I’m so glad I managed to make the trip to London, but even on a short break such as this, I still have to plan ahead so that I don’t get ill or stressed. I also have to deal with digestion problems.

I want to take in the sites like everyone else, without thinking about the amount of walking I have to do and how emotionally and physically stressful that can be, but I’m not sure anyone really understands part or all of what I go through and how hard things are. I simply can't overdo things.

It's easy for others including my family to forget what I have to work through. I hate having to remind them.

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 “Short breaks”

  1. You're so right. People truly don't understand the pains we have unless they experience it themselves.

    I wish there was a way others could experience things like this for just one day. Like the pregnancy thing a man can wear to kind of get how it feels to be pregnant. But there isn't such a thing for our problems that we experience.

    I hope you enjoy yourself on your holiday and do very well. Have a safe trip back home.

    1. Thanks Lisa. You're absolutely right. I believe it's important for us to have empathy regardless.

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