"As a child I was never far away from my thoughts. Even though I would often retreat, I didn’t ignore my thoughts. Ignoring my thoughts would have put me in a worse emotional and mental space: they would have cut me off from my life.

It is important we deal with our  thoughts so that we can focus on staying physically present and keep our thoughts moving, so that we don’t ignore or hide from ourselves. We must reflect and talk about things, so that we understand our experiences and our lives.

I couldn’t get past certain aspects of my life and because no one was owning up to their part around my issues, I began to carry the blame for my failings as I saw them. I was aware things weren’t right. I could see I had a bad leg and foot. I didn’t understand why. I didn't know back then about my learning difficulties because everything was under lock and key. I also didn’t equate my bad leg and foot with a disability, or that they had a name. I had never met anyone with cerebral palsy for me to compare.

But where no one else takes responsibility, you do begin to blame yourself, without thinking about others and the part they played. Reflection has now helped me piece that side together – it's helped me see and understand how and why my experiences turned out the way they have and it's not pretty.

We must understand exactly how the blame game works for us to take back control. At the age of 46, with a diagnosis and in control of my life for the first time, my new life with a diagnosis begins."

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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2 comments on “Keep Your Thoughts Moving”

  1. Yes, it's important we keep talking about the things that matter to us, deal with those so we can move our thoughts on.

    It's easy to stagnate, because we don't always know how to deal with our issues.

    1. Yes, you're right it is easy for us to stagnate and ignore our issues. Many of us do of course because we don't know how to deal with our issues, others because it's easier for us to ignore them in the shorter term.

      Longer-term it's never easy of course. Our issues follow us until we learn to deal with them.

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