When the World Is in Fast Forward | Chronic Illness & Finding Your Own Tempo

chronic illness, it can feel like the whole world is running in fast forward while you’re stuck on pause. In this video, I talk about guilt, identity and learning to live at a different tempo, one slow ritual at a time.

There was a time when my life moved fast: demanding job, commuting, small children, a new house, always half a step ahead of myself. Then my body said no. After a transplant and long hospital stays, I came home to a world that expected me to “get back to normal”, while my energy never really returned.

On paper, I was “doing well”. I could walk, be at home, make it through a day. Inside, it felt like I had missed a train that would never come back. Everyone else was moving on. I was still on the bench in the shopping centre, watching life rush past in fast forward.

In this episode of Through the Quiet, I share:
• what it’s like to watch other people carry the tasks that used to be yours
• how guilt and shame show up as “I am not enough”
• why “pushing through” stopped working
• how tiny daily rituals (a cup of tea, polishing shoes, folding a blanket) slowly became a new structure

At the end, we move into a simple awareness & presence practice:
feeling the weight of your body where you are,
noticing your breath as it already is,
and choosing one small, kind thing you can do today in your own tempo.

If this feels like your story too, your pace, your bench, your quiet race to “keep up”, you’re welcome to share as much or as little as you like in the comments. Even just “still here” is enough.

A warm thank you to @wildandwoolly for help, support, and for letting me use images from our shared everyday life.
Takk for hjelp, støtte og bruk av bilder fra gårdslivet vårt.

⚠️ This video is not medical advice or a treatment plan. It’s one person’s lived experience. If you’re overwhelmed or in crisis, please reach out to your doctor, local mental health services, or someone you trust where you live. You don’t have to carry this alone.

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Through the Quiet is a small corner of the internet for people who live more slowly than the world, because of illness, grief, or exhaustion, and who still want a life that feels like a life.

#chronicillness #slowrecovery #slowliving #mindfulness #throughthequiet #wildandwoolly