When I was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I felt like I was walking in a fog. A thick, stew-like fog. I didn’t know what to do, where to turn. I couldn’t see or think clearly.

But that quickly changed when I had to re-enter the real world of responsibilities, obligations, and demands. All I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and make it all go away.

Sound familiar?

For some people, this feeling never goes away. A peaceful existence seems elusive. There are kids to feed, reports to be filed, and laundry to be folded. Life goes on, no matter what diagnosis the doctor delivers.

The goods news - it is possible to create peace within this chaos. To create a sanctuary within your life where you can feel liberated. Eventually the power of that liberation will seep into the rest of your life. But before you get to full blown liberation and empowerment, let’s set the foundation.

Create Rituals

Start by creating some rituals in your life. Rituals are practices that anchor you in yourself and your surroundings. Rituals keep you from spinning out of control.

A ritual can be something you do by yourself, or with others. Either way, it should be something that has meaning for you and creates a connection with yourself.

Here are some examples:

• A nightly bath with candles, incense, and your favorite music
• A trip to the farmer’s market with your kids
• A morning green smoothie
• Watering the garden in the early morning by yourself
• Weekly yoga class
• Sunday dinner with the whole family
• Breakfast in bed

These rituals are your path back to yourself when the world starts crowding in on your joy. Joy should never be elusive. It should always be close at hand, if not sitting right in your lap.

When you feel overwhelmed, reach for a ritual to ground you and bring you back.

Establish Some Healthy Habits

Habits get a bad rap. Probably because so many of them are negative like smoking, biting your nails, or interrupting others while they are speaking.

I prefer to view habits in a positive light. In fact, there are many good habits that are worth building into your life. These good habits help ground you and help you remember what is important in life. Seriously, if the laundry doesn’t get folded for a few days, life won’t end.

Here are a few ideas for some healthy habits:

• Meditation
• Juicing
• Cooking up a big pot of quinoa to use throughout the week in soups and salads
• Taking a walk after dinner
• Playing soccer with your kids
• Using coconut oil as a moisturizer as you get out of the shower each morning
• Lighting candles on the dinner table
• Setting an alert on your computer reminding you to breathe
• A massage

Healthy habits remind you to love you and your body. It is so easy to believe that your body has turned against you when you have been diagnosed with chronic illness, or you are overcome with chronic stress. But healthy habits liberate you from the negative thoughts. As research is showing, our thoughts are critical to our health and our healing process.

Healthy habits also create more joy. Doing things that make you feel good are critical to being joyful and to finding peace in your life.

Get Comfortable With Solitude

This is a tough one for most people, even those without kids. But it’s oh so important for creating peace in your life.

If you are like I was, when you have time to yourself, all you can think of doing is crossing off another thing on your "to do" list. So how do you use solitude to create peace in your crazy life? Here are a few ideas:

• Read an inspirational book
• Engage in a solitary ritual (see above)
• See a movie by yourself
• Eat out by yourself and don’t bring anything to read and turn off your phone
• Take your sketchbook to the park
• Putter in the garden, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells

Learning how to enjoy time alone is like an oasis. It is the ultimate in peaceful moments. Solitude is when you can shut out all the responsibilities, obligations, duties, and chaos and create a sanctuary of healing calm.

What brings you peace? Let us know in the comments below.