Share the Weight
Most chronically ill people I know experience some amount of isolation or loneliness. The symptoms themselves may require solo resting time, but challenges in relationships can result in more isolation.
I’ve heard these things from folks living with chronic illness or pain:
Did my friends forget me?
I stopped hearing from people because I had to cancel plans so much due to my symptoms.
People offer advice and don't know how to listen. Sometimes people question whether I did something to cause this.
I wonder if my loved ones don’t want to talk to me because I’m such a downer, always struggling with symptoms, finances, and medical appointments.
Friends showed up when I first got sick, but they don't understand why I'm not better yet.
Sometimes loved ones don’t know what to do or say. They may struggle with their own fear and anxiety about the illness, feeling powerless to help, and inadvertently do things that are less than supportive. In some cases, folks show up well at first or for short bursts, but what happens when the difficulty lasts for months, years, and even decades?
While I cannot speak for all chronically ill people, I do know that this experience is heavy, and many folks are looking for someone to share the weight.
Sharing the weight means listening not to fix but to really understand the person’s experience, including the day-to-day reality and the difficult emotions, like grief, fear, hopelessness, and anger. It means asking if someone wants listening, questions, advice, encouragement, or acts of service, like bringing food, starting a meal train, or helping with chores. I would venture to say that this approach would be helpful for many kinds of hardships.
Here are my upcoming offerings:
Somatic Transformation Group for People With Chronic Illness and/or Pain
Thursdays, Sept 5- Nov 14, 5-6:30pm PT
Weekly 10 session group covers topics including our relationship with the body, moving from isolation to connection, finding aliveness in midst of illness, grief and despair, resilience, and compassion.
Nervous System Regulation for Healing: A Somatic Practice Group
Wednesdays, Sept 11 - Nov 20, 5:30-7pm PT
Weekly 10 session group covers topics including building awareness of Fight/Flight/Freeze/Appease/Dissociate states, practices for regulating your nervous system, building safety and connection in the body, co-regulation, resilience, etc
To sign up or get more information about my groups or coaching, book a free consult with me today.
