[CHAT] Coping with illness
It’s the middle of winter and that means a lot of us are sporting some kind of winter sickness, and being bombarded by television ads for cough mixture usually featuring some sad looking soul with a Rudolf red nose, a scary animated phlegm ball with a face, or that ever so annoying super mum who encourages us to ‘get on with the day’ even though we feel like death warmed up… shut up mum!
Most of us will get the dreaded cold or flu at least once this sickly season and even though they only last a few days normally they can still be a pretty rotten few days… If your lucky like me and have already had the flu this year they can easily turn into something worse like a chest infection, which I’m still carrying the remaining tell tale signs of… Aka coughing up disgusting phlegm balls at random… Mmm attractive!
But what about illness that last for more than a few days? Dealing with a chronic illness like diabetes, epilepsy, asthma or chronic pain is difficult, and almost certainly means some major changes in your life. You can adjust to living with a chronic illness by getting good info, and talking to people - doctors, counsellors, or other people living with the illness.
Our health is our most important asset and there is lots we can do to best to take care of ourselves, but our mental health can take a hit when trying to manage an illness, even in the short term but getting informed and focusing on the things you can do (& are in control of) is the key!
This weeks get real session will be all about managing illness - we'll talk about coping with the winter sicknesses, and managing other health issues that might come up. But we'll also explore what happens when a chronic illness takes hold and how you can look after yourself or someone else if a friend or family member has something serious going on with their health.
So come join @Chessca_H and myself at 8pm AEST on Monday for some support and good time!!! *Tissues provided
In the meantime here's Jordan talking about how she dealt with her chronic illness
My dad has an acquired brain injury. It makes life very difficult for him, but he still has a smile on his face. My dad is my hero.
I also have a chronic illness that will one day kill me (atm it doesn't affect me but as I get older it will get worse)
Also mental illness can be like a chronic illness, it's something I battle with daily.
@redhead that sounds like so much to deal with... you must be a really strong person. Im glad you have such a good relationship with your dad
I'm lucky I don't have school uni or work, So its a bit easier for me.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t stop when we get sick. What are some ways of coping with illness while trying to deal with other parts of your life?
Yes, unfortunately not. Coping with 'life commitments' while sick is something I really struggle with (because of difficulties managing the anxiety that I experience secondary to being sick). As a result I'm not really too sure on good ways to cope... I generally try to limit commitments if I can, let people know that I'm struggling and try to be kind to myself. I also make sure that I keep trying to do things to make me well again (e.g. going to the doctor, keeping up with healthy eating, taking any required medication etc...).
Unfortunately, life doesn’t stop when we get sick. What are some ways of coping with illness while trying to deal with other parts of your life?
I'm really struggling with this at the moment. But I guess the main thing is to never exhert yourself so that you crash harder than what you have already have. It'll just make recovery twice as long.
Great point @stonepixie i recently tried to get back into things too early after being sick then then it became a chest infection so that didnt help at all! So now ill always be sure to make get fully recovered before getting stuff into life again
Good to see that you're all so supportive of the people around you 🙂
Illness doesn’t always mean the occasional cold or flu, but also the problem of chronic illness. Have you ever been affected by chronic illness (in yourself or someone close to you) and how did it effect you if you have?
Illness doesn’t always mean the occasional cold or flu, but also the problem of chronic illness. Have you ever been affected by chronic illness (in yourself or someone close to you) and how did it effect you if you have?
This an interesting question for me.n While I've never had a chronic physical illness, I have been experiencing a variety of health symptoms for about 6 months (e.g. headaches and nausea) which have been having a profound impact on my life. They've sometimes stopped me going to work, made it difficult for me to concentrate get things done and have increased my anxiety tenfold. It's very difficult especially when I have no idea what is going on, but I can't imagine what it must be like for those with a diagnosed chronic illness.
@delicatedreamer Alzheimers can be so hard to deal with 😞 and sad to watch. Sucks that it was in your family. At least she has you 🙂
Thanks for contributing tonight everyone!!! And to everyone thats sick i hope you get better sooon!!!!!! Im going to go to bed and get some sleep so that hopefully i dont get sick again this winter!!
Thanks for tonight's session everyone! Catch you all next week? Or is that too far ahead to put in your diary?
Love you all!
N1ghtW1ng
Thanks for the chat tonight everyone, and thanks to SJG and Chessca_H for facilitating :). Good night all!
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by chronic illness but my mum has an old injury that has come back to haunt her. It means that she can barely move without being in pain and since I had a special event the other weekend which she couldn't attend which made me sad. And my dad also had issues with his stomach awhile ago which he had to go into hospital for and still effects him.
I guess I just have to be there for them when they need me.
@N1ghtW1ng sounds like they are lucky to have you as a daughter 🙂
@stonepixie sorry you have had to deal with it so much, but its probably made you a very resiliant person!
Awesome session everyone! Time to wrap up now, but here's what we talked about tonight:
- First we talked about how we all handle getting sick. Mostly we agreed that we needed a bit of downtime when we were feeling sick, along with maybe getting a bit moody or experiencing some anxiety, but sometimes trying to push through it and get on with it when we can.
- Next we talked about some of the things we could do to relax while feeling under the weather. Some suggestions included watching movies/tv shows, having a long bath, sleeping, practicing mindfulness and general self care.
- Then we covered looking after our mental health while dealing with illness. Some things that came up were trying to remain positive, challenging negative thoughts, talking to friends, practicing self-care (e.g. making sure to eat well/take medication) and getting fresh air.
- After that we talked about the people in our lives that support us while we’re not feeling great. Family (specifically parents) came up quite a bit, as well as close friends. While some people said they prefer to be mostly alone when they weren’t feeling well, a big point that came up was knowing that the people you trust were reachable by phone, internet, etc.
- Next we talked about looking after others when we’re sick and what we can do to make them feel a bit better. Some points included being there to listen, taking care of stressful tasks, making sure they have what they need for recovery and asking about specific needs.
- Then we talked about managing other aspects of life while feeling sick. Points that came up were monitoring to not over do it and getting support from others.
- After that we talked about chronic illness. A number of us had been affected by chronic illnesses in others and ourselves, affecting life on an overarching and a day-to-day basis.
Thank you all for contributing!
Illness doesn’t always mean the occasional cold or flu, but also the problem of chronic illness. Have you ever been affected by chronic illness (in yourself or someone close to you) and how did it effect you if you have?
Even though chronic illnesses exist widely in my family, it hasn't really had an effect on me as that is the way I grew up so it is not something that is noticible to me.
Well i have coeliacs disease and im also dairy intolerant, not sure if that classifies as chronic illness but it is difficult, i have a very stict diet now and most i just stick to the positives like how it forces me to have a healthy diet. But it is very expenisve to keep up with my diet and as a student i do struggle with that.
