5 Ways to Cope with Depression in Chronic Illness

One of the hardest things about dealing with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, or any other chronic illness, is trying to wrap your head around the idea that this terrible disease that has invaded your life is never going to go away.  

I am by nature a positive person. I usually can find some sliver of light even in the darkest situation. When I was diagnosed, I was told that there is no known cause or cure for fibromyalgia and CFS.  I don't think I truly believed that in the beginning. I woke up every morning expecting to feel better. But day after day passed and I still had severe pain and debilitating fatigue. After a whole year went by with no improvement, reality hit me square in the gut. I might feel this horrible for the rest of my life. I was forced to add a new symptom to my fibromyalgia pattern:  Depression.  

If I was going to cope with chronic illness, I had to learn how to cope with the depression it caused. Like every other aspect of the disease, this became a process over time. If you have found things that help you deal with the depression that comes with chronic illness, please share in the comment section so that other folks dealing with this can be encouraged. Different things help different people.  

Here are some things that helped me cope with the depression chronic illness caused.

Exercise 

The pain from fibromyalgia was so severe that my muscles and joints screamed at even the thought of movement. My fatigue was so debilitating that I considered walking from the couch to the kitchen a monumental triumph. Then I heard a doctor describe an exercise program designed for people with chronic illness that started with walking just one minute a day. I thought even I could handle that. So I walked around the inside of my house for one minute once a day for several weeks. After I got used to that, I started walking two minutes each day. I added minutes every few weeks until I was walking fifteen minutes at a time. When the weather was nice, I walked outside. I wasn't race walking. I was strolling and meandering. Moving around in the sunshine is a great mood booster. I gradually added swimming, light weight lifting, and stretches to my routine. Not only did this help with my physical symptoms, it also elevated my mood.

Books

I read my Bible, devotional books, books about dealing with chronic illness, books on depression, books about coping with trauma, books about eating good food, books about learning to be thankful in difficult circumstances. The words dancing across all of those pages encouraged me. Here are a few suggestions:

• Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?  by Harold S. Kushner
• Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• Learning to Pray When Your Heart is Breaking by Denise George
• A Place of Healing by Joni E. Tada
• Foods That Fight Fibromyalgia by Dierdre Rawlings
• Recovery from CFS - 50 Personal Stories by Alexandra Barton
• Help.Thanks. Wow by Anne Lamott
• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  

Prayer  

I am a woman of faith so bringing the darkness that enveloped me to God was a natural response for me. I asked God to show me ways that I might be able to feel better. I asked him to help me develop good coping mechanisms to deal with the reality that I might not ever feel well. I asked for enough strength to simply put one foot in front of the other and somehow manage to survive the day. Sometimes my prayers were along the line of: 

"What in the world were you thinking to allow this to happen to me?" 

"I'm mad, tired, and discouraged and don't really feel like talking to you today." 

God loves us like a dad loves his family so he patiently listened to my complaints and questions. I had dealt with all kinds of trauma before fibromyalgia appeared in my life. There is a verse in the Bible that has encouraged me in dark times and I held on to this thought. 

"I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither the present nor the future, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Gratitude

I needed a way to shift my focus from my current negative circumstances to more positive thoughts. So every day I tried to think of at least one thing that I could be thankful for. This was not always easy.  But it helped. I expressed thanks for all kinds of things.

• This morning I took a shower and brushed my teeth before I had to sit down. Yay!
• I drove to the supermarket and shopped for fifteen minutes all by myself.
• My pain level is an 8 instead of a 10.
• I am surrounded by family and friends who love me.
• My husband encourages and helps me every single day.
• I saw a red cardinal sitting on a bare tree limb in the middle of January. It was beautiful.

Research
I started looking for answers and possibilities. There is a wealth of information in books and on the internet. I read all kinds of theories about what causes fibromyalgia and CFS. I searched for things I could do to feel better. Even before I discovered a single thing that helped, I felt my depression lifting. I was finally actively taking charge of this chronic illness instead of passively allowing it to take charge of me. Looking for information made me feel hopeful instead of helpless.  

Over time I developed a plan that involved three lifestyle changes.  I eliminated chemical products from my home environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I hoped this would help me feel at least somewhat better. I was utterly amazed that it eventually led to compete recovery. I have been symptom free for 14 months and 10 days.

Healthy Valentine Sweet Treats

I have been focusing on eating whole real food as part of my chronic illness recovery plan. I suffered from severe fibromyalgia pain and debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome for three years.  Since changing my lifestyle, I have been symptom free for one year and two months.

