Where Did I Go? | Finding Self-Worth Through Chronic Illness

What happens when you wake up and realize you don’t really know who you are—only who you’ve been for everyone else?In this deeply reflective episode, I talk about what it means to lose yourself in the expectations, needs, and narratives of others, especially while navigating life with chronic illness. Living with a congenital heart defect, congestive heart failure, and undergoing open heart surgery has forced me to confront not only my physical limits, but the emotional patterns I carried for years.We often compare pain, measure struggles, and forget that everyone is carrying something heavy—everyone has a full plate, even if it looks different from our own. Illness has a way of magnifying life’s stages, teaching hard truths about control, identity, and worth.This episode explores:The reality of not knowing yourselfLiving life for others and the cost of itWhy you can’t control others—only yourselfLearning self-worth through pain, growth, and healingUnderstanding that every life holds unseen strugglesMy life has been one story after another—medical, emotional, personal—and through it all, I’m learning that I am worthy, I am loved, and so are you.If you’re navigating chronic illness, identity, or simply trying to find your way back to yourself, this episode is a reminder: you don’t have to carry everything alone.