There are a few things that I always mentally tell myself - every single day. They are kind of my mantras.
Yes, I am ill. I have legitimate illnesses and very legitimate and present pain. Sometimes the pain is excruciating and sometimes it isn't. But it is there. I am allowed to acknowledge that I need help and that I live with pain every single day. I am allowed to have complaints. I am entitled to days where I feel sad, defeated, struggling, even hopeless at times. I am allowed to have days where I sink into my situation and simply rest, all day. No one else dictates how I feel and no one will ever completely understand.
I remind myself every day that I have felt worse. I have been in worse situations and I am doing much better than I was 6 months ago. I might be doing a hell of a lot worse than I was 5 years ago, but I am slightly better than the past 3 or 4 years up until a few months ago. I have a little more strength, a little more motivation, and a touch less intensity in my pain. I can truly enjoy some days - and for a few years that wasn't the case. I still have more bad days than good, but the discrepancy is not so lopsided.
I also remind myself every day how lucky I am. There are millions of people in worse situations. And although that does not reduce my pain in any way, shape, or form, it does remind me to look past my illnesses and enjoy small things and small freedoms that other people may never experience.
Every single person deals with pain and suffering. Just because someone else's pain is considered worse or better than yours does not actually diminish your pain. Your pain still exists. Your pain is legitimate. It is, however, a good idea to take a step back and look objectively at your own experience.
I am allowed to admit when I feel like horse shit. I am entitled to be pissed off when I have bad days and bad moments.
Then I try and remember that I have had more good days in the past 6 months than I had in a span of 3-4 years. That none of my illnesses are immediately terminal. That I have great specialists and great medications. That I have support and loved ones.
I am unlucky in health in certain ways.
I am lucky in health in other ways.
I am lucky in life in general.