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Hard to stay positive or just manage

catsarefluffy

I have very bad mental health from the isolation and lack of life satisfaction from physical disability and chronic illness. As well as the uncomfortable physical symptoms, it's a looot. I'm not even sure how to cope anymore. Like there's no hope there will be good days and everything feels too much mentally and physically.

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Comments

Littlefatfriend

Please don't judge your own mental health.

A psychologist would never do that for themselves, we all have very different experiences and expectations.

Physical disability may always be complicated, but in my experience that's best done through a combination of adaptation and acceptance.

My life is very limited by my disability, but (like Mary Poppins) I choose to accentuate the positivity.

I'm very isolated by my disability, but I have learned to enjoy the things I can do.

Always, there are people worse off than us.

I've always found there are things I can do to entertain myself and improve my situation, small as they often were.

Sometimes even a tiny improvement has great value.

I encourage you to consider the things you enjoy, and to work out doing more of them.

Even if you need to do it in a different way, there are probably processes you can employ to enjoy more of what you do.

That's up to you most of all.

Good luck

😇

Rosie_Scope

It's so tough to live with chronic illness @catsarefluffy. Remember that you don't need to feel positive all the time if you can't manage it. Sometimes I find that trying to be positive when I'm having a really hard time can almost add to the exhaustion. I find allowing myself a bit of time to feel rubbish about things can be helpful as long as it doesn't become all-consuming. There's so much grief involved in illness and sometimes ignoring that can make things feel worse long term.

Are there any small joys you can look forward to in your week? Even having little routines like watching a favourite TV show or movie on a certain night, having a special food/snack or doing a small bit of a hobby if you can manage it. Anything that might break up your time at home a little can be helpful.

I hope the community can help a little with the isolation too. I know many people will have similar feelings to you or will have been through similar experiences, so I hope you'll feel up to chatting here if you need to 😊

Have you had any support with your mental health? I know it's pretty tough to access sometimes!

catsarefluffy

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1156576#Comment_1156576

Thanks for your message. Yeah enjoying the small things can help, but it's totally okay to acknowledge you're going through a bad time. Just because you think "someone else has it worse", you don't need to downplay what you're going through. Your feelings are valid

catsarefluffy

Thanks for your message. I suppose it's finding what else can be done and enjoyed with the new limitations I have 🤔

And yes I do reach out to support where possible. Thanks for checking in

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1156657#Comment_1156657

Littlefatfriend

Thanks catsarefluffy
I choose to live in north east of England.
One of the reasons I do is that each year we get a varied range of weather (and most of my closest family and friends live here).
Like people, the world is prone to weather, foul and good. I've lived in warmer places (most in France) and I always very quickly became used to nice weather.
Living here I find spring and summer a huge pleasure.
Similarly, I allow myself the space to recognise that virtually everything i do is more complicated than it would be for most people. I try to use that to encourage myself to appreciate the advantages that I'm able to make for myself. I cannot control many things my body chooses to do, but I can usually do something at least to make those situations better for me.
Please appreciate yourself and remember what you have done.
My Ascension was a process of small steps.
❤️

catsarefluffy

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1156738#Comment_1156738

Ohhh I haven't been further than Liverpool or Birmingham hahaha. I imagine it's quite cold there right now.

Littlefatfriend

In Elswick (Newcastle upon Tyne) I worked with people who had very full and contented lives in their 80s and 90s. Many of them had lived all that time within about a 3 mile radius, they'd never even been across the river. The nearest bridge is 1.7 miles from there.

Many people who lived in the coal mining village I moved to when I was 12 (1985) had led similar lives.

To misquote Fatboy Slim "we've come a long way baby".

😇

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