Chronic Illnesses and Conditions & Recovery
When you're dealing with a chronic illness or condition that isn't going to fully resolve, how do you think of recovery?
Is it a term that you relate to with your condition?
Does it apply in specific ways?
How do you feel about it overall?
@AffyAvo Thank you so much for making this post and for coming up with such thought-provoking questions 
To be honest, "recovery" is something I still have yet to define when it comes to my chronic illness because, as you had mentioned, I'm not going to get better and not be sick anymore, that's out of the question. I think to me, recovery is going to have a lot to do with coming to terms with and accepting who I am now. Who sick me is. It's a tough pillow to swallow and I have yet to meet this mysterious creature but I think I'm getting closer every day to finding that zebra out there in the jungle.
@AffyAvo
I dunno, I am struggling to relate it to my condition at the moment at all. I think I am still angry so its hard to think about a term like 'recovery' when I am still resistant to the fact its an inevitable part of my life from now on. Everyones just giving me ways to 'manage it' and I just want the pain to go away and never come back
I guess recovery for me would be finding a way where I can live with it without feeling under constant stress and like it is ruinng my life. Just want it vaugly under control... IDK.Finding a way to live with it would be a great start I guess.
Sorry that was more emotional than insightful :P
@Lilibuth12 Emotional is ok, that's what we're here for! I really struggled after my diagnosis, I am getting to the point where living with it is working, but there are still some of those days where it's rough.
Life is a Terminal Disease... all the other little misfires and stress fractures pale in comparison.
i am 'recovering' as many functions as i can; finding alternatives for those i can't; and enduring the rest.
Sometimes I find that it can be hard when others get to speak of recovery as a continuous path. For me, I know there isn't really an option to get fully better. Unless a cure becomes possible and accessable, it doesn't matter what I decide to do, I will have a chronic illness. I will have attacks, even if I can get their frequency to decrease. There is a point where I can't continue an upward trend. It is possible that despite what I do my best efforts can only slow things from getting worse.
I do use the word recovery though. It's easier to think of it in the short-term. I have an attack, I have to recover from that. I overdo things and I need to rest and recover to get some energy back. Longer time I have recovered as well. There was certainly recovery from the time I start on blood product therapy, I was really sick leading up to that and it took a long time to get to the level of functioning I have currently. I've put lots of effort into recovering some of my strength and stamina, even if it's not to the point where it once was.
I am kin of new and i don't really know how these threads work but yeah im going to post here and hope for the best.
I dont know what I describe as recovery. When I only had my orginal diagnosis of IBD, my idea of recovery was when I stoppe ending up in the hospital every few months. And then when I was told i am most likley going to be getting an ostomy bag, my idea of recovery was when I got that bag and could go back to my normal life.
but my last hospital visit we were thrown with the curve ball of my having ankylosing spondylitis. I havent been doing to well with this. Ive been missing so much school, ditching my clubs, i can hardly get out of bed
I guess now my idea of recovery will be when I can go to school and do my clubs and not feel like its slowley killing me. I hope that day will come.
Welciome @ColitisLikeLyancthropy It looks like you figured the forums out 
Sounds like you've been through a fair bit, I hope you reach that point of recovery too!
one of my favorite quotes is: we are not physical beings having spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a material experience.
this helps me to keep my priorities straight; my job is not to keep the body in perfect condition, but to continually strengthen my bonds with all life, and loosen my grip on my 'self'-image.
For me, recovery means getting my body from its worst to its best, within the boundaries set by my chronic illness. So keeping my weight up, eating any time I'm hungry, maintaining my bp, working on pain management. While I'll never be "perfect" I know that my body can always improve, and for me that's recovery. Recovery though is also just maintaining, so making sure my weight doesn't drop or that I don't let myself avoid eating at all.