It’s a tough pill to swallow. You’re chronically ill and life has stopped. Everything is standing still and has been for some time now, and you are faced with perfectly healthy people telling you to ‘keep your chin up’ and ‘be positive’. Positive is the last thing you are feeling. If you had enough energy to waste, a fair few people may well have been punched in the face.

The most annoying thing is, they are right. Positivity is recovery’s best friend. However, I’m not one for the the shiny ‘everyone smile, ignore your issues and act like noting is wrong’ brand of positivity. In fact, I think that is missing the point entirely. Real positivity, that’s felt on a deep and meaningful level, can only be achieved by going through the darkness. Meeting how you feel face to face, understanding and accepting it, and then learning how to deal…