SOS For The Bad Days With Chronic Illness

Sometimes the bad days of chronic illness can feel so overwhelming. Maybe we're missing out on a big event yet again, or the same symptoms are flaring up, or we have new symptoms arising. Sometimes, the chronicity can just weigh heavier on us on certain days.

In this meditation, we validate and invite in the challenging feelings and offer ourselves the compassion and care we need to get through this rough day. We can also keep our hearts and minds open to a new day that might bring some relief and the healing that we need.

With healing Solfeggio frequencies from Music Of Wisdom, this meditation can be a source of support, validation, and rejuvenation on your bad days.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation practice.

My name is Teresa.

I'm a mindfulness meditation teacher.

Today's practice is for those of us who are struggling with chronic illness and we're having a bad day.

This could be a day where we're dealing with a lot of symptoms.

It could be a day when there's a special event going on that we have to miss.

It could be a day where everything just feels very heavy and we're sick of being sick.

So let's begin the practice.

I invite you to find a comfortable posture,

Seated or lying down.

We can start with this gesture of kindness towards ourselves,

Listening to what we need in this moment.

We might close the eyes if that feels comfortable,

Otherwise just softening the gaze and looking a few feet in front of you.

We might take a few slow cleansing breaths.

Breathing in through the nose,

Exhaling,

Letting go.

Allowing each cleansing breath to bring us more fully into this new moment.

Connecting with how the breath feels.

How does it feel to breathe in?

How does it feel to breathe out?

Becoming present.

And then allowing the breath to come into a natural rhythm.

While we stay connected to how it feels to breathe,

We might offer a whisper,

Breathing in,

I am aware that I am breathing in.

As we exhale,

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing in,

Dwelling in this present moment.

Breathing out,

I accept myself completely.

Repeating these phrases on the inhale and the exhale.

Breathing in,

I am aware I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I am aware that I am breathing out.

Dwelling in this present moment.

I accept myself completely.

We might invite in the suffering into this space of mindfulness,

Acceptance.

Really connecting with the truth of the suffering in this moment.

How hard it can be to live with illness.

Noticing any emotions that arise.

Maybe there's sadness,

Grief,

Exhaustion.

Recognizing what that actually feels like in this moment.

We might invite it in,

This belongs.

We might name what the emotions are or what the feelings are.

This is sadness or this is grief.

Maybe this is anger,

Frustration,

Rage.

It doesn't matter how intense or big the emotions are.

We can allow them to be with us here.

There's nothing wrong with feeling them.

We also have a choice if it feels overwhelming.

We can just kind of dip our toe into the experience.

At any point it feels overwhelming,

We just return to our breath.

But we can offer the invitation for these emotions to be here.

Creating space for whatever is arising.

Offering validation,

This is really challenging.

This is a really difficult experience right now.

With kind curiosity,

What does it feel like in the body?

Sometimes we might feel tearful.

Maybe we feel our heart contracting.

Whatever it is that we're feeling in our bodies,

This belongs.

And if these feelings could speak,

What would they ask for?

What is needed right now that might alleviate some of the suffering?

Without having to fix or change immediately,

We can listen.

And then we can offer our kindness and our compassion to this suffering.

There are infinite possibilities for this compassion.

Sometimes our body is asking for a gentle gesture of kindness,

Such as a hand on the heart,

A soft hand on the cheek,

Or whatever part of the body is really suffering.

Maybe our body and our feelings need words.

I give myself permission to feel this.

I give myself permission to feel these really difficult experiences.

It's understandable that I would feel this way.

We can also get creative in the mind,

Evoking visualization or imagery of loving figures,

Supportive elements in nature,

Allowing in any imagery that feels supportive,

Inviting in this care and compassion in whatever ways arise for us.

There could be one particular offering,

Or there could be many.

We might open our hearts to receive this support,

This acceptance,

This compassion.

Sometimes a very concrete action might arise so we know what to do for ourselves to help ourselves feel better,

To help us through these challenging days.

Maybe we need a nap.

Maybe we need to talk to somebody.

Maybe we need a healthy meal.

Trusting whatever arises in this moment and seeing if we can open to receive all the ways that care and compassion want to support us right now.

Resting in this space for a few more moments and I offer these final well wishes.

May we all feel held in the great heart of compassion and understanding.

May we all feel supported today May we all know the strength of the spirit that can carry us through.

May we keep our hearts and our minds open to infinite possibilities of healing and a better day.

May we feel held,

Supported,

And guided on our healing path.

Now for the invitation to take two slow cleansing breaths.

Whenever you're ready you can open your eyes if your eyes were closed.

You can also stay in this space of meditation for as long as you need.

Many blessings to you.

Thank you.

Reviews

Exactly what I needed. We can be so hard on ourselves when we are suffering, and this helped me accept my current state for what it is. Thank you.

Your voice and words help me to find a bit of peace in an otherwise challenging day where it's all too easy to lose myself.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. A much needed reminder to have compassion for myself on these difficult days.

Deeply soothing and comforting for a bad health day. I will save this for future use. Thank you so much, Theresa. 🙏🏻💚

This was beautiful & deeply touching. Thank you. 🙏🏻

Dear Theresa, this track is so beautifully spoken with heavenly background music… I deeply felt your wise words were speaking directly to me, as in the last year I’ve had to decline travelling to numerous celebrations, & a funeral of a very dear Mother-like friend. It seems I am dealing with nervous system memories of major traumas in my life, now, on top of feeling a worsening FM/CFS, small fiber neuropathy, back issues, all at the age of 75 yrs.
Going to functional, holistic, practitioners after my original diagnosis in 1996, have gotten me to this point, gratefully.
Will be turning to this track & your other tracks often.
Again, Much Love & Gratitude to you. Xx

Very supportive and helpful. I do a lot of bodyscan/yoga nidra meditations, but this narrative style and kind voice helped me and is very welcome in hard days. I also love the soft music. I will come back more often for sure. Thank you!

Such a supportive practice when times are hard. Your compassion is really influential and I feel so heard when listening to your work. Thank you 💙

Thank you, Theresa, for your open-hearted, generous and kindly gifts. They are so needed in the world right now. Wishing you, those close to you and all those joining for these meditations many blessings, bright moments of peace and maybe even joy on this journey. 🙏

Thank you, Theresa, for this wonderful track. I chose to use it as tears were flowing, and felt understood and comforted by your words. This is a difficult journey. Thanks for being a guiding light.

Thus one helped me through a migraine 🙏🏼thanks Theresa ❤️

Teresa has a very soothing voice and kind words to bring relaxation

I’m not currently having a fibromyalgia flare up but I’m always looking for things to be supportive. Thank you for offering this meditation. I found the teacher’s voice very gentle.

Good lord I needed this today. 🙏🏼 Perfect timing to release this track, Theresa!