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    Hello! I'm New...

    My name is Serieve (imsmandrews). I just signed up to The Mighty today (03/23/2023). My "About Me" section is filled out, if anyone is interested. An adult, I live in Ontario, Canada. My main Chronic Illnesses | Disabilities are a Brain Injury, Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, MECFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and various Neurological symptoms. MECFS has very much derailed my life; I'm mainly housebound, am often in bed (not by choice), and I cannot work mainstream currently (eg. 8-4, 9-5).

    I dislike most willful ignorance and stupidity (Ableism comes to mind).

    Does anyone know if there is a place on here to ask questions about site preferences How-To's and related?

    What are some things newcomer members like myself should know about The Mighty?

    After checking out Groups and Topics, where should I go from here?

    #Canada #Disability #BrainInjury #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #PrematureBirth #Disabled

    5 reactions 5 comments
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    Becoming a grandmother

    I thought becoming a grandmother would be the most exciting thing in the world. Instead it’s made me extremely depressed because I don’t get to see him. I don’t even get a FaceTime with him. My heart is broken by the way I was treated after he was born. It was during the pandemic. I found out later her Mother was able to hold him. I was not able to hold him until he was 8 weeks old and I had to wear a hazmat suit. Her mother did not. She was able to hold him from day one. My husband and I are a lot older than her parents and we are not as well off financially. My son aloud this to happen and did nothing to stop it. I do not feel anything anymore. I have a brain injury that has gotten worse due to the depression and hurt I suffer with everyday. I don’t feel like a grandmother nor am I treated as one. On my birthday this past October I got a call from both my sons thats it. I waited for a FaceTime from my grandson that never came. I was devastated. They live close by it’s not like it’s out of state. We are not aloud to babysit him. We have offered and they make an excuse. Christmas with Santa Claus not us. Easter bunny not us. Valentine’s Day came and I finally had to say I had a gift and it would not reach him in time. She told me they would plan sometime to come out. They stopped in for 90 minutes sat and looked at their phones. He got his gift and they left. Everytime they leave I am crying and depressed. I hurt my back lifting him to get the mail. I’m still trying to heal my back. That was the last time we have seen or heard from them. We don’t seem to matter to them. I wanted to do something with Santa last year. My son says make it happen!!! I don’t know what he means by that. Then I see they took the train ride with Santa and we were not asked to come along. So if they already did it then why tell us to make it happen. I really have nothing to live for anymore. It’s getting worse and my son is now a stranger to me. The only way to protect my heart from more damage is to pull away. I really don’t know what else to do. I’m not rich Lyme disease took all my money. These last 3 years have been a living hell. Lost my mother , my brother and 6 others to suicide. Plus 22 more. I can’t even work anymore on line.
    #brokenheart
    #Depression
    #BrainInjury
    #Hoarding
    #LossOfAParent
    #PTSD
    #LymeDisease
    #RareDisease
    #AutoimmuneDisease
    #AutonomicDysfunction
    #dyautomia
    #Isolation
    #PudendalNeuralgia
    #suicidalprevention
    #EmotionalHealth
    #AcuteStressDisorder
    #livingwithabuse
    #ADHD
    #KidneyDisease
    #dentalpain
    #Anxiety
    #PanicAttacks
    #Trauma
    #venting

    5 reactions
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    What are you grateful for? What can you be thankful for to keep you holding on during tough times?

    Please let's all share our blessings in life that we are thankful for. In
    dark and trying times (like right now), I try to always remember the things I am grateful for and remind myself that without any/all of them my life could be much less manageable

    I am grateful for:

    -Being alive!
    -Being able to walk, even if I need mobility devices
    -Having a roof over my head
    -Having food on the table
    -Having great doctors, nurses, my therapist, my shrink, numerous specialists and my clinic - and having the insurance to pay for them - as well as insurance to pay for my many medications!
    -Having a strong network of family and friends and always being able to know that I am loved and supported ...and
    -Having my relative health - things could always be worse!

    What are you thankful for?

    Maybe thank someone who you are grateful for and let them know how helpful they are and how much it means to you to have their support. Sometimes people don’t know how much they impact other’s lives!

