How To Manage Homemaking With A Chronic Health Issue
No matter your health issues you have going on I am hoping this list can help you manage your ailment(s) along with your home. While not all the tips may apply or work for your specific conditions or situations perhaps some will.
– Find your new normal:
Embrace the way you best operate. If you need to use gloves to do everything then do it. It might feel funny, maybe even something you feel self conscious about, BUT if it gets your tasks done without causing you more issues then I say go with it. Maybe it’s not your hands that are the problem but you have a back issue, knee problem, horrible allergies, or unrelenting migraines. Find what helps get you through your day and your tasks whether it’s the norm or not.
– Take it slow:
A busy homemaker is a natural multitasker and one with limited time so we generally also move very quickly. When you have something chronic going on there are days where you just may not be able to do that. Give yourself grace and know that it is okay to move a little slower, to push things back, or to skip something altogether that week. If something is going to negatively impact you and take you out of commission for a while then it’s not worth doing something in the short term that you can do at a later date when you are more up for it.
– Self Care:
Homemakers and moms especially aren’t always too good at prioritizing ourselves. We tend to take care of everyone else and then if there’s time we will do the bare minimum for ourselves. Sometimes we need to prioritize ourselves so we can be the best version of ourselves and then give our family’s our best. This is especially true if we have an illness or chronic issue. We don’t want to get worse or stay stuck feeling miserable day in and day out so don’t forget to take care of yourself too.
– It’s all about mindset:
You can do more than you think you can. A lot of things come down to mental strength. Getting through a tough work out, or labor and birth are tough physically but half of it is mindset. When you think you’ve hit failure they say you aren’t even close to failure. Our minds can trick us into thinking we can’t handle something that we actually can, so like a really hard work out, let’s push our brains to the limit and gain strength mentally and physically.
Never Give Up
My Papa always used to say, “Never give up”. He had this funny little drawing he printed off of a bird trying to eat a frog. The frog had his arms around the bird’s neck fighting him off. That little saying of “never give up” has become my motto. The motto is currently a refrain in my brain, but it keeps me going strong.
Despite how you may be feeling or the pain you may be struggling with, and the complications that come with the chronic health issues and keeping up with your responsibilities there is a way to keep going and keep going strong at that. It may not be pretty, easy, or glamorous, but “For when I am weak, then I am strong” is truly who you are. Strong, resilient, and determined is what a homemaker, mom, wife, and our many other roles really are – and those of us who are struggling and still do our jobs despite those chronic issues are all the stronger.
You aren’t alone in our battle!
If you are looking for tools to help you in homemaking then look no further than my homemaking blog posts which can be found here. I also have a free cleaning checklist that can help you stay on track with a clean home even amongst the health struggles. You can download it for free by signing up for my email list on the homepage and throughout the blog.
