Feeling isolated - unseen disabilities — Scope | Disability forum
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Feeling isolated - unseen disabilities

Angelos
Angelos Community member Posts: 2 Listener
Hi there . Thank you for inviting me to join the group I have unseen disabilities ( M.E. ,C.F.S, Fibromyalgia, Depression , vasovagal syndrome, trochanter bursitis , and oestoarthritis.. amongst other things) and find it’s a daily struggle to motivate myself to leave my flat . I used to be totally extroverted but these illnesses have changed me into a mostly he’d bound introvert ! I have list my job and many friends because I am too ill to work or to socialise . I’m sure there are many people in this group in similar situations and it will be very nice to hear from u and for u to help with advice on issues like benefits for disablilites etc. These illnesses  have caused me to becone very isolated as I do not hv any family in this country and makes me very lonely . Anyone else out there that is experiencing this ? 


Comments

  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi Angelos and welcome

    First thing isthat you are not alone. Many of our members understand what you are going through.

    What, if any benefits are you claiming ?

    PIP is a benefit for people with daily living difficulties
    ESA is for people out of work

    There is lots of info on this site.Please have a look round and come back   with any questions or help you need

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,671 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Angelos welcome to the community, as @CockneyRebel says, lots of us here understand how difficult isolation is.

    Are you able to get out and about at all? Is there anything that you would really like to try? There are lots of social groups around but it can be so tough to be motivated enough to leave the house.

    I try my best to get out of the house every day, even if it is only for 15 minutes, a little walk, getting some fresh air and it does really help.  My doctor asked me to imagine it was part of my prescription, he asked me to "get out, breathe deep, move as much as I can and look up." 

    Forcing myself to get out from these 4 walls every day definitely increases my motivation to get out and about in social situations too.

    There is lots of evidence that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and even happier life.
    People who do regular activity have a lower risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers.
    Research shows that physical activity can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

    There is information about getting fit and doing exercise as a disabled person here.





    Scope
    Senior online community officer
  • Angelos
    Angelos Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Thank u for ur advice on both the benefits and the exercising issues. I currently get PIP lower rate and ESA but I’ve just completed my first review form for PIP and that I think has made the depression worse (as u can well imagine) now I wait anxiously for their reply .

    I do go out for a short walk with my dogs everyday ( also have a student that helps me with the long walks for the dogs daily) but it’s getting up and down the 3 flights of stairs that totally tired me out. I have a phobia of people living above me so I live on the top floor ( no lift) and I know I can ask to be moved but then they will move me to a ground floor flat and most of the flats on the ground floor are for the disabled here and they all have wet rooms and I have to have a soak in Epsom salt bath to help the pain of fibromyalgia and arthritis .
    Also they could move me far out of the town and I won’t get the help with my dog walking and the access to the hospital and shop that I have now. 
    The flat I live in is right next door to the biggest park in this city and v v convenient for me to walk the dogs so it’s a difficult situation .
    Being outside in the fresh air does help with the depression but by the time I walk back or rather limp back with my walking stick and many times in cruthes & then have to climb up the 3 flights of stairs I’m more than exhausted by then again. Also the cold affects both the fibromyalgia and arthritis . It’s just a vicious circle. But I still hope it will improve . 
    Angelos 
  • Ritzy
    Ritzy Community member Posts: 36 Courageous
    Hi e
    I also have Fibro., I was diagnosed by accident after many years of having tests and them coming back negative.  So getting the results was a god send but also a curse.  I had never heard of it before, and was shocked to hear that to hear that there was not cure.  I like you have other health complaints but they are also unseen.  I have lost friends through my illness as it has affected me in more ways than one, but I have gained friends also, they can be supportive in more ways than one, for example they send me watsapp messages on a daily basis, they keep me positive.  I am being referred to pain management again, I was turned down for that over two years ago as they said there was nothing else that they could do for me.  I have had counselling to help me come to terms with the condition from healthy minds but the sessions are for six weeks only, so when you just start to get into opening up about how you are coping with everything that's it, it's over.  Are you under any specialist care at the hospital.  I am under different consultants for different things, but at the moment I am going to have something done to my hips and I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis recently and an down to have injections and manipulation under a general anesthetic.  I am nervous of course, but they say it needs to be done.  It's good to talk to someone who knows how I am feeling. 

Brightness