Sometimes illness changes more than your health. It can change your confidence, your career and the way you see yourself.
When I became unwell, I didn’t just lose parts of my independence. I also lost my confidence.
Work became difficult. Things I had once found normal suddenly took more energy. My health affected what I could do, and eventually, I was deemed unfit to practise.
Everything I had worked so hard for felt like it had been taken away from me.
I questioned what I was capable of. I worried about my future. I compared myself to people who seemed to be moving forward while I felt like I was starting again.
But over time, I realised something important:
I had changed, but I hadn’t lost myself.
My journey took me in a different direction. I started building Track My Copper because I wanted to create something I couldn’t find when I needed it.
I started sharing my experiences.
I started speaking openly about living with a rare disease.
I began exploring new opportunities and discovering skills I didn’t realise I had.
My confidence didn’t return overnight. It came back through small steps.
Through trying something new.
Through putting myself out there again.
Through having those little moments of realising, “Actually, I can do this.”
Living with a health condition can make you feel like your life has been put on hold. But your life isn’t over because it looks different from the one you originally imagined.
You are allowed to grieve the things you’ve lost.
You are allowed to feel frustrated, uncertain or scared.
And you are also allowed to start again.
Losing my job changed my path. Losing my confidence slowed me down. But neither of them took away my potential.
If you’re in a similar position, try not to measure yourself by where you think you should be.
Take it one day at a time.
Start with what you can do.
Give yourself credit for the things you are managing.
And remember:
You are more than your job.
You are more than your diagnosis.
You are more than the things you’ve lost.
Sometimes rebuilding your life starts with simply believing that there is still something ahead of you.