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 ...
I have definitely been dealing with this my whole life. People have judged me very harshly because of my last name, mainly because of my father.
There were a lot of people who weren't very happy with him, quite often for very good reasons. "Sins of my father," is a good way to put it, which is why I don't often mention his name.
I have wasted far too many years dwelling on all of this, but I don't have time to waste anymore. I want to finally be able to live my own life for the first time and not be paralysed by the guilt, shame and remorse like I always was.
Great quote. It's a shame that our names are so inextricably associated with our identity.
While we can't choose our names (unless we decide to change them) we can decide what is right for us at any given moment and that choice is way more important than our name.
Thanks. Yes, I agree our names are inextricably associated with our identity, but they have to be. That said, it is up to us what we do. At any given time we can choose to change and make different choices.
What we choose to do in life becomes our legacy. Our actions will always be part of us, changing a name doesn't help. They can never be separate.
I have definitely been dealing with this my whole life. People have judged me very harshly because of my last name, mainly because of my father.
There were a lot of people who weren't very happy with him, quite often for very good reasons. "Sins of my father," is a good way to put it, which is why I don't often mention his name.
I have wasted far too many years dwelling on all of this, but I don't have time to waste anymore. I want to finally be able to live my own life for the first time and not be paralysed by the guilt, shame and remorse like I always was.
Thanks Randy. I hear you! I am sure your life isn't dissimilar to many people's lives, mine included.
I think this quote is spot on. Whilst we cannot change the life we're born into, or the names we're given, we can choose our own way.
It may take some of us time, and that's okay. What is important we go our own way and make our own choices.
I have now done that.
Great quote. It's a shame that our names are so inextricably associated with our identity.
While we can't choose our names (unless we decide to change them) we can decide what is right for us at any given moment and that choice is way more important than our name.
Thanks. Yes, I agree our names are inextricably associated with our identity, but they have to be. That said, it is up to us what we do. At any given time we can choose to change and make different choices.
What we choose to do in life becomes our legacy. Our actions will always be part of us, changing a name doesn't help. They can never be separate.