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Chronic illnesses /daily life with them Join this Group

quality of life

By October 28, 2011 - 2:58pm

I have suffered with a chronic illness for 13 years. How do we achieve quality of life when we are robbed of so much?

By January 25, 2012 - 2:22pm

Thanks for your input...I think the support of a friend daily in a similar situation would be amazingly helpful. Previous to the past year and a half I spent six years living with roommates-four years with one lady and two years with another. I did it for financial reasons and although I was friends with the lady who I lived with for four years she wasn't chronically ill and it ended up being more stress. If you two are compatible as roommates that is a blessing. Doing activities we enjoy and trying to stay positive I agree are keys. I find surrounding myself with positive people is very important. Your right it is a choice...sometimes it's hard to keep motivating yourself alone. But being negative serves no purpose. I had one very close friend of 15 years who also dealt with chronic illnesses and she "got it", but she moved away in the summer..that has been hard. My current friends or family can't truly understand and they don't want to hear how sick I feel...it takes a lot of energy to see people and fake like your a normal person during a visit.

! am 44 years old and my life changed forever when I had a severe car accident at 28 and spent two years in rehabilitation and then the chronic illnesses came. It's been a long road and I am still seeking to find my purpose as my life changed forever that fateful day and it will never be what it was. What can I make of it now to fill that void inside. I just started back in psychotherapy and want to work on finding my purpose when I lost what I considered a happy life at 28. And I want to work on adjusting my ideas of a normal life when it comes to work and having an intimate partner...it seems being so ill makes them both impossible.

Religion is a hot topic but I'll venture to say that my parents never raised me with any organized religion. I do consider myself a spiritual person and have certain beliefs, other things I'm not so sure about...but I also seek to fill that void inside of me in a way that fits for me. I think faith is great and when you don't have something or someone larger than yourself to believe in you are at a disadvantage. I'm glad you can share your faith together.

January 25, 2012 - 2:22pm
By January 25, 2012 - 11:52am

I just moved in with a friend of many years who also suffers from chronic illnesses. We made this change hoping to support each other in our infirmaties. She helps me in ways I need and I help her in ways she needs. We could let life get us down, but we choose to involve ourselves in activities we both enjoy. She collects Lee Middleton dolls and I crochet. We both make jewelry together. We watch a lot of TV and enjoy our devotional times in God's Word. It takes effort to make something positive of our days, but we must continue to try. Otherwise it would be a death sentence for each of us. We must choose the positive road. It is a choice. Otherwise it would be a miserable, negative existence that would not be enjoyable. We lift each other up and the Lord keeps us lifted up. We pray a lot and that helps also.

January 25, 2012 - 11:52am
By November 2, 2011 - 1:05pm

Thanks for sharing...I try to do a lot of the same things and also have days where I am not as active as I could be either. I guess a big lesson I'm learning is do what you can and enjoy to get your mind off of yourself.

November 2, 2011 - 1:05pm
By November 2, 2011 - 12:24pm

I also suffer from several chronic illnesses, 6 of them, and find it very difficult to cope a lot of the time. One thing I do do, however, is to stay active in my church and the life groups, or small groups we have in the fall and spring. It keeps me plugged in with some very supportive friends and of course staying in the Word of God everyday is very beneficial. But I can also feel very defeated and depressed some days, especially when the pain is overwhelming. It is constant, but tolerable with medications. I also try to walk with friends when I am able. Talking while walking keeps my mind off the pain and chronic fatigue and helps pass some time during the day. I do spend most days in bed, or most of the day in bed. I know that is not healthy in a lot of ways, but sometimes it is the only way I can cope. While I lay there I read or watch TV to pass the time and keep my mind focused on something else besides myself.

November 2, 2011 - 12:24pm

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Ideas that we can share as whole how to cope with daily living with chronic illnesses. Tips, support, how to make housework, life easier, how to deal with children, spouses, friends who do not understand what it is like...just a support group that will help make living with chronic illnesses easier.

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