Thoughts On “Sun Guilt” And How To Enjoy The Outdoors With Chronic Illness

Don’t worry, this isn’t a post pressuring you to go outside more or insisting you should get outside every day. With chronic illness and pain, sometimes this isn’t realistic. So let’s talk about ways to benefit from and enjoy being outdoors with chronic illness. For me, planning and pacing are key.

In fact, I’m giving myself permission to be outside less or not go outside at all, even on days when the weather is ideal. I’m trying to balance benefitting from nature with listening to my body.

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Letting Go Of The Pressure To Go Outside

I often feel like I have to get outside when it’s sunny and warm, but my chronic illnesses often have other ideas.

It was a couple years ago when I first heard the helpful term “sun guilt.” I think anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest will relate. This is the idea that if it’s sunny outside, it’s probably not going to last, so you better get out and enjoy it. And if you don’t, you feel this guilt that you “wasted” a sunny day. This seems like a particularly Washingtonian type of FOMO (fear of missing out).

Also, a lot of people tout getting outside as a great way to boost your mood, de-stress, get healthy vitamin D, give your mind some breathing room, and overall improve your health. And that’s wonderful! But what’s not so wonderful is feeling pressure to get outside when your body doesn’t feel well enough to do so.

And then I can feel a different kind of guilt—that it’s my fault I’m sick because I’m not getting outside. I know fresh air isn’t going to cure my broken nervous system, immune system, muscles, or lungs, and the pressure and stress I put on myself to get outside certainly don’t help my chronic conditions. My illnesses are much more complex than my tired brain sometimes remembers, and I need to listen to my body when it says: not today.

So I’m trying to find a balance. So much of living with chronic illness is finding a balance.

If I get a chance to go outside, wonderful. But I remind myself—nature is not a cure-all. And leaving the indoors is not the most important thing for me to accomplish in my day.

It’s okay if self care means not going outside today.

Getting Doses of Nature Other Ways

Even looking at nature can have healthful benefits, as seen in studies of hospital patients who have a window view or natural light. This is an encouraging reminder that we can benefit from nature other ways! Here’s a quote from Harvard Medicine magazine:

“Yet clinical studies have shown that the ability to view the outdoors helps reduce stress and improve healing. In one study, patients who recovered from surgery in rooms with windows overlooking natural settings convalesced faster, required less pain medication, and had shorter hospital stays than patients whose rooms had windows that faced a wall. In another study, researchers found that simply being in a room with abundant natural light cut the length of a patient’s stay by nearly a third.” (x)

So on days when I can’t get outside, I still can admire the view from inside, open up some windows, or watch a nature documentary.

Benefiting From The Outdoors By Pacing

Some people may wonder why it’s so challenging for me to go outside. I think most people with chronic illnesses will get it—it’s challenging for me to stand or walk. POTS (postural orthostatic hypotension) likes to flare up with the slightest provocation, including simple things like being upright.

I can’t get outside much of the year because the cold and damp makes my asthma worse and aggravates my fibromyalgia pain and stiffness. So when it’s warm enough to get outside, I need to pace myself as I get used to more physical activity. Plus, the heat flares up my POTS, aggravating my tachycardia, dizziness, lightheadedness, and low blood pressure.

So I’m pacing myself and careful to only go out when it won’t make me physically worse.

I also pace myself by walking less so that I don’t crash the next day and end up hardly able to move. I also have to pay attention, as too much walking can lead to joint pain (hello knees!) and edema, aka swelling, in my legs.

I’m not always going to be able to walk as much as I did the day before, or the week before, and I’m learning to accept that.

I’m also trying to come inside a little bit before I want to so that I’m not absolutely worn out when I go in.

And on days when I’m not outside, I try to work on strengthening. I was able to virtually meet with my physical therapist a couple months ago and was given tailored exercises that I’m tolerating pretty well. I also try to walk for a few minutes at a time in the house on days I don’t go out, if I’m feeling up to it.

Spending fewer days outside but enjoying that time outside is more important than getting outside every day. And a short time outdoors is better than none.

Benefiting From The Outdoors By Preparing

Preparation is key for me to be able to spend time outdoors. I get ready for going outside, set out what I’ll need when I’m outside, and prep everything I’ll need for when I get back in.

That may seem like a lot of prep, and it is! But when you have very little energy, every little bit of planning helps.

Getting ready to go outside involves swapping my glasses for my contacts, changing out of my pjs, and usually some other prep like putting on sunblock and peppermint oil to help with inflammation. So I make sure to do these things and then add in some buffer time so I can lie down before I go out. That way I can rest after using the burst of energy it takes for me to get ready. I’ve also been trying to remember to drink some electrolytes before I go out.

