I know the title sounds cheesy, but that exact phrase was what sparked the idea for this post really, so I'm stuck with it!
Before your imagination starts running wild, no I have not joined a group that wears short skirts and waves pompoms in the air while chanting slogans for football teams!
The word cheerleader applies to chronic illness in my mind as a way to describe supporting yourself. To cheer yourself on and be a strength that you can draw on when you need it most.
In the 2 and a bit years since my Endometriosis diagnosis, I have ended up with an unusual kind of team on my side, which is made up of immediate family, a few close friends, doctors, other medical practitioners etc.
But although I have my 'team' around me, I have learnt that you can't survive the day to day chronic illness life by solely relying on your team mates. Sometimes they get tired, burnt out or just let you down when you least expect it.
So, although the team is an important part of your support network, a lot of the strength and will to carry on has to come from within.
It has to come from you.
Believe me, some days it feels almost impossible to carry on, and you feel like there is absolutely nothing left in the tank. This feeling of being down and hopeless can last anything from a few hours to many days in a row. It's so important to let yourself have some down time, because it is exhausting being your own cheerleader and always willing yourself to carry on. Don't let your brain tell you that you are weak for shedding a few tears, or having a day where you just need some time alone to process things. It's completely natural, because let's face it, no one can be happy and brave all of the time!
But it is also important to reboot. To use that inner strength and courage to bring yourself out of a dark patch. To see the light again and bring that positivity that lies inside all of us to the surface, even if it feels like it is buried deep within you.
Today may be a bad day, a hard day, an impossible day...
But tomorrow is a whole lot of new, a clean slate full of possibilities. So dig out that inner cheerleader and help yourself through whatever is going on in life right now. Once you see the light again and realise that what you do have is precious, you will feel more positive and the burden that you carry every day will feel a little bit lighter.
