welcome to chronic positivity, a place where your value as a chronically ill person is never in doubt.
When you’re chronically ill, it’s easy to feel as if you are less than others, or that you are not worthy of a full, beautiful life. Chronic Positivity seeks to challenge those narratives with regular reminders of your inherent worth.
I’m Sky, a chronically ill twenty-something with a passion for reminding others that they are not alone in their struggles. Chronic Positivity started in October of 2021 because I was looking for some positivity of my own. I loved it when affirming, encouraging content came across my own social media feed, but at the time I didn’t know of any specifically geared toward chronically ill people. I was fed up while scrolling through my Twitter feed very late one night, struggling with insomnia and a desire to be heard. On a whim, I created a Twitter account with a stock photo of a little pink cup that said “doing my best.” I had no idea what I would be doing with it or even if I would keep it, and I went to sleep soon after without thinking twice.
What Chronic Positivity has become has exploded beyond even my own wildest dreams. I expanded to Instagram, which grew even faster than the Twitter, and I quickly found a community of people that experienced the same things that I did. But I also found that there were people who needed to hear my messages — including myself. Ultimately, I post on Chronic Positivity what I need to hear — and I am always learning and growing alongside all of you.
a note on toxic positivity
“Toxic positivity,” as according to Wikipedia, is defined as “a dysfunctional approach to emotional management that happens when people do not fully acknowledge negative emotions, particularly anger and sadness.” I want to be incredibly clear that while positivity may be in the name, Chronic Positivity is never about being positive all the time or denying that the difficult parts of chronic illness exist. We have been dealt incredibly difficult circumstances, and I know how hard this road is to travel. Sometimes life just sucks, and that’s okay. Here at Chronic Positivity, I will do my best to embrace the positive moments and the negative ones because the combination of both is what defines us.
you are welcome here & you are loved.
No matter where you are at in your chronic illness journey — from the newly diagnosed to those who have been on this road for a while — I firmly believe that everyone needs support and reminders that they are worthy of joy, hope, and beautiful things. I’m always chasing the light in the midst of my pain and sharing the sunbeams I find along the way. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.