Re: Has Chronic Illness completely changed your personality?

Hi there,
Im in the same boat. Im a 22 year old female and have been chronically ill for a long time, and the hardest part of it all is knowing that my old self is a person of the past, and worse, that no matter how much i may try to even recover that person, i wouldnt be able to be that person again. Once you step into the world of chronic illness, you are changed. the dreams and goals you might have had might just not get accomplished right away. the outgoing personality you once had may not ever be that strong again. and you might have to completely abandon the route that you had wished to take in life. when you focus so much attention on one thing in life (illness/ recovery/ researching how to get better for 4 hours a day, etc etc), you lose touch with the outside world and can very quickly become completely absorbed by your illness. and then, at least for me, you realize the state youve put yourself in and you feel depressed. and Depression feeds this sort of deteriorating state. and it becomes cyclical.
i was in my final year of college when illness hit me and now, as a recent grad, i cant even remember what i was passionate about, the goals i had for after graduation, and the ways in which i wanted to contribute to the world.
so yes, i completely understand how you feel. i think right now, im trying to accept that change and stop fighting it, because fighting it is fighting life, fighting my fate, and perhaps even preventing me from following a different route that may actually benefit myself or someone else in the long run. in other words, stop focusing on the past and start waking up each day and asking yourself what interests you NOW. maybe it will be combination of new interests and old interests. whatever it is, let it flow. we have to learn to love ourselves and forgive ourselves for not being able to be the person we once were. i really do wish you best of luck and feel free to message me if you need to.