Next up on my content plan is a post about inspirational quotations. At first I thought this would be easy – the internet is after all full of inspirational quotes. However I wanted to make it meaningful and tie it back to life as an autoimmune patient. Suddenly many of the quotes had less meaning or took on a totally different meaning! Take the famous quote “Carpe Diem”. It translates as seize the day or enjoy the day. However when you are suffering from an autoimmune flare up this seems like an impossible ask!
So here are a few of my favourite, relevant quotations from an autoimmune patient perspective.
This to me sums on the need for tenacity when you have a chronic disease. There are days when you have been feeling so rough, potentially for a while, that you feel like you have reached the end of your rope. You just cannot go on. Having been in this position myself my advice to other patients going through this is – just hang on! Things will get better you just need to hang on.
This quotation also speaks to the need for endurance if you have a chronic autoimmune condition. Sometimes people do not fully understand just how much an autoimmune patient has to endure. I know many other thyroid patients who really struggle with fatigue but other people mistake this for just being tired or even lazy. Fatigue is a horrible condition – it is more than being tired – and it really is something you have to endure. It means there is so much you just cannot do so you really have to enjoy the small things. I found I also learnt to be so grateful for the little things I had.
This quotation is also very true with regards our current times. We all have to endure so much as we get through yet another lockdown. We must enjoy what we have and the few things we can do.
What would a post on quotations be without quoting one of our most recent heroes – Captain Tom Moore. “Tomorrow will be a good day” is the essence of hope. It is similar to that iconic final line from Gone with The Wind – tomorrow is another day. It means that whilst today may be rough, have hope – things will get better. It is this hope that gets many autoimmune patients through those tough times. It is the hope that the fatigue and brain fog will clear. The hope that the pain and discomfort will diminish. The hope that tomorrow will be better.
This quotation is so true. Some of the strongest people I know are autoimmune patients. The strength needed to keep going when you feel like death or when you are told there is nothing wrong with you in incredible. Many autoimmune and thyroid patients face issues with diagnosis and treatment. It takes strength to push back, not give up and keep fighting. When you finally feel better you realise just how strong you are.
It is this strength and what we have endured that means actually we do seize the day. Carpe Diem to us means we made it and we are going to enjoy today! We do not know what tomorrow brings but we will make the most of what we have because we know how tough it can be. To all that autoimmune warriors out there I salute you and I say “Carpe Diem”!
