12 Chronic Illness Quotes to Share with Your Loved Ones

Ever wonder how to help your loved ones understand what it’s like having a chronic illness?

I know how hard it is to get others to understand what we’re going through, so I put together some chronic illness quotes to help you out!

Let’s be real: chronic Illness sucks.

There’s no sugar coating it. It’s not easy having a chronic illness. Suffering from a chronic illness without a cure in sight, can feel pretty crappy.

We don’t need the added burden of convincing our loved ones of the struggles that we’re going through. I do believe that our friends and family actually do want to understand, but chronic illness is an incredibly challenging thing to describe.

Before we get to these incredible quotes, let’s first define what is means to have a chronic illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that “chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.”

As I shared in my previous post, My Life As A Mom With An Autoimmune Disorder, I suffer from a medical condition called Sjogren’s Syndrome. It’s an autoimmune disease that causes me to experience significant ongoing pain and fatigue. Sjogren’s Syndrome also limits my ability to function on a daily basis due to a variety of debilitating symptoms. I look “normal” on the outside, but my own body is attacking me from the inside.

Autoimmune disorders are a form of chronic illness. For the purposes of this blog post, I will be focusing on chronic illness in general, which can include autoimmune disorders and a variety of other medical or mental health chronic illnesses.

Now let’s get to these Chronic Illness Quotes! I know that you’ll relate to these quotes and find them helpful, like I did!

After each chronic illness quote section, I’ve included an example of a “statement for your loved one” that you can use to help you further clarify the message to your family and friends.

You’ve got this!

Chronic Illness Quote #1:

Source: Unknown

I mourn the person that I used to be before my autoimmune disease took over.

I mourn the parent that I was able to be before I became a mom with a chronic illness.

This quote about chronic illness is so accurate and powerful because it rings so true for those of us who are suffering on a daily basis. When you develop a chronic illness, especially as an adult, there’s a previous way of life to compare your current way of life to.

We used to have an image in our minds of our future healthy or “normal” selves, but those images will no longer be.

When I was first diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, I genuinely believed that I could fight through the disease. I mean…really!

As the years have passed by, though, and my symptoms from having Sjogren’s Syndrome have escalated, the realization that “fighting through it” won’t work, set in really hard.

In order for my husband and close family members to be able to truly support me, they needed to have a better understanding that I had to fully mourn the person that I used to be, before I could redevelop my new identity as a mom with chronic illness.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I am grateful for many aspects of my life. But I can still mourn the life that I used to have and the freedoms that I have lost because of this chronic illness. I don’t always need solutions from you. Sometimes I just need you to listen. And maybe a hug ❤️

Chronic Illness Quote #2:

Source: @chronicallymeh

This chronic illness quote is more of an illustration, but still very powerful. It’s a sad but realistic reflection of the multitude of ways that chronic illness effects our lives. We’re not just impacted by our debilitating symptoms in physical ways; chronic illness effects every aspect of our lives.

Chronic health issues effects us mentally, emotionally, relationally and spiritually. Furthermore, having limited ability to function on a daily basis can be disheartening.

Show this illustration to your loved ones, if it resonates with you. Let this image do the talking for you. We have enough on our plates!

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I’m struggling in more ways that you can imagine. I’d appreciate your interest in learning more about what I’m going through. Ask me, if you’re interested! It shows that you care. If you’re nervous about asking me, start with Google!

Chronic Illness Quote #3:

Source- positivelyrheumatoid.com

Paingry – anger or irritability stemming from constantly being in pain.

When we go through bouts of irritability,  it’s not because we’re mad at our friends and family,  it’s really because we’re emotionally and physically frustrated (or angry) about having daily pain that cannot be cured.

Please try to understand that.

Please have patience with us.

The best way to help us out of a “paingry” episode is to show us grace and compassion when you see us suffering.

At the same… to my fellow chronic pain sufferers, we also need to show our loved ones grace, because they can never fully understand what we’re going through.

