motherprayer
Elisha
You're welcome. Glad you found this thread helpful. God bless.
And God bless you as well!
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The General Mental Health Forum is now a Read Only Forum. As we had two large areas making it difficult for many to find, we decided to combine the Mental Health & the Recovery sections of the forum into Mental Health & Recovery as a whole. Physical Health still remains as it's own area within the entire Recovery area.
If you are having struggles, need support in a particular area that you aren't finding a specific recovery area forum, you may find the General Struggles forum a great place to post. Any any that is related to emotions, self-esteem, insomnia, anger, relationship dynamics due to mental health and recovery and other issues that don't fit better in another forum would be examples of topics that might go there.
If you have spiritual issues related to a mental health and recovery issue, please use the Recovery Related Spiritual Advice forum. This forum is designed to be like Christian Advice, only for recovery type of issues. Recovery being like a family in many ways, allows us to support one another together. May you be blessed today and each day.
Kristen.NewCreation and FreeinChrist
You're welcome. Glad you found this thread helpful. God bless.
What not to say to people who are Chronically ill... "Oh, I have the exact same thing - sometimes!"
Mmm. Another one for me is because I have extremely bad migraines about half the month or more. Sometimes people will say "I know what thats like. I have a headache every so often!".
While I appreciate them trying to empathize with me, having a headache is not the same as a migraine. Especially if you have one like every month or two. Not that I do the comparison stuff but sometimes some things are worse then others.
Such as I have only had 4 grand mal seizures and currently sleep ones that do nothing to me. I never tell someone who has them every day "I understand!". Because while I know the feeling of a seizure, I can't imagine having one every day.
That is true. Often when someone says they understand, they are simply meaning well since they may have some similar. I know some of my smaller issues, I sometimes will tell someone I can sort of understand what its like and they get mad and say I can't since theirs is worse. It does make me feel like I don't matter even if my problems is smaller.While I agree, one shouldn't compare, one still would like to be validated rather than feeling dismissed as our struggles being no 'big' thing.
That is true. Often when someone says they understand, they are simply meaning well since they may have some similar. I know some of my smaller issues, I sometimes will tell someone I can sort of understand what its like and they get mad and say I can't since theirs is worse. It does make me feel like I don't matter even if my problems is smaller.
I guess the subject is very complicated really.
I just noticed this thread, and can definitely say that, if someone said to me, that they felt like me, sometimes. I would tell them to be more specific. Because I don't have just one chronic physical health problem, I have three and two of the three are congenital. Anyone of which could kill me easily, if they were not controlled.
Yes, I would also tell them, 'I wouldn't wish in a million years, that you had what I have. So don't go telling me, you think you know what is like'.Yes, I find it can be helpful to ask people to clarify their response especially if it's rather inappropriate. It can make people stop and think and can help us make a point.
^^It just gets to a point that one gets tired of others always trying to control and manipulate according to their own agenda etc. It's not like the ones who are pushy have ever stopped to ask what 'I' need or what my view is...apparently they just know me and how I feel so well.... .....NOT.... It's tiring.
Just caught up on this post. As a quickie, I'm dealing with a degenerative neuro-muscular and neurological issue (like MS/MD but not - no definitive tests like those). I've gotten the "you don't look disabled" stuff. When I was in a wheel chair, I would be ignored and the wife, who would be pushing me around (there's a line there )would be the one who would be talkd to, as if I was not capable of converstion.
After 25 years, what I have decided to do is IGNORE these slights and forgive them. I waste my breath trying to educate them. I ignore the bad looks I get when crusing in my power chair. They can walk a whole lot better than I can get around, even in the power chair. I work around the fact that I cannot go look at a rack of clothes in a store because there's no room for me to get between the racks in the chair, and often go shop somewhere else.
Sometime back, I prayed for patience. Well, I have it now.
What I hate is when someone knows what your illness is then tries to compare it to a less serious condition, which makes it sound it's not a big deal, and act like its the same b/c it involves the same area of your body.