Healing self worth in a time of illness

Healing self worth in a time of illness is a huge topic.

Whether we live with illness or health, ongoing healing around our sense of worth is something that we do well to work with the whole of our life.

raise self worth by thanking yourself for asking for help

Also... if chronic illness doesn’t show up in your life when you’re younger, some of the demands of illness such as lack of mobility or the need to ask for help, might come to you in later life.
It’s a good thing to know how to deal with these challenges.

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It’s always a good thing to feel good about yourself in a sustainable and realistic way.

This article includes some positive self-talk (talk that leaves you feeling more positive).
You can say these words to yourself. Alternatively, you can imagine a wiser, more loving 'you' saying them to you.

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Contents for Healing self worth in a time of illness

  • Why might you need to engage in healing self worth in a time of illness?
  • Say Thank You to yourself
  • Examples of positive self-talk for praise and support
  • Talk to your child self
  • See someone else’s strengths to see your own

Why might you need to engage in healing self worth in a time of illness?

In a time of illness, it's possible that you’re not getting the same level of affirmation from the world that you might have been used to. 
You might have lost your job.
You might no longer be able to engage in a social activity, and therefore have lost access to some of your social contacts.

Your competence and your likeability might not be mirrored back to you in the way they once were.

There are many reasons why your sense of worth may be low in a time of illness.

Say Thank You to yourself (or receive my thanks)

If any of the following thank-yous are meaningful to you, read them often.
Write a ‘thank you’ note to yourself.

If you are bedbound, leave the note next to your bed.
If you are walking around the house or going out, choose a place where you will see your thank-you frequently.
Give yourself the praise and encouragement you need. [I receive the praise and encouragement I need.]

Healing self worth with self thanks for your functional every day endeavours

Thank you for your commitment to staying alive.
Thank you for finding a smile or a kind word even when you experience a symptom.

Thank you for keeping going.
Thank you for learning a new way of doing something so that you can still do it at your current level of health.

Healing self worth with self thanks for your meeting of your physical needs

Thank you for the many times when you eat health-giving food.

Thank you for any discipline you find to push your body to complete a task.
Thank you for any discipline you find to push your body for the benefit of your health and your well-being.

Thank you for any discipline you find to rest.
Thank you for any discipline you find to give up whatever you need to give up in order to rest.

Thank you for finding a balance between rest and activity.

Healing self worth with self thanks for your meeting of your spiritual, mental and emotional needs

Thank you for any sense of purpose you find within a time of illness.
Thank you for growing.
Thank you for choosing to know you are of value.
Thank you for knowing you are more than what you do physically.
Thank you for disciplining your thoughts.
Thank you for nurturing your spirituality.
Thank you for being willing to accept the level of health you have now.
Thank you for being willing to accept the life you have now.
Thank you for finding moments of beauty at your current level of health.

Examples of positive self-talk for praise and support

Look for ways to praise and support yourself with little comments throughout the day, such as the following:

‘Well done.’
‘Fantastic.’
‘You did that in such an intelligent way.’
‘I saw how you reached out to help someone. I am proud of you.’
‘What a nice thing to say. I see how your words helped that person.’
‘I see how you let that person know you were listening to them.’
‘Well done for saying yes to that request.’
‘Well done for saying no to that request.’
‘Well done for allowing yourself to feel anger.’
‘I enjoy your sense of humour.’

‘I enjoy your capacity to find joy in the everyday.’
‘You have real skills in this area.’
‘I understand why you did that.’
‘What a great way to do that.’
‘I support you in having done that.’
‘Good decision!’
‘I really enjoyed hearing your opinion.’
‘I see how hard you work. Thank you.’
‘I appreciate you.’
‘I am proud of you for ______.’


For example, right now, you could say.

Well done for reading this article on HealingCFSME.com.
Well done (if appropriate) for taking breaks so that you read an amount that is comfortable for you.
Well done for investing time and effort to find a way to live well with illness.
It is fantastic that you are learning and growing.
I am so proud of you.

Talk to your child self

If you struggle to find something you are doing well, another technique is to talk to an image in your mind of yourself as you were when you were a child. We often find it easier to see the beauty in a child than in an adult.

Sometimes I see my child-self in my mind’s eye and I say to her, ‘That’s fantastic!’ Then I grin as though I am a four-year-old child being praised for her crayon picture.

Was there a reward which made you feel special when you were little?
Or perhaps there is a reward you were never given but would have loved to receive.
Find something you have done well today.
In your imagination, or in reality, give yourself a reward which is meaningful to you.
Perhaps a star, a tick or an imaginary sweet!

Move to read a guided meditation script for healing the inner child of loneliness.

See someone else’s strengths to see your own

It’s not the main topic of this website, but for me the ultimate remedy for healing self worth in illness or health is to cultivate a sense of our spiritual Self– a Self who is beyond the body and therefore not defined by what we do, what we have, or how we are seen by others.

Even without this, I think many of us accept the idea that each human being has intrinsic worth.

If in a time of illness, you are doubting your own worth, it can help to practice seeing the worth in other people, both those you like, and those you don’t like.

Each time you wish another well, or see another’s beauty, you are seeing your own.

When you witness a strength in another person, it is likely to indicate either a strength you already possess, or one that you have the potential to develop.

What skill or quality do you admire in someone?

For example, you might think of someone who is persevering, creative, hard-working, skilful at seeing the good in people, kind, patient, assertive, interesting funny, or good at communicating.

Fill in the blanks and read out the following sentences.

I admire ______ (this person) for ______.
I too have the skill/quality of ______.
(I have the potential to develop the skill/quality of ______.)
I find it easy to be aware of the strength of ______ (name the quality) in _____ (the name of the person).
I find it easy to be aware of the strength of ______ (name the quality) in myself.

I wish for you a warm sense of your own self worth, such that you feel stable enough to meet your mistakes with kindness and celebrate your many skills.

Wishing you health both within and beyond illness,

Katherine

Katherine T Owen

Katherine T Owen runs this website - www.HealingCFSME.com.

She is author of Be Loved, Beloved (Read it in paperback at lulu.com or on kindle)

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical practitioner. The articles on this website are not to be taken as medical advice. Please consult a medical practitioner as necessary.

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