"The more I have learned about my disability through my book 'Cerebral Palsy: 'A Story,' the more real it all became.

Not to know who you are, how and why you present the way you do, or what makes you who you are with a physical, mental and emotional disability is incomprehensible. You can tackle anything when you are informed, and have the facts.

As parents, and being a parent myself, it is our job to make sure our children come first, to make their lives about them, so that they can function in their own normal with what they deal with. It's not something you just get over.  How I got to this place will always be shroud around abuse, including mental and emotional neglect."

If you fancy reading either of my books, you can grab paperback and Kindle copies on Amazon, or through the following link https://www.thecpdiary.com/my-books

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.

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4 comments on “Being True to Myself”

  1. This is something that I have been struggling with for most of my life. It has taken me far too long to break out of toxic patterns and even now I see signs of said patterns repeating itself.

    Chances are that I will need to follow the path of taking a vow of celibacy in order to maintain my sanity. It most certainly wasn't fair for either one of us as children.

    I still don't have much of a clue as to who and what I am, but I will just have to go by who and what I don't want to be, to become the person who I ultimately want to be.

    1. Thanks Randy. Yes, where you say: 'I still don’t have much of a clue as to who and what I am, but I will just have to go by who and what I don’t want to be, to become the person who I ultimately want to be - that's right.

      You know the person you don't want to be, so now you can become the person you ultimately want to be. I like your thinking, just remember to throw some self-care in there for good measure.

  2. The fact that you had confidence enough to do what was best for you, under adverse circumstances tells me that you were true to yourself, no matter how emotionally low you were.

    It also tells me that you were brave, because beneath your anger was fear. I know a little bit about that.

    1. Thanks Tim. Yes, I wasn't void of confidence. I also followed my gut, and my inner beliefs and never veered of course. I didn't know what any of it meant, but I did hold on to the thought that I would get to know and lived with that thought each day.

      I was angry and spirit understood. Through what I am able to do now, I have become exonerated from any wrongdoing. I was angry because my disability was being ignored and I was struggling.

      No one is angry for anger's sake. We're angry because we're struggling, we're irritated and we're deeply unhappy. Through our anger, we're telling others we're here, and they must pay attention.

      On other people's part, they must want to care. Care enough to question why someone is angry. On my part it was a cry for help, and my cries weren't being picked up. I was continually being blamed for my anger.

      Spirit weren't ignoring. It heard my cries. It would always be a question of timing and true to form that is exactly what happened.

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