Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness

Too often I have read books with great ideas, but little applicability to daily life. Not so with this gem. Those with invisible illnesses often experience hidden struggles, sometimes even unknown to those closest to them. Chris does an excellent job of shining a light on these hidden struggles – and in so doing, revealing the depth of challenges for people with chronic illness – while providing meaningful strategies to cope with their illness. I particularly liked how he backed up his strategies with research citations and, at times, made references to other resources “for further exploration.” If I were to criticize this book, this book does provide occasional mentions of his Christian faith, although I thought he discussed it in a gentle, integrative way that would not turn off readers of various faiths or detract from his central message. All in all, a great resource that is succinct and practical. (Note: after I reached out to him to let him know the book was largely unreadable on NetGalley, the author provided me with a corrected Epub).

“Now, 1 in 2 Americans (around 165 million) have a chronic medical condition, in which their illness impairs them in one or more of their everyday activities.

Further, 96% of chronic medical conditions in the United States are invisible, making them both harder to diagnose and for others – family, friends, and healthcare providers – to understand.2a As a result, because others tend to assume what we can or cannot do simply by how we look, they tend to downplay this suffering, and assume we are either lazy, irresponsible, or even faking our illness.”

Excerpt From
Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness

Chris hits the. last nerve with this paragraph. Many people with chronic illnesses have been brushed off, or their illness underplayed or outright not treated. He has some great ideas on how we can harness our energy, what energy we have to take control of our healthcare by assembling the right team of doctors, making the most of our doctor's appointments, and becoming your best advocate.

 He also addresses the depression that often follows someone with a chronic illness which can, in turn, fall into the cycle and create more pain. It is one many know all too well and don't always know how to balance the two. 

Chris also has some questions for you, to take a hard look at yourself and answer about your chronic illness. I found them enlightening and worth soul searching on. 

Being a Psychologist Chris's approach to the book is one of mind over matter. You can change how you talk to yourself and how you chose to look at each situation.  

I think Chris says it best, the diagnosis is a step forward, it's not the last. 

Excerpt From

"While an official diagnosis represents a huge step forward in the management of your condition, it also represents a new beginning in your journey of further seeking help for your condition, not the end. In dealing with a chronic illness, the search for improved health and a better quality of life never ceases. Likewise, despite an official diagnosis, you will continue to confront challenges when accessing quality healthcare or dealing with others, but it will be that much easier to confront these challenges. You have cleared a major hurdle.”

Chris includes a helpful chapter for loved ones as a resource and support. 

Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness is a great find, one for all to read, the patient, the loved one, and family members. It is a simple and very practical approach to taking control by understanding how we think and what we have control over when it comes to our chronic condition and healthcare treatment. 

Enjoy Reading,

Melinda

Looking for the Light

@LookingLight

This is a book everyone should own as we are all likely to be or know someone we care about with chronic illness. This book provides opportunities for healing for absolutely every perspective. Covering spirituality, psychology, and biomechanics this book has it all. Though written from a Christian perspective the book is still very accessible and useful to other religious beliefs. I will be recommending this book to my clients.

This is an excellent book for anyone who has a chronic illness (and even those who don't if only to have more people in the world understand what its like to live with chronic illness)

As someone with chronic illness this book made me feel seen and understood, it was insightful and honest. I really appreciated that the author makes early on about not wanting to have an overly rosy portrayal of chronic illlness (likening it to people only showing the best of their life on social media) and that he has his flare ups and that it doesnt mean he's done anything wrong but that he just has a chronic illness. I found this really hit me because there are times when your chronic illness creeps up on you and it can be painful, and a big aspect of finding joy with chronic illness is accepting that this is life with chronic illness and going easy on yourself in those times.

I also really appreciated how he explained everything he has gained and particularly how his faith gave him something to hold onto, depending on god gave him strength and hope. It's something that helped me through my own illness, in the depths of it when everything felt so wrong. These days people are so afraid of talking about god with those who don't have faith belittling the rest of us constantly so i truly appreciated the author being vulnerable and sharing his whole truth with us not just some aspects.

The author covers many techniques that have successfully helped me manage my illness over the years, one amongst many others being pacing and how to practice it. He covers how we can use psychology, spirituality, supplements, stress management techniques etc to our benefit.

There is a section on considerations for people with chronic illness in regard to exercise which i thought was great! For myself i found exercise crucial to managing to chronic illness BUT i have to be very careful about what and how much i do so I felt this section was great!

This book takes a very holistic approach to living with chronic illness which is absolutely essential in my opinion. When i first started struggling with illness I was never able to find something that had all this information in one place and even though i've learnt so much over the years, theres still so much to learn from this and comfort to take from it. I would definitely recommend!

I was intrigued by the title of this book as other than having some health issues myself, I’m dealing with my husband who has invisible chronic illness. It’s a very useful tool not only for the sufferer but also for those living with someone or indeed anyone who knows someone with a chronic illness. Informative and helpful

An invaluable read. I have chronic invisible Illness and was interested to read this book. Many things I could totally relate to. Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness is a great find, one for all to read, the patient, the loved one, and family members. Also addresses the mental health aspect of those of us living with mental health which essential too.

I liked "Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness" a lot. I would say that if you are dealing with a chronic illness, you'll find it resonates and gives you things to think about. I think that finding one's way through chronic illness is an individual journey, but this book helps you begin to think about what it looks like for you.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars! This is a great book and anyone with an invisible chronic illness should really read it. I’ve had an illness since age 14 and I still suffer from illness now. That’s why I wanted to read this book in the first place. The author has some great tips and tricks for dealing with illness, in general, and the mental health of someone with a chronic illness. A must read for anyone with an invisible chronic illness.
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

This book is helpful for people with disabilities who are having trouble adjusting to their disability. I believe it will help everyone with disabilities enjoy their life more, not just people with invisible disabilities. Those of us with invisible disabilities are often harassed by people who think that you are not disabled unless you are in a wheelchair. This book has tips on finding joy no matter what.

If you, or someone you love, has just be diagnosed with a chronic illness, you can't do better than start with this book. In many ways, I feel like we should be giving this book out in the same volumes as "What to Expect When you're Expecting." There's a lot to unpack in this book and, although it is short, I expect I will be re-reading it again and again.