Living with the Enemy - Coping with the stress of chronic illness using CBT, mindfulness and acceptance

''This isn''t living, this is just existing.''

A long-term physical health condition - a chronic illness, or even a disability - can take over your existence. Battling against the effects of the condition can take so much of your time and energy that it feels like the rest of your life is ''on hold''.

The physical symptoms of different conditions will vary, as will the way you manage them. But the kinds of psychological stress the situation brings are common to lots of long-term health problems: worry about the future, sadness about what has been lost, frustration at changes, guilt about being a burden, friction with friends and family. You can lose your sense of purpose and wonder ''What''s the point?'' Trapped in a war against your own illness, every day is just about the battle, and it can seem impossible to find achievement and fulfilment in life if the condition cannot be cured.

It doesn''t have to be like that.

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