originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:28 PM

yep so true @FootyFan26 and @chandelier

 

it's like online peer support.

 

i'm sure @ErinsAntics blog might make her famous one day where she lives! its important to have strong people who speak up about their experiences.

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:16 PM

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:10 PM

Hey @ErinsAntics and @chandelier !

 

Great to have you guys as part of the conversation tonight! 

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:13 PM

1. What are some sort of illnesses people might suffer with?

 

That's hard.  Generally there are physical and mental illnesses but then they are put into categories as well.

 

There are things like mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and psychotic disorders which can all have many illnesses.  There are also genetic illnesses and non genetic illnesses as well.

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:18 PM

welcome @FootyFan26

stoked to have you here on getting real 🙂

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:18 PM

Same to you @lanejane!

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:24 PM

alright guys. let's look at question number two!

 

2.    How do you think living with an illness can change your life?

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:37 PM

Hello! Just joined the forum so I could contribute to this.

Both myself and some very close friends with mine have lived with illnesses which aren't often visible.


In response to question 2;
I find that living with an illness can change your life in a number of positive and negative ways. 
Positives being;
- you finding who really cares deeply for you, and developing stronger friends and family 
- you revaluating what is important in your life and finding basic things (getting out of bed, etc) although a challenge is also something to proud of 
- Developing an incredible treatment team who support your medical choices and help you get through everything

Negatively;
- Losing friends/family support due to the long time it takes to recover (or even the whole 'not recovering thing')
- Losing schooling/work/uni due to sickness
- Losing the ability to do spontaneous things due to never knowing if you will be healthy enough 

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:39 PM

hey @cat12345 - YAY thanks for joining us on ReachOut. you've come at a great time because the getting real sessions are really active on a monday night and we all get together and chat.

 

what i love most about your answer is that you were able to spot the positives about having an illness too. which is SO true. it is not a completely negative thing. it does change your life, but it's not always for the worse. you do find out what is important to you and you can find out how many supportive people are in your life!

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:31 PM

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:29 PM

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:28 PM

2. How do you think living with an illness can change your life?
One of the best definitions about how illness can affect your life is through the spoon theory - ill try and find a video... if you look at the video of Jordan you guys posted earlier - it had a big impact on her life....

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:32 PM

@chandelier can you summarise the spoon theory for our users who might not have video or sound on their comps? it was a great thing to bring up.

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:27 PM

Heyyy everyone! Been out in the freezing cold at footy training and my hands can't type!! I'll catch up on questions now

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:32 PM

wow, training outside tonight... that IS cold

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:40 PM

I couldn't find a good video anyway so i posted the image about, but basically that, its a great way to explain what it's like to have chronic illness to a person who doesn't have one. You have a reduced amount of energy available for every day tasks. Spoons are an example of unit of measurement used to track how much energy a person has throughout a given day. You have only a certain amount each day. IE a sick person only has a certain amount of spoons each day. Each activity "costs" a certain number of spoons, which might not be replaced until the next day. A person who runs out of spoons loses the ability to do anything other than rest. One of the impacts of this is that people with illness must plan their activities to ensure that every day is manageable so they don't run out of spoons, while healthy people have a "never-ending supply of spoons" and thus never need to worry about running out.

Because healthy people do not feel the impact of spending spoons, they may not realize that chronically people's considerations include mundane tasks such as bathing and getting dressed

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:43 PM

@chandelier

 

i think that spoon theory is like my new favourite thing ever. so good i almost want a spoon tattoo - as a reminder for myself that sometimes i need to think about how many spoons i have left that day and take care of myself!

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:43 PM

@chandelier thats a great explanation of spoon theory! I first learned about it a couple of years ago and it's totally changed the way I look at illness

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:36 PM

so somethings that can change your life are internal things - like self esteem, energy and lots of stuff to do with you... but then we also think that there's lots of external impacts as well. like stigma (misconceptions and judgements against people with illness) or even like a lack of services?

 

yep. i rekon that covers it! the spoon thing is a GREAT visual which explains some of that.

 

so let's go to our next question while we're all on a roll!

 

3.    What are common reactions when someone who has been diagnosed with an illness and why might they experience these reactions?
(For example: if I was diagnosed with an illness tomorrow I might feel really sad or worried. I might be feeling like this because I’m thinking about what my friends or work colleagues will say when they find out the news!)

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:41 PM

Hey everyone, thought I might pop in for tonight's sesh!

 

What are common reactions when someone who has been diagnosed with an illness and why might they experience these reactions?

 

A pretty common reaction I've seen among people who get diagnosed with an illness (especially with chronic or mental illness) is dissapointment, because they feel like they won't be able to do what they want to do in life because if it. I think it can be fairly frustrating for people who struggle with energy because of illness.

 

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:45 PM

Hey everyone! Can't stay long, only really have a few minutes but I'd thought I'd come and say hi!

At the moment, I've been dealing with the common cold every month and at the month, my nose seems to think I'm still sick while the rest of me is okay!

I think people with illnesses, mental, physical, emotional, any kind of illness are brave, strong and amazing people, especially when they are told about it. Sometimes they don't have as much support as they need but they are still such strong people.

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:48 PM

thanks for coming @N1ghtW1ng - every minute on RO counts

 

we're glad to have you 🙂

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:48 PM

@j95 cost of treatment is a huge consideration. this is something that i worry about all the time!

originally posted on 13-07-2015 8:46 PM

Well said @N1ghtW1ng !