Any tips on coming to terms with new acquired disability?

callyfox77

Hey

Just wondering if anyone can offer me advice on how they have come to terms with an acquired physical disability? (I need a tilt and recline wheelchair out of the house now, can't walk far or sit upright). I think to myself "what is, is what is, so don't add to your suffering by comparing it to what you had before or what others still have. Just do your best with now". And of course I know there will be stacks and stacks of people worse off than me and I also have plenty to be thankful for. But I just seem to circle back to the same stuck place sooner or later. I frustrate myself because I know it doesn't help me!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

JessieJ

Hello @callyfox77 & welcome to the forum

I really feel for you, it is so very hard to accept life & what you've lost when you first become disabled. All sorts of thoughts, feelings & emotions takeover, they're bound to, as it is a huge thing, but it does become 'easier'. You gradually learn to accept & adapt, it's a case of having to, but day by day you get used to your new life. Not saying it's great, but you have to make the best of it & not give up.

callyfox77

Thank you so much for replying... it helps to know it gets easier over time.

JessieJ

You're welcome, @callyfox77, take it a day at a time & work with your new 'normal. Don't worry about hissy fits either, as they'll happen, just tell everyone to duck! 😉 Take care!

Jimm_Scope

It definitely does get easier over time. I struggled to come to terms with my Crohns disease for a very long time. It is frustrating, feeling limited, but I did things I shouldn't have done with my condition and it just made me more ill. Now that I am used to living with it and have come to terms with it I am actually healthier in some ways than I was before I had Crohns 😂

SarahT41

I get what you're saying, and it's great you have within you the desire to make the most of what you have. You can still have a great life. But it's also OK and healthy to grieve for the life you had before, and the life you thought you'd be living. You're allowed to be angry and frustrated at your body, no one is positive all of the time. Let yourself feel all of it, but don't punish yourself for feeling anything negative. It's where you are right now and that is ok. Try and have contact with other disabled people any way you can, it helps to see people that have been through it and are doing well a few years down the line in their journey than you are.

callyfox77

Thank you so much..... This is my first reaching out really. There is a lot of sense in what your saying, and I am pretty isolated. So, thank you 😊