I have found that if I eat whole real food 95% of the time, then I can give myself some leeway the other 5% of the time. Fresh fruit and whole unsalted nuts are my usual snack choices.  It is important to be practical as you move toward recovery from chronic illness. And every now and then part of that practicality for me includes indulging in a little sweet treat.  

From November to February we are plunged into several food-centric events: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Super Bowl Parties, and coming up soon - Valentine's Day. 

Processed food and calorie laden options abound during these holidays and celebrations. But there are many ways to enjoy healthier choices and still not feel deprived of sweet treats. One of the most delicious treats you can make is fresh fruit dipped in chocolate. There are many organic chocolate choices.  I like to use Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips for dipping, coating, and baking. Enjoy Life chips are organic and they are dairy, soy, and gluten free. Strawberries are my favorite fruit to dip in chocolate. 

Select fresh firm looking berries.  Buy organic strawberries if possible.  If you buy the berries at your local supermarket there is an easy way to remove some of the chemical residue from the fruit. Fill a large bowl with 1/4 c of vinegar and 2 quarts of cold water. Add the strawberries and soak them for twenty minutes.  Drain the berries in a colander and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Let the fruit air dry for fifteen minutes.  Pat dry with paper towels.   Store in an airtight container or bag with a paper towel placed on the bottom to soak up any remaining moisture. This method keeps the strawberries fresh and firm for one to two weeks.  I also use this vinegar soak to remove chemical residue from other fresh fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, apples, lettuce, grapes, etc. 

Take out the number of strawberries you want to dip in chocolate.  One cup of Enjoy Life mini chips is enough chocolate to coat one large container of strawberries.  Melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Stir the chips frequently until completely melted. Keep the melted chocolate over warm water while dipping the berries. Dip the bottom half of each berry in the melted chocolate.  Shake to remove excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper or on a cooling rack and leave until the chocolate is firmly set.  Serve immediately.

I have modified many other dessert recipes to make them more healthy.  I do not eat dairy and I have family members who do not eat gluten, peanuts, or soy.  When I am making sweet treats for my family, I make our favorite recipes changing some of the ingredients to make them fit our dietary needs.

You can make any cookie or candy recipe healthier by adding whole rolled oats, dried fruit, almonds, walnuts, and milled flax seed.  Here is a list of things you can substitute in recipes to make a healthier version of your favorites.

Flour.  Use whole wheat or unbleached instead of white flour.  Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milled flax and 1 tablespoon of organic wheat germ to each cup of flour.  Substitute whole rolled oats for half of the flour called for in a recipe.

Gluten free flour. I have had the most success with mixing alternatives to wheat flour rather than using just one kind.  My favorite combination is for each cup of flour called for in a recipe use 1/3 cup of almond flour, 1/3 cup of coconut flour, and 1/3 c of gluten free flour.  I like King Arthur's but there are several brands to choose from.  

Sugar  Instead of white refined sugar, use unrefined organic raw sugar and raw local honey. For every cup of sugar called for in a recipe, I use 1/2 cup of raw sugar and 1/2 cup of honey.

Butter and solid shortening.  For every cup called for in the recipe substitute 1/3 cup of solid coconut oil, 1/3 cup of Earth Balance butter substitute, and 1/3 cup of olive oil.  I like Earth Balance because you can use it to bake, saute, or spread on bread and it comes in a dairy free and soy free version.  Olive oil is the healthiest oil you can use. 

Peanut butter.  Use the same amount of almond butter instead of peanut butter. Almonds are packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and protein. 


Milk.   Use almond milk in equal amounts to the milk called for in your recipe.

If I want to make sweet treats when  I do not have a crowd coming over to help us eat them, I make a batch of brownies or cookies and freeze them for my husband and me to eat.  I take out only one brownie or cookie at a time for each of us to defrost and enjoy. Eating them at this rate, one batch of cookies or brownies lasts us a month or more.  I like to make brownies using the substitutions listed above.  I add several kinds of chopped nuts, milled flax seed, and almond butter to make them more nutritious.  Our favorite cookie is oatmeal chocolate chip.  I add lots of nuts, whole rolled oats, dried fruit, and organic chocolate chips to my favorite cookie recipe to make a healthier version.

My Valentine wish for all of my friends who suffer from chronic autoimmune diseases is that you will find ways to get healthier and feel better.  That happened for me when I eliminated chemical products from my home, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in nutrients.