It's not just an illness when it's chronic. It is part of who you are and it helps to think of it as something that defines you uniquely and differentiates you,

It's not just an illness when it's chronic. It is part of who you are and it helps to think of it as something that defines you uniquely and differentiates you, instead of something that is just limiting your life. It's hard. You have to go through pain, fear and disappointment but at the same time going through all that is a testament of your strength and gives you a unique perspective around life and experience in general. That's on a more personal perspective based on how I managed to deal with the psychological effects of something similar. The current thread has some great advice on many other aspects of dealing with it.