Emotional Acceptance of Chronic Urticaria

It is estimated that between 0.23% and 1.8% of the population in the U.S. and internationally suffer from Chronic Urticaria.

Women are affected about twice as often as men.

Though the cause is unknown, the most common hypothesis is that Chronic Urticaria relates to autoimmune dysfunction involving autoantibodies that target IgE receptors to activate histamine release from basophils and mast cells. In more simple terms, your body is attacking it’s own immune system. It may feel that your body has betrayed you.

Some will find a cause for their hives and many cases seem to resolve on their own but for many of us there is no end in sight.

A large percentage of Chronic Urticaria patients also have a co-disease that is autoimmune in nature. When you have an autoimmune disease, you are at higher to develop another.

No matter what the cause or longevity of our disease, we are all suffering.

This often misunderstood condition can leave you feeling isolated and bring about feelings of inadequacy. If you are among this small group of people, your symptoms are troubling and having an impact on your life in a negative way. The accompanying symptoms can stop you in your tracks and the emotional turmoil can be overwhelming. You are frustrated. You are tired. You want answers. You may feel alone. You may find that the people in your life just don’t understand what you are going through.

Being on this journey is not easy, and at times, your life feels deficient and discontented because you compare yourself with other people and feel that you are missing out on life. You are well aware of the fact that being symptom free would help you experience life that has been trapped inside of you since the arrival of your disease.

It’s easy to get caught up in these feelings and lose yourself. It’s time to think more positive. There are tons of things that you can do to take your life from the deep dark dungeon of a chronic health condition to the peaks of happiness and health. Your disease doesn’t have to stop you from taking the path to a better life.

You lose a loved one, and you learn to continue living. But what if you lose yourself? How do you redeem that loss? How do you mitigate that pain? How do you process, accept, and move on?

People with chronic conditions, like Chronic Urticaria, go through a similar process of emotional acceptance and learn to live with their diagnosis. Chronic Urticaria patients are commonly depressed and their quality of life scores are comparable to those who have coronary artery disease.

It never ceases being a difficult journey but embracing and understanding your situation is what will give you your power back. Living with an autoimmune condition is about a lot more than a mere diagnosis.

These are five steps many take on their journey:

Questioning

It is normal to question news you don’t want to believe. The need to know whether the diagnosis is accurate or not is natural. Doctors are human, and humans make mistakes. So, questioning and wondering are healthy. Like many, when I was told that my condition was autoimmune and there is no cure I did not want to believe it. I still insisted on more testing and sought out answers as to what caused this. I thought I must have an allergy, an infection, or some other curable ailment that was causing my symptoms.

Bargaining

The diagnosis is correct. You move on to bargaining. Give and take. Bring your health back, and you will take good care of your body. You will be a healthier, less stressed person. I was sure that there was a hidden cure for my disease somewhere out there and I spent hours researching and trying different diets and supplements.

Mourning

It may be painful to believe, but there is no bargain. You make the darkest corner your home and live in pain instead of fighting it. Much like grieving a loved one, it comes in waves. Some days I don’t even think about it. Some days I feel depressed as I think about all of the things I have missed out on because I was too fatigued to get out of bed or my joints were too painful to be active. I think about the social isolation of skin ailments and severe swelling and bloating that injured my self worth. I mourn the foods that I love to eat that I now have to avoid to prevent flares and further damage to my body. I mourn that I have not been the mother I want to be because of my illness. I mourn the fact that I will never be able to live a “normal” life.

Emotional Acceptance

Acceptance is hard, but it is better. Knowing that your life now is not the one you had before and being okay with it, knowing it in your head, and accepting it in your heart is amazingly liberating. You take the cards you were dealt and make the best of it. I look at every challenge in my life as an opportunity to grow. I have grown massively since learning to accept my disease. Acceptance is not giving up, it’s learning to thrive in the midst of adversity.

Understanding

Understanding who you are going to be from that day on is the last part of your journey. I have grown into a much stronger person as a result of my struggles. There is a lesson in every pain.

So give yourself permission to grieve. It’s okay to be sad about it. Just don’t let it rule your life. Show yourself the same level of compassion that would someone else. Be kind to yourself always. Chronic Urticaria is part of your life but it doesn’t have to be your whole life.

Your life doesn’t end; it just bends.

To connect with other women with Chronic Urticaria join the Thrive with Hives Facebook group

To your wellness,