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 ...
Yes, it has been such a long and arduous battle to become the person that I am becoming. It has been difficult to overcome the brainwashing that I endured as a child, but I feel like I have been making a lot of progress lately, thanks to me making the changes, to better my own life.
I'm not quite sure about being able to really love myself, but I can at least learn to like myself. The worst thing that I have done over the years, is worry about others, as in people pleasing, but now I have to focus on my own life, due to many recent health issues and for my own peace of mind.
I just want to be able to finally enjoy my life for a change.
Thanks Randy. Liking yourself is good and the first step to a more peaceful life. I think you've come a long way since the beginning of your own journey.
We all have a journey whether we realise or not and without our health to fall back on, we will struggle with all aspects of life.
I am pleased you are focusing on your life. It's what needs to be done. Without focusing on you, you cannot realistically focus on anyone else, positively.
We people please (it's something I continued to do well into my 30's) when we think we have no choice and we have no control of our life.
I am pleased you are beginning to feel better about yourself these days, Randy.
I think I am a better person now as those around me who demanded I act a certain way are no longer around. When I look back I wish I had spotted those signs earlier, instead of letting myself be moulded.
Having been through hell myself, I can understand what you say about wishing you had spotted the signs earlier, given your own experiences.
But how easy life would be if we lived in a black and white world where everything was either right or wrong and we all worked to those principles.
If you were dealing with someone like a narcissist they buy into their own lives, it's us who must fit around them. If you were dealing with someone without narcissist tendencies, they may be dogmatic.
Often it's a case of us having to give in, it's wise not to carry their guilt. Their guilt is not for you to carry, what you experienced is on them.
Through my own experiences there is nothing I would change. My life and my disability was never about me. None of it is on me, it's not on you either.
Yes, it has been such a long and arduous battle to become the person that I am becoming. It has been difficult to overcome the brainwashing that I endured as a child, but I feel like I have been making a lot of progress lately, thanks to me making the changes, to better my own life.
I'm not quite sure about being able to really love myself, but I can at least learn to like myself. The worst thing that I have done over the years, is worry about others, as in people pleasing, but now I have to focus on my own life, due to many recent health issues and for my own peace of mind.
I just want to be able to finally enjoy my life for a change.
Thanks Randy. Liking yourself is good and the first step to a more peaceful life. I think you've come a long way since the beginning of your own journey.
We all have a journey whether we realise or not and without our health to fall back on, we will struggle with all aspects of life.
I am pleased you are focusing on your life. It's what needs to be done. Without focusing on you, you cannot realistically focus on anyone else, positively.
We people please (it's something I continued to do well into my 30's) when we think we have no choice and we have no control of our life.
I am pleased you are beginning to feel better about yourself these days, Randy.
I think I am a better person now as those around me who demanded I act a certain way are no longer around. When I look back I wish I had spotted those signs earlier, instead of letting myself be moulded.
You can add that to my list of remorses too.
Having been through hell myself, I can understand what you say about wishing you had spotted the signs earlier, given your own experiences.
But how easy life would be if we lived in a black and white world where everything was either right or wrong and we all worked to those principles.
If you were dealing with someone like a narcissist they buy into their own lives, it's us who must fit around them. If you were dealing with someone without narcissist tendencies, they may be dogmatic.
Often it's a case of us having to give in, it's wise not to carry their guilt. Their guilt is not for you to carry, what you experienced is on them.
Through my own experiences there is nothing I would change. My life and my disability was never about me. None of it is on me, it's not on you either.