[CHAT] The sickness
Illness is such a broad term, but it's something that affects us all at one point or another. On Monday 13th of July at 8pm, Getting Real is going to be focusing on, and the impact on life. A chronic illness is any medical condition that lasts a long time, and subsequently they require ongoing maintenance and support. Examples include diabetes, asthma, and epilepsy but can also be depression, anxiety or bipolar if the illness is complex, ongoing and impacts your day-to-day functioning.
Young people can be affected by illness not just by having it, but also through secondary means by supporting and caring for others. Having a good support network is so important when it comes to chronic illnesses and we can't forget about the impact of the illness on friends and family. More and more, young people are becoming the main carers of a parent or family member with a chronic illness.
Whilst I am fortunate enough to have not personally experienced any major illness, anyone can develop chronic diseases. Some celebrities have even shared their experiences with chronic illness.
Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future star), at just 30 years of age, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to walk and move.
Ruby Rose has had depression "for more years than I can remember."
Even Kim Kardashian lives with a chronic disease, Psoriasis. It is an autoimmune disease, meaning the condition results from the immune system attacking the body's own cells, rather than foreign invaders.
The point is people can learn to live with a chronic illness, rather than be defined by it. Chronic illnesses often change people’s lives - sometimes dramatically, sometimes slowly over time. It’s not just the physical or mental condition that people have to manage – it’s their whole life. Sufferers of chronic illness ride a rollercoaster of emotional changes, social changes, and environmental changes. Gaining treatment, education, and support are therefore crucial factors for individuals who are suffering, you don’t have to ride the metaphorical rollercoaster alone.
In the mean time, check out Jordan’s story to ReachOut regarding living with chronic illness, and how she effectively coped and got through her situation.
Whether you suffer from a chronic illness, support someone who is, or like me, just want to find out more, join us on Monday 13 July at 8pm, AEST! We’ll be chatting about everything regarding illness, including experience, diagnosis, coping, management, and support.
6. Despite how much we try to help our friends, sometimes they may pick up some bad behaviours as coping mechanisms. What are some negative coping mechanisms people might adopt when dealing with illness?
I have seen friends and me myself have picked up bad coping mechanisms initially to cope with my illness.
Some have been self harm, drug/alcohol abuse, isolating oneself, shutting people out.
4. What would you say to a friend who has just been diagnosed with an illness? And how it is important to act around them?
I would say I'm here for them and if they need someone to vent to, or to just lay about in bed with i'd be there.
I'd also treat them as I had previously whilst being empathetic to their needs.
I have severe depression, anxiety, OCD and borderline personality disorder and I am really struggaling as I don't really have a support system
hey @Rose61
sounds like you have heaps going on in your life at the moment 
must be so tough. i'm really glad you're here with us tonight though because we're going to be talking about getting help and how we can manage illness!
remember, if you ever feel like you need support you can always come post in other sections of the forum too and we can provide you with some specific info or tips 🙂
Pysical illness
Mental illness
One of my best mates parents has kidney failure, pretty sad cause everyone knows what the outcome will be, its just a matter of when. 😕
Fear and anxiety over the future. Worry if they can keep up with the costs of treatments... worry about how much of an impact it will have on family.
sorry to hear about your friend @j95
physical illnesses are scary. it's easier to sort of picture in your head than a mental illness. i hope your friend is getting some support... but i know you're probably there for them. you're always caring to the people around you.
3. What are common reactions when someone who has been diagnosed with an illness and why might they experience these reactions?
Anxiety and fear because you may not know what impact it will have on your life.
Relief because you now have a name for your illness and can 'hopefully' try and find a suitable treatment
Hi everyone! 
Tonight we are going to be chatting about living with illness. This is a topic that might be familiar to a number of our Reachout users so we are hoping for a really active discussion here on Getting Real ! 
The chat tonight will be moderated by me (lanejane) and @OrangeOliver. We’d like you to remember to have a read of the community guidelines before starting and don't forget that if you feel at any point like you need to take a break or talk to someone we have a section for emergency help.
To start off our Getting Real session tonight we'd like to ask...
1. What are some sort of illnesses people might suffer with?
(I’ll give you a hint for one: what sort of illness do we often deal with here at Reachout?)
Mental illness is a big one, I myself have anxiety. There are also things like disabilities that people can't see but people require treatment for. I for example also have Dyspraxia which affects my co-ordination and my speech this has led to many rounds of speech therapy, 2 operations on my palate and OT. I wouldn't class it as a illness but its something that I will have to deal with long term.
thanks for joining us @ErinsAntics and @chandelier
sounds like you guys will be able to add lots of value to the chat tonight.
i've never heard of dyspraxia. how long have you had this for? i might have to do some google research! we are talking about all sorts of illnesses so it definitley fits in with the chat.
I actually have a page regarding it on my blog (link removed) as I was sick of people asking me if I meant Dyslexia (I don't) and it was good to direct people to a page that I had written myself 
@ErinsAntics so cool that you have a blog and that you are using it as a way to write about your experiences.
unfortunately i had to remove the link to your blog because its outside of our community guidelines - but i'm going to post your definition below to share with the other users! hope that's ok?
"What is Dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is a result of weak or poorly structured neural pathways to the mouth (oral and verbal dyspraxia) or other moving parts of the body (motor dyspraxia). Some children only have verbal dyspraxia, while others only have motor dyspraxia. It is not uncommon for both types to be present in the same person.
How is it treated?
There is no cure for Dyspraxia just management and treatment. Common types of treatment include Speech Therapy (if diagnosed with oral and verbal Dyspraxia) and Occupational Therapy (if diagnosed with motor Dyspraxia). Sometimes surgery will be required to stop airflow through the nose if speech therapy doesn't strengthen the palate."
A really inspiring thing I picked up was also this that you wrote!
"Yes my life is a struggle because of Dyspraxia but at the end of day God is on my side and I refuse to let it stop me from achieving my dreams and living my life. I have no idea how it will continue to affect me but I do know that having to work a bit harder to achieve my dreams has made them that much sweeter when I do"
In response to question 2 I just want to say that I rekon one of the hardest ways it can change our life is that sometimes we LOOK the same, but we FEEL completely different.
Can be super hard and a really big adjustment for us!
2. How do you think living with an illness can change your life?
It can change every aspect of your daily life. Doing things such as showering and dressing on your own become something you can no longer do for yourself. The person I know has kidney failure has do a dialysis i think its once a day and really struggles to leave the house because things like going out shopping is extra tiring.
Looking forward to contributing tonight. I have suffered from not really an illness but it is called NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorder). This shaped my fine motor skills such as cutting etc, but it's all good now.
welcome @Snakem - very nice to meet you and have you in our getting real session tonight!
i haven't heard of NLD before but i'm learning a lot tonight about all sorts of different illness and disorders that people have experiences in their life. i'm glad that yours has sorted itself out now but im sure it would have been lots of hard work and taken lots of courage to get through it at the time. good work to you! hopefully you had some good family or friends as supports.
-Just frame of mind
-There could be negative stereotypes/stigmas
-Systematic issues like need for care services