Let’s all take care of each other, pray for one another, and make each other smile whenever we can. ❤️🙏🏾

How to explain this to your loved ones:

Remember the last time you had the flu and how crappy it felt? Do you recall how you couldn’t wait util it was over, so you could feel better, because at least you knew it wouldn’t last forever? Well, imagine feeling that sick everyday and knowing that it wouldn’t end…now do you get why I can be cranky sometimes? I love you and I am trying my best. This is just hard.

Chronic Illness Quote #4:

Source: Fibromyaglia_Inspiration

I go through this internal battle every single day. It’s hard to push myself and it’s hard to rest.

There’s no winning.

This is not exactly an easy situation to battle through on a daily basis.

So, is it okay to be annoyed by your own body? Ugh!

When you see us resting, just know that it’s incredibly hard for us to enjoy the rest, because of the guilt from not being able to be more productive.

When we push ourselves to be more productive, it’s hard to enjoy it because we know that our bodies will have to pay for it afterwards. It’s a vicious cycle that we’re continuously trying to get ahead of.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I just want you to have some insight into how hard it is to feel content with myself…. Sometimes I feel like a yo-yo going back and forth between feeling of accomplished and feeling like a failure- whether I take care of myself by resting or if I push myself through the pain to get things done. Please remind me that I’m doing the best that I can and that’s all that matters.

Chronic Illness Quote #5:

Source: @brainbodydoc

Brain fog is a one of those things that many of us with autoimmune disorders have to endure. And let me tell you: It is awful!

If you’re a loved one of someone who suffers from brain fog you may be wondering, ” What the heck is brain fog?” 🤷🏾‍♀️

I’m not going to get very deep into it in this blog post, but you can find more specific medically-reviewed information about brain fog from this article on Everyday Health. I definitely recommend that you check it out in order to understand what your loved one is going through.

For me, brain fog causes several general cognitive difficulties that limits my ability to be productive and to even hold a basic conversation….ugh

Some of the symptoms include having difficulty remembering the words I planned to say (even mid-sentence), forgetting names and common facts, feeling easily distracted, and feeling spacey.

In the article that I referenced above, psychologist Dr. Pudumjee , describes brain fog as, “having a tough time calling up your cognitive resources as well as you did in the past.” Now this fully summarizes my daily experience with brain fog 🙁

When I’m having a flare up from my Sjogren’s Syndrome, I’m not able to do use my brain the way that I used to, and that truly hits at my self-esteem. It can feel demoralizing when you’re not able to access the cognitive skills that you were previously able to.

I’ve had to learn to be easy on myself and lift up my self-esteem through other methods (future post to come on that!)

How to explain this to your loved ones:

Please don’t ridicule or judge me when I can’t remember my words or if I seem confused. In those moments, I need compassion, support and some understanding. Not impatience or ridicule. Please and thank you!

Chronic Illness Quote #6:

Source: positivelyrheumatoid.com

I have kids and a chronic illness = my tired face.

Enough said 🙄

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I know that I look tired. Please stop reminding me. You can refer to the chronic illness quote above for further explanation 👆🏾

Chronic Illness Quote #7:

Source: @dear_chronic_pain

I know that most of my fellow chronic illness warriors can relate to this quote…

I get told “You are so strong” quite often.

Through this blog, I hope to increase awareness about how EXHAUSTING it is to always be strong.

When you’re battling an autoimmune disease, like I am, you literally have to be strong in order to fight against the chronic pain, chronic fatigue, episodes of brain fog and so on.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that people mean well.

Believe me, it’s A LOT of work 🤕

At the same time, we should be proud of ourselves for how resilient we are! It’s our superpower!

I believe that the overall message that we should draw from this quote is that sometimes allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is what actually makes us strong.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I’m proud of my strength. I just hate having to be strong…all of the time. Please help me to feel comfortable with being vulnerable, so that I can lean on you for support more. I don’t want to be “strong” 24/7. I’ll do it… but I shouldn’t always have to do it. Does that make sense?

Chronic Illness Quote # 8

Source: Just Live Blog

I think this particular chronic illness quote expressed my thoughts on my definition of “fine” perfectly!