While I’m getting myself ready (and before I lie down), I make sure I have everything that I want to use when I’m outside. This includes anything from preparing a snack and cup of water to making sure my phone is charged.

I also make sure I have things ready for when I come inside. Since I’m basically allergic to everything, including pollen, I have to take a shower when I come in. This is probably the most exhausting part about going outside for me. Showering is a major challenge for people with POTS. It makes our blood pooling worse, exacerbating symptoms like dizziness, tachycardia, and extreme fatigue. So I have all my shower stuff ready: a change of clothes in the bathroom, my neti pot ready (again, allergic to everything) and anything else I’ll need when I get back in.

Offsetting Loneliness When You’re Outside

Because of the unpredictability of chronic illness and how visiting (yes, even talking) wears me out, I’m very limited on how often I can have company. (Even more so now due to the pandemic of course.) It’s such a bummer to get outside and immediately have a cloud cast over my time because I’m suddenly feeling lonely.

This feeling of loneliness makes me regret going outside, and if I’m going to make the most of sunny days, I need a game plan.

I’ll often wait until I go outside to send some texts to friends. This is when I’ll fire off the memes that reminded me of someone, the book recommendation I wanted to share, or something that made me laugh recently. It’s a fun way to connect and it makes me look forward to going outside more.

I’ll also try to give someone a call or set up a video chat if I’m feeling up to it.

And if my mom and grandma are working in her yard next door, I try to make the effort to walk over, even if it’s just for a minute.

Sometimes I bring out cards or letters to write to friends. Lately, I’ve been keeping some postcards by the door where they’re easy to get too so I can connect with friends that way.

PS Check out my printable sunshine cards.

Taking photos to send via text or social media is also a fun way to share my time outdoors with others.

This selfie scavenger hunt has also been a fun way to connect! (PS there’s an indoor edition too.)

This is also a great time to spend praying for others. I feel closer to those I love when I talk to  God about them. It’s also a perfect opportunity to thank God for the beautiful things I’m seeing, which draws me closer to Him.

Enjoying The Outdoors with Chronic Illness

Sometimes I’m just too worn out to connect with people. I’ve often found myself getting outdoors only to go “Now what?” After all the work of getting outside, I find myself bored. So frustrating!

Other times I’ll wish I’d stayed inside, where at least I could watch TV to take my mind off how ill I feel.

I try to make it really easy for myself to have something ready to do when I’m outside and to have some distraction if I find myself feeling worse.

By the door, I keep a book that I call my “outside book.” I only read it outside so it’s always close at hand when I’m ready to go out. This also gives me something unique to look forward to when I’m in the yard.

I want to start keeping a mini coloring book and colored pencils by the door too.

Sitting outside is also the perfect time for me to do some of my physical therapy stretches. I don’t really like doing my neck stretches because it feels a bit like I’m not doing anything, just moving my head around. And I don’t think they help much—until I go and turn too quickly and realize how helpful they are at making my neck more flexible!

I’ll also bring my phone to read a book or article or work on writing a blog post. Heck, sometimes I catch up on email or social media. It might seem counterproductive to use my phone outside, but if I’m benefiting from the fresh air and sunshine and the accomplishment of making it out of the house, who cares? I’m not going to impose some “no tech” rule on myself.

When there’s fresh berries or fruit, I also love the feeling of accomplishment of helping get food picked.

Lately, I’ve also been picking some flowers to press. Cottagecore activities for the win!

I’ve also been reminding myself that I’m not going outside to accomplish a lot of things—going outside with chronic illness is an accomplishment! So if I don’t get any writing or tasks done and just want to chill, that’s totally fine too!

Buy What You Need For the Outdoors

Are there items you need to make it easier for you to spend more time outside? I’m making a list of some things I need to purchase:

• A camp chair—something lightweight that I can carry with me so I can sit whenever I need to.
• A reclining lawn chair—something that will let me put my feet up.
• Something to carry my phone, hands-free—I’ve seen some different options for joggers that I’d like to try.

I hope these tips help you to pace yourself and enjoy being out in nature!

I’d love to hear which tips you like best and if there are other products you can think of that would make it easier for you to benefit from the outdoors.
How do you pace and prepare for time outdoors with chronic illness?
What challenges you most about getting outside? What do you enjoy most?

You may also like:
How “Choosing” Helps on Bad Days + Free Printables
December Wrap Up: Preparing For the New Year
Recovering from Major Events When You Have A Chronic Illness

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