No matter how much you have “accepted” that you have a certain chronic illness, and how much of the trauma surrounding it, you have processed; there will aways be some part of it that will hit you like a curve ball on the most unexpected of days. Often times small things build up and cause a breakdown. Usually with T1D and insulin pumps, the changing of infusion sets, and unexpected high sugars can cause anxiety and stress. Overtime, these small “routine” things become too much to bear.
Usually with chronic illnesses, even after knowing the costs of the illness, one ends up in a state of burnout. Like I mentioned, small things build up, and overtime take a toll on the body. Burnout in chronic illness looks similar to your usual “burned-out” state, but it comes with its own caveats. For one, much of this burn out is repetitive and over the same set of issues. In my case, I am often stressed about cannula changes, and the days when I have had to re-change an infusion set because the first one failed. There was about a month long period when I had to re-change infusion sets 2-3 times on change days. This led to me hating change days, and feeling burned out with an additional change. Along with the physical pain of pricking my skin, the mental toll of it has many-a-times led me to tears.
These incidents have led to fatigue, anxiety attacks, and ultimately a severe burnout. I didn’t want to change my infusion sets, I was always anxious about my sugar levels, and my body was in constant pain. All of this happened after I had a relative acceptance of my lifelong struggle with infusion sets and insulin pumps. This is where the entirety of “acceptance vs burnout” falls through. Acceptance of your chronic condition does not always translate into the resilience for everyday hassles. These everyday hassles end up becoming an addition to the trauma that surrounds chronic illnesses. This trauma is then manifested in various ways, one of the most common being fatigue or sleep disturbances.
These manifestations can also be psychological and emotional. Stress can lead to frustration, anger, and isolation. These effects are salient and often warranted to other factors that seem more significant in everyday life. People suffering from chronic illnesses end up facing a lot more challenges, especially psychologically. It is also seen that the first caregivers who do not lead the same life, cannot always provide the mental support required by the chronically ill. Chronic conditions lead to life-long alterations and learning to deal with them requires support from social circles, which unfortunately is not available for each individual.
Much of this burnout can be dealt with through healthy coping mechanisms, which need to be learned. This learning can come from therapists, or mental health professionals, who can empower a person to pass through the difficult times in a much better way. However, it is imperative to note that, not every person has access to a mental heath professional, or a safe space to let their thoughts out. So, the next time you see a chronically ill person a little down, be a bit more kinder to them, they probably need it more than you know. 😊
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