So not much more to say on that!

How to explain this to your loved ones:

My “fine” is different from your “fine.” It’s complicated. I know, ugh.. Please ask me questions to better understand what “fine” means for me. It shows me that you care. Just don’t ask me when I’m in an active flare-up, lol

Chronic Illness Quote # 9

Source: Unknown

I’ve always been a pretty resilient person. Even as a child.

My high level of resiliency, though, has been a double-edged sword for me. My ability to persevere though the trials and tribulations that I have experienced in my life, has been an extremely powerful survival skill for me.

At the same time, as the chronic illness quote above states, “just because I carry it so well, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy.”

I am a mom with a large blended family with 6 children (5 at home), who is also battling a autoimmune condition that creates chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and other debilitating symptoms. So yeah, I have a pretty heavy load.

On the outside we may look like we’re managing all of these loads pretty well. But on the inside, we are often struggling: physically and emotionally.

These loads are HEAVY.

Just as I discussed in Chronic Illness Quote #7- It can be exhausting having to constantly be strong and resilient. We may “managing” things, but we still need help from time to time.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

Offer support when you can. You can watch the kids for an hour so that I can take a much needed nap. You can allow me to vent without offering “solutions.” You can even rent a funny movie for me, so that I can distract myself from the many loads I am carrying. Just offer help every once in a while. I’d really appreciate it.

Chronic Illness Quote # 10

Source: realisticplantbasedmamma.com

This chronic illness quote is for my fellow moms!

Listen…there is a different level of strength that is required in order to parent while you are suffering on a daily basis with a chronic illness. Children are a lot of work. they get sick (a lot!). They need constant supervision, particularly when they are younger. They also have typical expectations from their parents, such as wanting to play with Mommy, being fed by Mommy, and testing Mommy’s last nerve 😂

All jokes aside though, when you add the responsibilities of parenting to managing a chronic health illness (specifically an autoimmune disorder for me) , it can feel nearly impossible.

“Mom Strong” is PHENOMENAL.

“Mom with a Chronic Illness Strong” is a a MIRACLE!

How to explain this to your loved ones:

I am a strong momma managing chronic illness. It’s a tough path, but I am doing it! I deserve my SUPERMOM CAPE! 🙂

Chronic Illness Quote # 11

Source: FamiliesWithGrace.com

We don’t need to take the pain laying down though (pun intended, lol)

There are many ways that we can empower ourselves as we fight to get through each day. Sometimes the power of our words can provide that ray of sunshine that you need when life feels cloudy. Be your own life coach and uplift yourself with positive affirmations.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

Share this Chronic Illness Quote with your loved ones, so that they can encourage you to remind yourself of your BLESSINGS! 🙏🏾❤️

Chronic Illness Quote # 12

Quote: Bob Marley (artwork source by: iengageapp.com)

Despite all the ups and downs, the tears, pain and frustrations- we are a strong group of women!

We have to be. It takes a lot of physical and emotional strength to get up each day knowing that you will have an incurable chronic illness that most people don’t understand.

We make the choice to push through it. We may not like having to push through it everyday, but we do it anyway. And that’s a big deal.

Give yourself credit for getting up everyday, through the pain and despite the fatigue. You’re doing it.

One day at a time. That’s what matters most.

How to explain this to your loved ones:

Please remind me to listen to some Bob Marley, and other uplifting artists! Music speaks to the soul! Dance with me! Sing with me! We can all use some joy in our lives!

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I hope that these 12 Chronic Illness Quotes are helpful for you when it comes helping your loved ones with better understanding your journey.

There are so many more quotes that I could have included! Oh my…

Let us know in the comments section whether these quotes were relatable and how you convey these messages to your loved ones. If you have a loved one who is suffering from chronic illness, please share whether these quotes helped with your understanding of our daily struggles.

I truly believe that increasing awareness will help with improving the useful level of support that we receive.

Take care of yourself,

~Val

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us

Romans 8: 18 NIV