For those of us who have chronic illness, chronic pain or an autoimmune condition, life can simply be an exhausting and isolating experience.

From the day-to-day grind that you’re just trying to get through, to the expectations of others that are far beyond what you can handle, to your own feelings of guilt when you are not living up to your own expectations…..the list goes on and on.

How do you explain that you’re not too busy, that you want to spend time BUT you just don’t have the energy and or you’re so drained that you have to rest from just doing the normal day-to-day stuff?

As someone who copes with an auto-immune condition, I understand what it is like to live with a chronic illness.

When you are first diagnosed with a long-term health condition, it can be disorienting and overwhelming, As time goes on, we can end up struggling with how best to deal with our condition and the impact it has on our lives.

Learning to cope with the daily stressors of living with your chronic illness also includes learning how to deal with stress and the effects of stress.