I wanted to write about the impact of the Covid 19 lockdown on me personally, because it would seem from friends points of view or from reading various social media comments that people might think it hasn't made much of a difference to those that would normally be housebound alot anyway. At least from my … Continue reading Covid 19: Lockdown And Chronic Illness
They say seeing is believing. So how do I show someone that I have an invisible illness? How do I explain it in a believable way? It's crazy that something so very real, incredibly painful and hugely debilitating to me can be disbelieved by others simply because they can't see it. I believe it because … Continue reading Invisible illness. Seeing is believing.
There's been so much media attention surrounding the importance of speaking out about our mental health difficulties and it's a common misconception that once you do speak out you can get the help that you so desperately need. Sadly from my experience it's been incredibly difficult to get that help and surprisingly easy to slip … Continue reading Mental Health: The struggles after speaking out.
Have you ever just sat staring into space pondering over a simple decision and then before you know it, 15 minutes has passed and you've forgotten what you were doing or given up and moved onto something else? That's what I like to refer to as my decision fatigue. Life with both a physical and … Continue reading How I reduce my decision fatigue.
Since being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome my life has been challenging to say the least. Before my illness I was working full time and living alone. My house was mortgaged but I was managing pretty well financially. I had spare cash every month to spend on whatever I wanted and I enjoyed having my own … Continue reading Living alone with a chronic illness is really hard.
When I was initially diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome I was in excruciating pain and being given doses of Morphine throughout the day and night in an attempt to make the pain bearable. I also couldn't walk on my own and had lost normal use of my arms and facial muscles. Although I was extremely happy … Continue reading My go to products for life after Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Living with a mental illness such as depression is really tough. It can be very lonely at times. Friends don't keep in touch as often because I'm not out socialising. There's days when my only contact with another human being has been via text message. Days can seem very tedious, especially because I also suffer … Continue reading 10 reasons why owning a pet can help with depression.
Since my Guillain-Barre Syndrome diagnosis, one of the the things I've noticed is that people often don't consider me to be 'sick' or disabled if visually there is nothing wrong with me. Huge assumptions are made based on how I look. I don't have a wheelchair or walking aid so it's assumed I don't have … Continue reading Spoon Theory Explained.
Learning to accept things you can't change sounds like it should be a simple thing to do. For me, it's been a really difficult lesson and one that I'm continuing to work on every day, but it does really help me to stay positive when I'm able to accept situations that I can't control. Many … Continue reading Acceptance is an important life lesson.
Maintaining relationships while you're dealing with any illness both physical or mental is really difficult. When I was physically ill and couldn't walk, it took away alot of the choices I once had. I was suddenly dependent on others to come and visit me. I had no control over where or when I could see … Continue reading Relationships are hard when you’re depressed.
Under The Rainclouds 