    #Depression #Anxiety #MentalHealth #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Chronicpainwarrior #BipolarDisorder #Bipolar2Disorder #Bipolar1Disorder #Stigma #BipolarDepression
    #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ADHD #Autism #Dementia #Addiction #AddictionRecovery #BrainInjury #LossOfAParent #Grief #SuicideSurvivors #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #HIVAIDS #longtermsurvivor #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #MightyQuestions #DownSyndrome #IfYouFeelHopeless #Hope #Deaf #CongestiveHeartFailure #Migraine #COVID19 #PeripheralNeuropathy #LymeDisease #Diabetes #EatingDisorders #Headache #Stroke #help #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Fibromyalgia #thankful #grateful #EatingDisorders #CocaineDependence #drugaddict #PTSD #EmotionalHealth #physicalhealth #PainAcceptance #Acceptance #relief #Happiness #TheMighty #MightyMinute #MightyTogether #DistractMe #MightyTogether #mentalhealthwarrior #RareDisease #ChronicFatigue

    23 reactions 8 comments
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    Surviving is just part of the journey…making the most of the time it gives you and realizing there can be good times despite the struggles is a gift!

    It’s not all about survival, there is a lot of living to do along the way. Although at times I feel like I am just treating one ailment after another, all day every day (which is true right now) I’ve decided why take all the time and energy it takes to survive everything unless I don’t enjoy how the time given to me by surviving is ripe for good times too.

    Recently I have mostly been homebound except to go to health appointments… doctors, PT & OT, clinics, therapy etc. and then only with a walker and the benefit of handicapped parking spots. But I try to continue to celebrate the gifts I have in life, be thankful for the blessings I have that make life just a little more bearable and remind myself of what I’ve been through, how I’ve survived and what I’ve learned from these experiences. If I consider all this, then I must be a very wise man 😉 I may have dropped out of college but I have a Masters degree from the School of Hard Knocks … the diploma is not needed, I know I have accomplished it and need no reminder…I’m still alive after all!

    Tough times have given me the chance to tap into my inner strength and I’ve also grown along the way. I don’t have to wait to celebrate the good times when I am experiencing some right now despite what I’m going through!

    Thank you all for the love, support, thoughts and prayers, I certainly couldn’t have done this alone!

    #Depression #Anxiety #MentalHealth #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Chronicpainwarrior #Disability #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #Bipolar2Disorder #Bipolar1Disorder #Stigma #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #RareDisease #AspergersSyndrome #ADHD #Autism #Dementia #Addiction #AddictionRecovery #Cancer #TraumaticBrainInjury #BrainInjury #LossOfAParent #Grief #SuicideSurvivors #ChronicFatigue #DistractMe #HIVAIDS #longtermsurvivor #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #MightyQuestions #DownSyndrome #IfYouFeelHopeless #Hope #Deafness #neckpain #BackPain #CongestiveHeartFailure #Migraine #COVID19 #PeripheralNeuropathy #LymeDisease #Diabetes #EatingDisorders #Headache #Stroke #help #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Fibromyalgia #thankful #grateful #EatingDisorders #CocaineDependence #drugaddict #PTSD #EmotionalHealth #physicalhealth #PainAcceptance #Acceptance #relief #Happiness #Selflove #Selfcare #MightyMinute #MentalHealthHero
    #TheMighty #InsideTheMighty #MightyTogether #DistractMe

    37 reactions 8 comments
    Post

    Do you unexpectedly start to cry?

    I have a TBI. A few days ago, I completed a task that caused internal stress. After the task was complete, and I really do not have anything to do, I start to cry unexpectedly. Nothing is externally causing this. This is new to me. Any experience with this trait?

    #BrainInjury #PTSD #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder

    8 reactions 9 comments
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    Concussion from rising bus

    I was on the bus the other day when the driver sped up to beat a light only to slam on the brakes. I went flying across the seat. Turns out I have a concussion and a back injury from it. I already have acquired brain injury from brain surgery thirty years ago. I feel horrible. #Concussion #Pain

    1 reaction 1 comment
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    Processing Strong Emotions After Brain Injury

    It’s pretty hard at times to see others move on with their lives. It’s pretty hard at times to feel like you are losing touch with everyone else’s reality. It’s pretty hard to deal with limitations that others don’t have to continuously factor in. Finally, it’s pretty hard to feel as though you’re being left behind. I believe that it‘s not intentional, but saying that all of the above isn’t true – to any varying degree – would also be a mistake.

    I’ve come to learn that life doesn’t stand still when encephalitis and brain injury crossed my path. It can sting for sure to see others move on, but if you keep shifting your focus back onto what’s really important, magic can occur in your world too.

    How has chronic illness affected me?
    I have rummaged a fair bit about all this over the past few years. Tears have flown time and time again and to be honest, they can still flow at times. However, I’ve sort of decided to process all that anger, sadness and frustration in a more positive way. I truly feared that the way I had been handling this aspect of my life could keep dragging my mental health down and this could no longer be an option. I’ve come too far in so many aspects of my recovery to let this be my own demise.

    The question was how do I change my ways?

