Choose You

2/18/2026

When I was first diagnosed with PNES, I thought it shaped my entire world. That one disorder disrupted my life in so many ways. I hid. I cried. I got depressed. I slept. I spent entire days having episode after episode. I feared having one in public, so of course, I had many in public places. I lived my life around my disorder because I didn’t realize I had a choice. And many of you are saying now that you don’t have much choice when it comes to chronic illnesses. Today, I’ll tell you that that is not really the case.

In her book, Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness: How to stay Sane and Live One Step Ahead of Your Symptoms, Ilana Jacqueline says, “However limiting, binding, time-and-energy thieving chronic illness might be, life with it is all about making choices that you control.” If you have depression for instance, from experience, I know how bad depression can get. I know it makes you feel like you want to stay in bed all day and night. But you still have that choice. I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s hard. It’s one of the hardest things you can do to make yourself do something that your mind says no to. That battle is one that no one wants to face. A total showdown between you and your own mind. But the key word here is “want.” Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. Depression makes you not want to get out of bed. It’s not that it is physically impossible. It is that your mind is telling you that you can’t handle whatever is coming your way today. It’s saying you can’t even though you technically can.

Now, I don’t want to sound insensitive. As I said before, I’ve had those days. But if you let your illness control your life, your life belongs to your illness instead of you. Take back your life today. If it’s depression, think of one good reason to get out of bed, even if it’s the sunshine. If it’s agoraphobia (another issue of mine) think about something you love to do and then don’t think about it. Just do it. Step out that door. Anxiety? Ask yourself would this action really put me in danger. The answer is most likely no.

You may have limitations. You may not be able to do things you were capable of before developing that chronic illness. But you still have choices. Don’t let anyone, not even yourself, stop you from living your life. Choose you! Choose to not listen to your invisible chronic illnesses today. Choose to live your life, not just breathe through it.

Resources:

Jacqueline, Ilana. Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness : How to Stay Sane and Live One Step ahead of Your Symptoms. Oakland, CA, New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2018.