Defeated and Grateful: Holding Duality and Living Wholly

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Chronic Illness & Healing, Creative Writing, ME/CFS Leave a Comment

A natural result of committing to this inner work is it tends to expand one’s capacity for duality. To hold multiple things at once. To allow two seemingly opposing things to be true, simultaneously. I am sitting here this evening both devastatingly defeated and overwhelmingly grateful. I am watching as my partner modifies our home yet again to meet our …

Yesterday I left my wheelchair in the car – on purpose.

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Lived Experience, Mind-body healing, POTS Leave a Comment

Yesterday we took our youngest to the Aquarium…and I left my wheelchair in the car. Most of healing does not happen overnight, nor in big, sudden, social-media worthy shifts. Have I experienced what most people view as “miracles”? The sudden ability to walk for example, after a period of being unable to walk unassisted? (In my case due to severe …

My Body Hasn’t Always Felt Like Home

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Chronic Illness & Healing, Creative Writing, Lived Experience Leave a Comment

I live in a body that for much of my life has not felt like home. These days I often don’t recognize it. I’d be lying if I said I never wince at its sight. It doesn’t look like the body that I worked so hard for, so many years ago. The clothing that used to feel most comfortable, no …

6 Years Ago I Celebrated Remission, Then I Crashed.

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Lived Experience Leave a Comment

6 years ago yesterday – July 1, 2019, I gathered with friends and family to celebrate the end of my Lyme treatment (4-5 years of it at that point) and the beginning of what we thought was remission. 6 months later my life changed drastically in many ways and I experienced a series of overlapping events (about 3.5 years of …

I couldn’t have done this 6 months ago; Reflections on Lyme disease, Complex Chronic Diseases and how far I’ve come.

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Lived Experience Leave a Comment

Barefoot on the earth, morning sun on my face, chicory and dandelion “cappuccino” in hand, bees in the flowers – all things I’m grateful for this morning.  This moment had me reflecting on the early days of my health journey when I was first diagnosed with Lyme disease and co-infections in my early 20’s. A lot of my dialogue around …

A Love Letter to My Illnesses (and Body)

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Chronic Illness & Healing, Lived Experience, Nervous System Healing Leave a Comment

This is not a letter of martyrdom, but of radical responsibility. For the choices I did and did not make and the actions I did not take. Although I understand that we operate in systems, families, communities, and everyone plays a role that impacts the other, this is my responsibility to own – and doing so, empowers me. I’m sorry. …

Do it Sick. (Creating an intentional life from exactly where you are)

Denise ElysaAbout Denise Elysa, Chronic Illness & Healing, Lived Experience Leave a Comment

This post is all about creating an intentional life for yourself – from exactly where you are right now. Do it sick. Do it lonely. Do it poor. Do it uncertain. Do it with kids. Do it while things are messy. Do it scared. This isn’t about pushing yourself beyond your means – whether that be financially, physically, or based …