So, you have just been diagnosed an autoimmune disease? Welcome, welcome! You are joining a very big, very quirky, family. Did you know that there are more than 80 autoimmune diseases? But all with one underlying cause – we are just so goddamn delicious. Even our own bodies think so!

If this disease thing is new to you and you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, please know (right deep down in your heart) that you are not alone! There are so many people out there who are struggling with the same things, dealing with awful symptoms and trying to make heads-or-tails of what their life will look like now. Autoimmune diseases aren’t called ‘invisible diseases’ for nothing – you may not be able to spot them from a distance, but your new family is everywhere.

Here are five easy first steps that I strongly recommend you do:

1~ Have a little cry (if you need to)

If you feel it bubbling inside you, get it out! There’s a lot of emotion playing around in you at the moment, and the best way to clear it is to accept what your feeling (even if you can’t decipher exactly what it is) and let yourself express it. It’s very therapeutic! But note that I said ‘a little cry’ because this is not the time to bury yourself in self-pity. Far from it. This is the start of feeling a whole lot better, now that you know what your body is struggling with and you can face it!

2~ Give yourself an enormous hug

This thing in your arms is still your beautiful, powerful and incredible body that you have always known. Yes, there may be a thing or two that you don’t like about it, and maybe having a disease is one of them, but that is just one tiny freckle on a big picture. Don’t let that tiny spot obscure just how amazing this eating, breathing, healing, replenishing, feeling, seeing, thinking, living thing is that makes up the physical component of you.

3~ Find a community

Whether its some good friends, family, a Facebook group for people with your disease, listening to podcasts from some of the autoimmune specialists out there, reading some of their stories, following other people with your disease on Instagram… whatever! Find people that you can share with or that you can follow on their journey. It is so important to know that you are not alone in this, and it is really refreshing and empowering to hear that other people feel the same way you do.

4~ Don’t stress

Easier said than done, I know, but stress is one of the worst things on the planet for you! If you can’t process your new situation right now, just put it to one side for a little while until you have the mental space. I don’t mean to be in denial and hide from it forever! But take it a piece at a time, at a pace you can cope with, and no faster.

5~ Rest

The basic fact is that your body is fighting itself like an infection, which takes energy. It is also constantly trying to heal itself, which takes energy. Without doing anything else in your day, your body is already doing so much work! That means you have a perfectly valid reason to take it easy. Rest. And feed your body good healthy things so that it has the support it needs to keep up all that overactivity. Look after yourself like you would if you had the flu, but all the time. Vegetable soups, herbal tea, and sleeeep.

This thing may be new, and big, and scary, but it is not you! And it is not the end of everything as you know it! Yes, a life with disease may have a slightly different shape to it than the one you have now, but it will only change for the better. I promise.

In my next blog Next Steps ~ Naturally I go over the second steps towards finding a natural way of living with your disease.

Wishing you all the best on this new chapter of your journey!