<p id=”par-1_65″>In the early 1980s, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/dolly-parton/”>Dolly Parton</a> dealt with an illness that put her out of commission for over a year. Parton felt overworked and emotionally overwhelmed during the lead up to her sickness. She believes that this resulted in physical ailments. She said that as she recovered from her illness, she learned to rely more on herself. Parton believes this helped her and her <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>career</a>.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-once-said-she-learned-to-rely-on-herself-after-an-illness”>Dolly Parton once said she learned to rely on herself after an illness</h2>
<p id=”par-2_46″>After her <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-said-first-country-crossover-smash-monkey-could-sing-song-have-hit.html/”>career took off</a> in the late 1970s, Parton’s schedule turned relentless. She filmed movies, recorded albums, toured, and made media appearances. During this time, she also ended an <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/music/dolly-parton-emotional-affair-while-married-husband.html/”>emotionally intense relationship</a> with her bandleader, Gregg Perry. All of this culminated in an extended illness.</p>
<p id=”par-3_45″>“I’d never really been sick in my life until a couple of years ago, and then I was sick for 18 months to two years,” she told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/new-again-dolly-parton” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Interview Magazine</a> in 1984. “It was brought on by a lot of emotional problems that I was having.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_21″>She admitted she <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-partons-struggle-say-no-led-18-month-illness.html/”>struggled to say no</a> to people. It made her business feel too emotional, which further fueled her anxiety.</p>
<p id=”par-5_62″>“It was just very painful,” she said. “I have a tendency to be awfully big-hearted and it’s very hard for me to say no, even when I need to. I can handle the business — the bigger they are the better I like dealing with them — but when it gets into business where I’m very attached to the people, it’s hard.”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball. <img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/2728.png” alt=”✨” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> <a href=”https://t.co/W7pRPnDI7X”>pic.twitter.com/W7pRPnDI7X</a></p>— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DollyParton/status/1949992293139681319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 29, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-postponed-series-shows-amid-health-challenges.html/”>
Dolly Parton Postponed a Series of Shows Amid ‘Health Challenges’ </a>
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<p id=”par-6_30″>Parton spent almost two years recovering from her illness. She felt that the best way to address her problems was to take complete control over her life and career. </p>
<p id=”par-7_102″>“I loved too much and left myself open … I knew I couldn’t ride both sides of the fence any longer. So I got smart,” she said, per the book <em>Smart Blonde </em>by Stephen Miller, adding, “I made changes because I didn’t want to end up an old lady with health problems. I now make sure no one, not a father, mother, or husband, controls my life. I control it. That’s how I eventually learnt to survive, by relying on myself more than anyone else . . . It’s helped me to weed out the bulls*** and take better care of myself.”</p>