Embracing Surrender and Acceptance: Lessons Learned from Overcoming Chronic Illness

My journey through chronic illness taught me countless lessons many of which have stayed with me long after healing. Two of the most powerful have been surrender and acceptance.

When I was dealing with over 15 different symptoms, I began to learn how to surrender to them after discovering they were caused by TMS. Understanding that these symptoms were neuroplastic (created by the brain) helped me realize they weren’t actually harmful. As I began practicing somatic tracking, I gradually became more able to sit with the sensations as they arose.

As I progressed through my healing journey and gradually became capable of doing more, I had to learn to accept that I could re-engage in activities slowly and on my own terms. I began to accept the uncertainty of how long full healing would take. Each day, I learned to acknowledge what I could and couldn’t do, without judgment.

Through this practice of acceptance, I began to cultivate a sense of safety by releasing the pressure I had been placing on myself.

Surrender and acceptance didn’t mean giving in to being sick forever. Instead, by meeting each moment with acceptance, I allowed the sensations to rise and fall without fear and over time, they began to fade.

 Today, I am fully recovered.

But life still happens;

Stressful and uncomfortable moments arise.

The difference now is that I’m able to acknowledge and accept those sensations of stress, anxiety, or discomfort in both my mind and body with far greater ease than ever before. This acceptance allows me to move through life with a deeper sense of ease and resilience.

Acceptance and Surrender.

• Acceptance taught me to stop fighting my body. To stop measuring my worth by productivity. To meet myself where I was, not where I thought I “should” be.

• Surrender reminded me that healing isn’t a straight line. That I didn’t have to control every outcome. That letting go isn’t giving up, it is making space for deeper wisdom and support to come in.

These aren’t passive states. They are powerful choices that I still practice daily.

If you're in the thick of it right now, please know: healing is possible.

With healing and support,

Alisha Braswell