Life, Health & Webster

Real talk on health, resilience, and cracking on

I believe that understanding wellbeing is not just about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s a multifaceted experience that includes emotional and mental health, personal growth, and a balanced approach to life.

In Life, Health & Webster, I share my own reflections on the journey through life's highs and lows. Living with a long term condition, has taught me some valuable lessons: the significance of self-compassion when facing challenges, the importance of community support during difficult times, and the triumph that comes from celebrating small victories. Wellbeing is a continuous journey, and with the right support and insights, we can all find our way to thrive.

Workplace Challenges with a Long-Term Health Condition?

The pressure. The unrealistic expectations. The need to explain, again! It’s exhausting.

If you live with a long-term health condition, you know exactly what I mean. The nods of fake understanding. The awkward pauses when you ask for something different. The feeling that you have to constantly justify why standard workplace practices just don’t work for you.

It’s frustrating, it makes you question yourself. Is it really that bad? Maybe I’m just not trying hard enough? But no, it’s not in your head. You’re navigating a system that wasn’t built with you in mind, and that takes a different kind of effort.

I’m not implying that work colleagues are deliberately trying to make things difficult. What works for them works for them, and they just don’t understand others’ battles, I don’t expect them to. There are countless long-term health conditions, and we each become the expert of our own illness, but not everyone else's. I do sometimes naively expect people to have empathy, but some people just don’t possess it. And that’s okay, I’m not trying to change them.

So, that means taking ownership. I stopped expecting others to understand my condition the way I do.

I’ve been through a lot of trial and error in figuring out how to make work, well, work. When I was first diagnosed, I thought managing meant pushing harder, proving I could keep up, staying late even when I desperately needed rest. I was convinced that slowing down meant failing. Spoiler: it didn’t.

I learned the hard way that success doesn’t come from ignoring what my body is telling me, it comes from adapting, from making choices that allow me to keep going without burning out.

Now, I set boundaries more confidently. I advocate for myself without guilt. And most importantly, I recognise that my worth isn’t measured in how much I can endure. Work should be flexible enough to accommodate real people with real lives, not the other way around.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly adjusting, navigating, explaining, just know you’re not alone in this. And you’re definitely not imagining it.

Growth Isn’t Always Loud, Sometimes, It’s Quiet

Not every change in life comes with a big announcement. Some shifts happen so subtly that you don’t even realise you’ve grown until you look back.

For years, I thought progress had to be obvious, something measurable, something big. But it’s not always like that.

Some of the most important changes creep in quietly.

The way I handle challenges now compared to a few years ago. The way I trust myself more. The way I no longer feel the need to explain every decision to people who wouldn’t get it anyway.

It’s easy to feel stuck when there’s no dramatic milestone to point to. But that doesn’t mean you’re standing still.

Growth happens in conversations, in choices, in the way you react to things differently than you used to.

And one day, you’ll realise that everything that felt small, the little shifts, the moments where you chose differently, was actually huge.

Trust that you’re evolving, even if it’s happening quietly.

Picking Yourself Up & Moving Forward

Life doesn’t always go to plan. Things fall through. People let you down. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t work out the way you planned.

It’s annoying. It knocks your confidence. It can make you wonder if it’s worth bothering again.

I’ve had those moments, everyone has to some degree, the ones where the setbacks feel personal, where it’s tempting to just stop pushing forward. But the thing about resilience isn’t that you never fall, it’s that you get back up, even when you don’t feel like it.

And getting back up doesn’t mean ignoring the disappointment. It means feeling it, accepting it, and deciding it’s not going to be the thing that keeps you stuck.

Some days, moving forward is easy. Other days, it’s slow.

So if you’re in one of those moments where everything feels like a setback, just take the next step, any step, no matter how small. That’s resilience.

Trying to Work While Managing a Health Condition?

I see you........

Live with a long-term health condition, and suddenly, the advice comes rolling in! oh, the joy!:

"I'm tired too, you just need to push through."
"You should rest more, go to bed earlier."
"Have you tried fasting or yoga? That helped my auntie cure her condition."

People mean well. They really do. But sometimes, the advice makes you want to scream into a pillow.

The truth is, there’s no magic fix. Balancing work and health isn’t a straight line. Some days, you feel unstoppable. Other days, brushing your hair feels like a major achievement. And in between? You’re figuring it out, trying to build something sustainable.

For me, living with multiple sclerosis means constantly adjusting, learning, and making choices that work for me. Not just nodding along to someone else’s miracle cure. It means managing my energy like a budget, knowing when to push, when to pause, and when to say, “Nope, not today.”

I do get it, the pressure to keep up, to prove yourself, to act like everything’s fine when some days, it’s not. You don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to fit into someone else’s version of success.

And honestly, the way I manage has changed over the years. I used to push harder, thinking productivity meant proving something, mainly to myself, but also to others, so they wouldn’t overlook me. I ignored signs that I needed to slow down. Now, I work smarter, not harder. I prioritise sustainability, knowing that success isn’t about burning out, it’s about creating a work-life balance that actually works. It’s a continuous process, but one thing I know for sure: adaptation isn’t failure, it’s strength. Keep going, but at your pace.

Coming Back from Disappointment: Integrity vs. Self-Preservation

Disappointment hits differently when it comes from people you trusted. One minute, they’re standing beside you, nodding, agreeing, assuring you that they see things the way you do. The next? They choose silence, distance, self-preservation.

I don’t blame them. We all have bills to pay, families to support, things we don’t want to risk. Survival kicks in, and sometimes, standing up for what’s right feels like a luxury people can’t afford.

But for me, it’s never been about convenience, it’s about integrity.

I’ve always believed that honesty matters, that speaking the truth, especially when it’s uncomfortable, is necessary. But the reality is, truth isn’t always welcome. It unsettles, it challenges, and sometimes, it makes people defensive. As Tom Cruise once said, “You can’t handle the truth!” Sometimes, that’s exactly the case.

Coming back from disappointment isn’t about changing who you are, it’s about recognising that not everyone will walk the same path. Some people will choose to stand beside you, others will step back, and some will disappear entirely. That’s just human nature.

The biggest lesson? Hold onto your integrity, but let go of the expectation that others will do the same. Keep going, keep being honest, and trust that doing the right thing, even when it’s the hard thing, is always worth it. Keep your head held high!

Imelda xxx

Loftus Webster HR