Do you ever feel like we live in a series of hits? Taking one after another after another? Some may be like a thunderstorm that blows threw almost daily during some seasons leaving very little damage, maybe some downed tree limbs and minor stream flooding. While others feel like a category 5 disaster with live change disaster left behind. While the hits we take are not really be like a category 1- 5 they sure feel like them. A category one might be something like getting bad lab results. And because of those results you now have to watch your diet intake and might not able to have the meal or sweets you wanted. Or the adult beverage you prefer on the weekend to wind down. Due to the fact they are watching your liver enzymes. Or perhaps you have a small flare and spend one day hurting due to a weather change! Those things in the scheme of things are small hits. Where as a category 5 might be something like long term illness or hospitalization. But to everyone the category of HITS will be different for each person. And how you handle these HITS will differ, we all have to find a way to handle things that are appropriate for all of us.
Then you get a BIGGER HIT. You know those Hits that I’m talking about. Hits like not being able to work, losing the ability to drive, and the trickle down. Now that you no longer have a job you may no longer be able to provide food and nourishment for yourself or family! So now what do you do. Do you apply for disability? What about health insurance? How are you going to pay your rent and electric? All these things then in turn cause your heath to get worse. So these hits are never ending and reciprocal in a sense. One causes another that causes another. I’ve tried to figure out how to stop the emotional and mental from making the physical worse but I really don’t think there is a good way.
One way to help keep yourself balanced and maybe have a glimmer of hope is to find a good therapist. Someone you really like and trust. Someone you feel you can really open up to and truly express what’s going on. If you don’t find someone like the the time spent at your appointments will be counterintuitive. Because you won’t really open up and you won’t get any benefit from the experience. If you need help finding a good therapist you can always ask your regular physician. You can also talk to others who suffer with chronic illness or depression or similar conditions and see if they have anyone they can recommend. For most the more you are able to talk and open up about the things that are going on in your life the better you will feel. However, not everyone feels this way!! Talking is NOT for everyone, I’ve learned this the hard way over the years.
Another way that a person can deal with the HITS we chronically ill take almost daily would be to talk to friends, family or a spouse. This isn’t an option for everyone because not everyone has friends and family that understands chronic illness and what comes with it. Or who are supportive for that matter. If you are one of the lucky ones who have good supportive people in their lives than take advantage that. Bend their ear and let them know how you are feeling and what they can do to help. They are not mind readers. So they will not be able to help or even understand if you don’t vocalize what’s going on! One of the best outlets I have found are others with similar conditions. They are generally the BEST at truly understanding the HITS that we are taking and living with on daily basis. They too are living with these HITS and will be able to understand and sympathize.
Overall, I don’t have great advice on how to deal with the daily HITS we take. The ones that seem constant and make us feel like we are all alone and no one else could possibly be feeling like us. But I Do KNOW we are NOT alone. We are not generally the first person to ever go through this situation. There is some one out there somewhere who has gone through the same exact thing or something similar. We just may not be lucky enough to have them in our lives. I also know that there are a LOT of awesome support groups out there where there are tons of people taking similar HITS in them. You may have to try out several but you will find one that you will like and can relate to. I guess the takeaway in all of this is not to hold everything in. I feel strongly that there is a direct correlation between your mental/emotional health and your physical health. If you are in mental/emotional turmoil you will most likely be having more physical issues. Find someone you can talk to, someone who listens and can validate how you are feeling!! Find a way to express yourself, however that may be!!
