Greetings,
Last year I gave an update of my list of illnesses that were current (https://alifewithfibromyalgia.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-list-i-am-here.html) just to let people know exactly what is going on with me, should they really want to know. Well, this year has been no picnic I can tell you and the COVID-19 pandemic has been just the beginning of it. You throw in costochondritis on top, which has this habit of imitating a heart attack, and things have not been a hell of a lot of fun. (Yes, I have chest pain, and can't breathe properly. No, I don't want you to call an ambulance. I can't breathe properly because I have chest pain. No, it is not my lungs.) Not to mention the other parts of my body have been playing their usual merry hell. Oh, the COVID pandemic has been lots of fun too, especially when you are one of the "high risk" category. Crazy when the rules that you have been following and trying to get others to follow suddenly become policy...
... stay home when unwell.
... wash your hands.
... stay home when unwell.
... wash your hands.
... stay away from sick people, and distance from people in general.
So here we are on "R U OK?" Day again and social media is being flooded with memes and bits and pieces of people asking the simple question. Well, again I am going to say, "No, I am not OK, and I have damned good reasons not to be." That being said, this is my state of affairs. This is what I have to deal with.
I do not expect people to be checking in on me every day, or even today, aside from the fencing class that I have this afternoon. In fact if people did try to check on me every day I would find it truly irritating, but that is just who I am. I work through things myself, for the most part. When I need help, I will get around to asking. Yes, my wife, and my doctor both think this should be more often.
One day out of 365 is not enough, people need to be reaching out to one another all of the other 364 days of the year as well. It is even more so in the current situation with the pandemic going on. People are not "OK" at all. People are feeling isolated, people are feeling like their world is crashing down around them (in some cases it is), people are being confused by different messages which are being put out there, and all of this is creating stress on people. Even for people who aren't "at risk" i.e. those with mental health issues, this is rough.
I do not expect people to be checking in on me every day, or even today, aside from the fencing class that I have this afternoon. In fact if people did try to check on me every day I would find it truly irritating, but that is just who I am. I work through things myself, for the most part. When I need help, I will get around to asking. Yes, my wife, and my doctor both think this should be more often.
One day out of 365 is not enough, people need to be reaching out to one another all of the other 364 days of the year as well. It is even more so in the current situation with the pandemic going on. People are not "OK" at all. People are feeling isolated, people are feeling like their world is crashing down around them (in some cases it is), people are being confused by different messages which are being put out there, and all of this is creating stress on people. Even for people who aren't "at risk" i.e. those with mental health issues, this is rough.
Make time to talk to your friends and family. Use some of that endless phone credit you have. Use some of that endless internet time you have. Get in touch, make a connection, talk to someone. Make a real connection with them, see how they are really going. Make a habit of doing this. If people took it upon themselves to do this it could change things a lot.
Go find a friend or someone in your family to talk to. Not just today, but other days in the year. Make a change for the better. They are interested in what's going on in your life, just as you are actually interested in theirs. Just try it. The time you have in their company will be time you are happy you spent.
Cheers,
Henry.
Go find a friend or someone in your family to talk to. