Ilana Estelle is a mental health and wellbeing advocate who combines educational insight with her personal experience of living with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.
She holds diplomas in Counselling, Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Stress Management. Through her writing, Ilana supports others in navigating their emotional, mental, and physical health challenges.
In addition to writing for The CP Diary, her work has appeared in healthy lifestyle magazines.
Ilana is also the author of three books: Cerebral Palsy: A Story – Finding the Calm After the Storm, Spirituality, Healing and Me, and Survival: The Covid Years – Time for Change.
Something inspirational: “When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.” TULI KUPFERBERG Tuli Kupferberg is known for challenging convention and encouraging independent thought. His work celebrates creativity, curiosity, and questioning the status quo. His quote reminds us that real change often begins when we step beyond familiar habits and dare to think differently.
Something inspirational: “Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself.” DORIS LESSING Thinking for yourself means more than having your own opinions. It means owning your words, your choices, and ...
Something inspirational: "We are not what happened to us. We are what we choose to become.” JAMES HOLLIS "I am drawn to James Hollis's words: 'We are not what happened to us. We are what we choose ...
My whole life was built on making excuses for things like why my dad was so often a drunken mess, or why my mother was sitting there like a zombie in her drug induced coma.
It became a way of life for my siblings and I, since we weren't exactly allowed to tell the truth of what was going on at home, or else we would be split up and put into foster care, which I think would have been the better choice. Once you have been making excuses for so long, you eventually lose track of the truth and don't even know what it is anymore.
It's no wonder I didn't do very well in the Army seeing as I didn't really even know who I was, let alone what I believed in and becoming a killing machine, wasn't what I wanted to be.
I need to find what my truth is now and stop living on the excuses I have made in my life.
Thanks Randy. I agree with you. The story you tell is so sad. I can understand why you find it difficult to let this go, but it is important to let go.
Your last paragraph sums up your response beautifully. It is important you find your own truth and talk about how you feel. We must all do the same.
To be honest Randy it's all we have. It what makes us who we become. We need to be true to that.
Thanks Maria. Yes sometimes it's obvious, sometimes we must read between the lines and join up the dots to know.
But when we tell a lie we're putting that lie out to the universe and we're saying that's okay.The universe will never think it is okay. Sadly, the lie we tell will manifest itself ten fold in other ways.
I think you're right about George; you probably don't get to be the author of a quote like that without spotting a lie.
Some excuses are the opposite of the truth and people know it. Yet we usually find something underneath our breath no matter how ridiculous it sounds.
Thanks Tim. Yes, where you say, 'we usually find something underneath our breath no matter how ridiculous it sounds.' I think you're absolutely right.
Often, it's only when we replay what we've said in our heads back that we realise how ridiculous what we've said sounds.
But I'm not sure though how many of us will admit to that. We would rather point the finger than admit we've got something wrong.
Any excuse is bad, better an honest explanation.
Thanks. Yes, always an honest explanation. An excuse tells the other person we're not willing to take responsibility or be accountable.
We must always be responsible and accountable. Isn't that what our life is about?
My whole life was built on making excuses for things like why my dad was so often a drunken mess, or why my mother was sitting there like a zombie in her drug induced coma.
It became a way of life for my siblings and I, since we weren't exactly allowed to tell the truth of what was going on at home, or else we would be split up and put into foster care, which I think would have been the better choice. Once you have been making excuses for so long, you eventually lose track of the truth and don't even know what it is anymore.
It's no wonder I didn't do very well in the Army seeing as I didn't really even know who I was, let alone what I believed in and becoming a killing machine, wasn't what I wanted to be.
I need to find what my truth is now and stop living on the excuses I have made in my life.
Thanks Randy. I agree with you. The story you tell is so sad. I can understand why you find it difficult to let this go, but it is important to let go.
Your last paragraph sums up your response beautifully. It is important you find your own truth and talk about how you feel. We must all do the same.
To be honest Randy it's all we have. It what makes us who we become. We need to be true to that.
It's a good way to say you should always tell the truth. Often times, when we make an excuse that's not true, people can read right through it.
I guess George was good at spotting a lie?
Thanks Maria. Yes sometimes it's obvious, sometimes we must read between the lines and join up the dots to know.
But when we tell a lie we're putting that lie out to the universe and we're saying that's okay.The universe will never think it is okay. Sadly, the lie we tell will manifest itself ten fold in other ways.
I think you're right about George; you probably don't get to be the author of a quote like that without spotting a lie.