When living with chronic pain or chronic illness long enough, at times some people can start to believe that their discomfort is normal, until a moment comes and they are reminded that in fact it is not. Many people who live with chronic pain and illness may quickly understand what I am referring to... those moments when you look around and realize that nobody else in the room is experiencing the pain that you are. This may feel obvious to some; however, pain and discomfort may have become the new normal for many people living with pain. It is always or usually there, and some people may have even forgotten what it is like to live without it.
Living with a chronic illness and managing one's own life can be an enormous challenge. A person may have to make accommodations and adjustments to their daily routine, including things like meals, physical activity, work, and social events. This can often feel frustrating and challenging. However, many mothers who live with chronic illness much rather prefer that to what it feels like having to manage their illness while also being a parent.
Being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) is not just of medical concern. It can also have a tremendous impact on a woman's emotional wellbeing. The various emotions a woman will experience will of course vary depending on the particular individual, and the specific type of STD; however, some common emotions are feelings of self-blame, guilt, anger, despair, depression, shame, a feeling of being misunderstood, and fear. Lets discuss some of these emotions.
Do you wonder why it has been so difficult to have a long-term satisfying relationship? Is it hard for you to meet new people? Perhaps you have no trouble meeting new people but find developing intimacy challenging? Maybe you have tried dating sites, exploring new social avenues, or even a match maker, but have you ever considered psychotherapy?
You are about to become a parent or have recently become one. Naturally you want to experience all of the joys that arrive with parenthood and are expected to do so by society. You may also be experiencing an enormous amount of stress, which comes with the great adjustment to life that parenthood requires.
Do you stress eat to numb certain feelings that seem unmanageable? Do you use food like a drug to avoid unpleasant emotions, such as anxiety or stress? Are you unfamiliar with healthier ways to cope with stress? Has stress eating been a default coping mechanism throughout your life, beginning in childhood? Perhaps you learned stress eating as a coping mechanism during childhood by watching family members stress eat.
Has your body become a source of frustration due to aging, injury, illness, or pregnancy? Do you find yourself feeling limited in engaging in physical activities that you used to enjoy? People can often feel a sense of loss or even depression when they can no longer use there bodies in the ways that they may have always taken for granted.
Feeling as if there is no control over one's body or health, is one of the most frightening experiences a person may have. In fact, it can be so terrifying that at times it may be traumatic, causing a person to think about this loss of control over and over, and maybe even leading a person to create scary scenarios about the future.
"Passing" may be a more relevant construct for people living with invisible illnesses; however, it can be an issue to grapple with for all people who live with chronic illness, as illness can be more visible during some times and less during others. If a person who is living with illness is "passing," that would mean that to others, that person appears as seemingly "healthy."
Can one walk two paths side by side at the same time every day? Can one be in the present, engaged in the beauty of the mundane; the richness and value of daily life...work, hobbies, home and play, while at the same time always preparing, processing, and knowing about the time when things will inevitably change?
What happens when a person who lives with a chronic illness finds him/herself in a situation in which s/he has to care for someone else? This can be quite a balancing act and can follow with many feelings, such as confusion, guilt, ambivalence, exhaustion, anxiety, and even depression. How does a person find him/her self in such a situation and what can s/he do about it to cope as best as possible in the given circumstance?
