I give this advice in my new book, Sick and Tired & Sexy: Living Beautifully with Chronic Illness: “Never go out of the house when you aren’t presentable.” That doesn’t mean dressed to the nines–I’m a blue jean girl, after all–but it does mean hair brushed, sunscreen on, eyebrows filled in and a touch of mascara and lipgloss. What are we talking here, five minutes? And yet, there are days when I… just…can’t. I feel like there’s not enough air in the air. What’s a woman to do? Well, for most of you, you’d probably be ill if you felt like this, so the thing to do would be call in sick and crawl back in bed, knowing you’ll feel better tomorrow.

If, like me, you are one of the approximately 65-million women who live with chronic illnesses, you look at your schedule and prioritize, apologize, and reschedule.

I do what I can online, where I can safely look like the wreck of The Hesperus. Afterwards, I take a few minutes to pray/meditate, then nap. I won’t have more energy, but I usually have a better attitude, which I attribute to the minutes spent in mindfulness rather than the ones spent sleeping.

I’ve heard it said that, “Prayer is us talking to God. Meditation is us listening for an answer.” It seems imperative to have quiet time to hear the answers, but our culture is one of busyness. I remember my Mom’s admonishments, “Do you always have to be going somewhere and doing something? Can’t you just sit still and be quiet?”

My answer was always “No,” until I became ill, and even that didn’t slow me down for almost seven more years. When it caught up to me, it brought me to a screeching halt. Feeling like Humpty Dumpty after his great fall, I was determined to figure out how to put myself back together again.  And that healing is the topic of my book, Sick and Tired… & Sexy: Living Beautifully with Chronic Illness.

I wrote it, hoping it would be helpful for other women living with chronic illness, or those who are newly diagnosed. I’m honored women have told me it’s good advice for any woman. Here’s the link to Amazon. Just look at that gorgeous cover!