    Well I believe that I am allowed to feel what I feel at any particular point in time…I think that sweeping emotions under the carpet wouldn’t be the way to go either. However, I believed that there was room for improvement when it came to seeing my emotions take over and lingering for a prolonged period of time. It came down to me realising that it’s not about what others may or may not have done as I have no control over their decisions. It’s about making conscious decisions to invest time and energy in what works for me and my own priorities in order to help me realise my short, medium and long term goals.

    I’ve spent a fair amount of time figuring out what those goals might be over the past few years and I simply cannot afford letting my emotions cloud my judgment to such an extent anymore.

    Strategies to help manage lingering emotions?
    Writing and journaling are probably top of my list. They help me process my emotions in a more positive manner, help me get rid of the clutter and shift my focus back onto what really matters.

    Time in nature is another one. Observing all the beauty that nature has to offer makes me realise that things aren’t so grim after all. It makes me feel more grounded, it slows the avalanche of thoughts and it helps me appreciate the simple things that are too often taken for granted.

    Deep breathing…something so simple, so accessible and – BONUS ALERT – absolutely free of charge. Deep breathing has a way to calm those strong emotions. Once the intensity of those emotions is under control, it becomes easier to focus on what’s truly important in the great scheme of all things and to not stew so much on past events. Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which in turn allows your frontal cortex to re-engage and view things more rationally.

    Exercising is another strategy that I use consistently. The intensity or type of exercise does not really matter as it’s more about moving my body, oxygenating my blood and doing something that makes me feel good. It’s also about making time in my busy schedule for self-care and myself.

    Read the full story: www.weirdwonderfulbrain.com/post/brain-injury-processing-str...

    4 reactions 2 comments
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    Connecting with Encephalitis Survivors

    This topic came as a suggestion from a follower and brain injured friend. To be honest, when I read that suggestion, I was surprised that I hadn’t taken the time to write about it earlier as connecting with others has been such an important part of my journey.

    As we know, brain injury can be very isolating and we can often feel misunderstood by others. For many, it is an invisible injury so grasping the extent of the cognitive and identity changes that have occurred isn’t that straightforward. Although the perception of others can play a role when thinking of connecting with others, I also think that we individually seek some understanding , some clarity about what the future might hold and a sense of normalcy, so this is an aspect of connection that we also need to bear in mind.

    My personal journey with connecting with other survivors
    In the early days of recovery, I was given so little information about my diagnosis, my recovery and its potential outcomes and I remember feeling lost and scared about it all. I wanted to connect with other people who had had encephalitis to get reassurance, but also to get a true picture of what life may look like going forward. I eventually hopped on social media and looked for existing support groups. To my delight, there were quite a few and I started following them all. By reading the posts and associated comments, I was getting a heads up for what things may be like, but I found that many of the groups that I was following weren’t necessarily solution focused. I knew that no two brain injuries were the same, but the pictures painted were often grim and left little place for hope at times. That being said, I did come across some fabulous individuals that I’m in touch with today.

    After a while, I put some of the online groups on the back burner as they could be generating more anxiety than comfort if it makes sense. Dealing with my personal anxiety was overwhelming enough at times so I had to make this call to best support my mental health and overall recovery.

    Attending face to face brain injury support groups wasn’t convenient for me either as I wasn’t allowed to drive, I lived in a rural area of New Zealand where buses weren’t accessible and most of my free time was taken up by medical appointments or resting. I sort of went MIA for a while and although I was feeling very isolated, my desire for connecting with other brain injured people had gone dormant too.

    That desire for connection eventually came back and I started reaching out to different people recovering from brain injury once again. I wanted to build connection based on honesty and authenticity, but I also wanted those connections to spark some hope and to be solution focused. I wanted those connections to support recovery and for them to be conducive of helping me & others move forward. Around that same time, I had just started my blog so when writing a blog, I knew I had to find a way to be relatable yet install a sense of hope too.

    It is a very fine line to walk between too little or too much honesty.

    I eventually came across a few more individuals with lived experience of brain injury and who were seeking similar type of connection. I think this was a pivotal moment for me as it opened up my eyes to a whole world of opportunities. It reminded me that there are so many brain injury survivors out there also seeking understanding, direction and connection. From there, there was no going back, my train of thought being: “if it helps one person out there, it’s worth reaching out.”

    And then, Covid hit and really took things to another level. All of a sudden, everyone could relate to this feeling of isolation and it really confirmed to me that the need for connection is essential in life…potentially even more so for people who have been and will carry on facing health challenges once Covid has been and gone.

    Read the full story: www.weirdwonderfulbrain.com/post/connecting-with-brain-injur...

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