NUBI JONES

Over the years, I have had a lot of people ask me how I deal with living with a chronic illness and the impact it has on my life. But the truth is, that there is no book to show us how to live our lives, cope with challenges or deal with them. The sad truth is, we are all little fish in an immensely huge pond, so we all have to figure out how we each deal with life and the curveballs it can throw at us. This is the same mentality I try and apply to living with Cystic Fibrosis. I never know what it may throw at me next, but I try and follow an ABC in order to help me deal with the curveballs that little bit better.

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A - ASKING

As humans, I think we have a habit of not asking for help if we need it or

sometimes trying to do things alone. There is absolutely nothing wrong in asking for help, advice

or just even a shoulder to cry on if you need it. I think everybody needs someone sometimes and

asking someone how they are, if they are ok and if they need help can really make a

difference to someone's day.

I have gotten more familiar with the idea of asking for more help and it doesn't make me weak at all.

I think we can have a tendency to think if we ask for help, we are considered weak and this is not true.

So, if you are struggling with anything  or just need some reassurance - sometimes asking Friends

and Family can help put our minds at rest.

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B-  BALANCE.

It can be hard to strike a balance in life sometimes, but personally I have found that having Cystic

Fibrosis means I have to strike a balance of some sort.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that some days will be great, whilst others not so great.

It is ok to cry, it is ok to laugh, it is ok to be happy or sad.  I used to find balancing CF and every day

life extremely difficult. I resented the fact that I had to balance MY LIFE around CF but

I soon realised that I should balance my CF around my life. Taking my medication was a chore, I

felt like I was less of a person but I realised it made me more of a person.

So maybe we should all try to find our own personal balances and what works for us.

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C - COMMUNICATION -

I really do believe that ' a problem shared, is a problem halved', but of course I

understand that some people may not want to talk about anything they are going through.

I used to have a tendency to bottle up my feelings and not tell people how I feel.

Whether I had trouble voicing my feelings in friendships, relationships or clinic consultations,

I was often scared to share how I truly felt. I thought by convincing other people I was ok, I was convincing

myself,  but this was not working. I realised that I was not a burden for being truly

honest with myself and other people, but that I actually felt so much better.

Even talking to myself through letters and poems, helps me communicate and understand

not only myself but other people better also. Being able to talk to my CF Team, Family and Friends

about how I feel about daunting decisions for example has really helped also.

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I really hope that you have found my ABC useful and I hope that you lovely people can try and develop your own ABC to try and make life that little bit easier.

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