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: “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 ...
Something inspirational: "Healing begins when we can hold our own experience with compassion." TARA BRACH Brach's quote reminds us that healing begins when we meet our pain with kindness instead of judgement ...
Without acceptance of ourselves and others, things will always get in the way of our relationships.
We have to learn to be our own best friend, because sometimes we fall into the trap of being our own worst enemies. Once we learn to accept ourselves we will be more readily accepting of others.
Self acceptance isn't something that I'm good at seeing as I was brainwashed into thinking that I was less than human by my mother who expected me to be her emotional teddy bear and make her happy.
Since I was only a child and couldn't possibly make my mother happy in the way she wanted me to, she went well out of her way to break my spirit and very nearly destroyed my soul.
It's amazing that I didn't end up as a 'Norman Bates' type as I know I was close to becoming one, but deep in my heart and soul, I preserved a piece of myself that she couldn't ever touch.
Now it's time to let my inner child out so that I can finally live my own life and not be ruled by fears, doubts and insecurities that have plagued me for half a century.
Thanks Randy. You were more aware than you thought you were. I also think you were aware from an early age about your mother.
Perhaps it's time to put all of that behind you. You know your mum's problems were never about you. Perhaps you can use 2019 for finding self-acceptance and potentially a new life.
Self-acceptance means you don't have to validate yourself socially or need a friendly reaction from people to feel relevant. That's a peaceful place to be.
Of course, some folks may think you're a little strange.
Thanks Tim. Yes I agree with you, but some of us still feel we have to look to people for that friendly reaction. I was always doing it.
It helps validate our existence that what we're doing is current and relevant and that makes us feel better about ourselves. You're right about self-acceptance, but there are still too many of us who need others to validate our existence.
Perhaps we must learn to follow our own convictions, rather than look to others to prop us up.
Without acceptance of ourselves and others, things will always get in the way of our relationships.
We have to learn to be our own best friend, because sometimes we fall into the trap of being our own worst enemies. Once we learn to accept ourselves we will be more readily accepting of others.
Thanks, yes I agree with you. Without acceptance of ourselves, things will always get in the way of our relationships.
It's sad we don't take time to think about that. We're usually too busy blaming others for our lives, rather than take control for ourselves.
Self acceptance isn't something that I'm good at seeing as I was brainwashed into thinking that I was less than human by my mother who expected me to be her emotional teddy bear and make her happy.
Since I was only a child and couldn't possibly make my mother happy in the way she wanted me to, she went well out of her way to break my spirit and very nearly destroyed my soul.
It's amazing that I didn't end up as a 'Norman Bates' type as I know I was close to becoming one, but deep in my heart and soul, I preserved a piece of myself that she couldn't ever touch.
Now it's time to let my inner child out so that I can finally live my own life and not be ruled by fears, doubts and insecurities that have plagued me for half a century.
Thanks Randy. You were more aware than you thought you were. I also think you were aware from an early age about your mother.
Perhaps it's time to put all of that behind you. You know your mum's problems were never about you. Perhaps you can use 2019 for finding self-acceptance and potentially a new life.
Self-acceptance means you don't have to validate yourself socially or need a friendly reaction from people to feel relevant. That's a peaceful place to be.
Of course, some folks may think you're a little strange.
Thanks Tim. Yes I agree with you, but some of us still feel we have to look to people for that friendly reaction. I was always doing it.
It helps validate our existence that what we're doing is current and relevant and that makes us feel better about ourselves. You're right about self-acceptance, but there are still too many of us who need others to validate our existence.
Perhaps we must learn to follow our own convictions, rather than look to others to prop us up.