[mayarose]

Hi guys,

I know some of you must share this concern, so I wanted to ask - do any of you have a chronic disease? I have Type 1 diabetes, Celiac, and a couple of other things which are sort of central to my life. And one more thing got added today, and I feel like the camel's back just broke. I want to talk to my T, but I don't want to sound like I am complaining. I am just really sad. Do you know what I mean?

Maya

[susan888]

((Maya))

My daughter has a chronic, incurable bladder disease that has impacted every aspect of her life. She tells me that it is such a bad feeling that no one can understand what she is going through (she does have a lot of family support). I have been encouraging her to seek counseling and try to find a support group for others that have her disease.

Please talk to your T! You need and deserve support and you need a "safe place" to express how your health issues make you feel.

Sending you positive thoughts tonight..

[googley]

(((((Maya))))))

I'm so sorry. I also have celiac disease. I know that when I talk about it in session sometimes it just seems like complaining. However, I also try to remember that T is a place for me to be able to vent my frustration about my celiac to someone who isn't going to be affected by my ability to eat or not eat what is being served. The only thing that drives me nuts (now) is having to educate my T about my disease so she will understand. When I was first diagnosed I was reading everything I could get my hands on and so the T I was seeing then was learning as I learned.

I'm really sorry you were diagnosed with another disease. There is a website www.celiac.com which provides support for people with celiac disease if you haven't seen it. Also there is a forum here on PC for chronic disease support too.

[BlackCanary]

I have heart disease, had a heart attack. I became very depressed in the weeks that followed and therapy was the treatment I added (already had prozac). It's been a huge help in identifying stressors, managing stress, managing boundaries (learning to say NO), being mindful about my choices, paying attention to the messages from my body, etc.
It is also hard when "you don't look sick!" to others; that's why it is great to have an online community (mine is WomenHeart) where everyone understands when you need to vent and cry and whine and say "Why me? Why more?"

Hugs and strength to you as you face the challenges!

My husband has reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and diabetes. The RSD is a chronic, degenerative, neurological pain syndrome and the mental health issues arising from living in such debilitating pain are huge.

[Perna]

Do talk to your therapist; there are therapists who specialize in just that issue of how physical illnesses can really mess with your head.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealt...alillness.aspx

[ErinBear]

Hi MayaRose,

I have multiple health issues, and being able to talk about it in therapy has really helped me. I have rheumatoid arthritis, trigeminal neuralgia (a painful nerve disorder in my face), and interstitial cystitis, a painful bladder problem, to name some. All of these things have affected my life, and it hasn't always been easy to talk about them in counseling, but the support my counselor has provided has been really essential in being able to cope with it all. Some things are hard to talk about with friends or others; it can be hard to share how difficult health issues really are and how it affects us. Counselors are trained to really listen when things are tough, and that includes health issues. Getting support for this can help us get through it all. I hope you can share with your T about it...thinking of you.

Take care,
ErinBear

[mayarose]

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I did call my T, but it was hard to leave a message without sort of crying. I know I will see T on Wednesday, but I am still scared I won't be able to get through it without crying. I think of myself as all complain, complain, complain. Part of me knows that is not true, but that is what I am afraid of.

[ErinBear]

Dear Maya,

I have a hard time crying anywhere, including in counseling. Maybe that is your experience, too. However, it is an honest human experience, and it is healthy, and it's a real reaction to having yet another diagnosis when you're already dealing with a lot. I know my counselor has done a lot to help me deal with crying when it happens, and my guess is that your counselor would help you with crying, too, if it happens. I bet your counselor would do everything possible to make the environment safe for you and to make that situation okay - my counselor always told me that my tears were even beautiful, which is so different to think about! I hope you really can talk with your counselor about what is going on with you, and get additional support at this difficult time. My thoughts remain with you.

Take care,
ErinBear