There are many kinds of grief, but one that may be a little harder to wrap your head around is the kind that comes from a chronic illness diagnosis.

Hannah Stonehouse Hudson has a couple pieces of advice to help with this type of grief.

Her first tip is to acknowledge the illness. Taking time to realize you might not be able to do the same things that you’ve done before.

Then the next step is to try redefining your identity. Hannah says, “You have to figure out, ok, how can I control this? And that is by redefining your life.”

“I was a photographer for 15 years, and when I was diagnosed with cancer, things went downhill quickly. Within a couple of months, I was using a cane. I wasn’t able to shoot, I wasn’t able to do the things that was my whole life… I had to figure out, ok, what am I going to do? And I had to take the skills that I had, the lessons that I had learned, and I became a public speaker and a writer.”

Third, find different ways to reclaim your joy and purpose. Hannah says, “So it’s reengaging whatever makes you happy.”

“I used to be a runner. I used to love running. I can’t do that anymore and that took some time for me to get used to. What I’ve ended up doing is just making sure I can go outside meditate, breathe and enjoy it,” says Hannah.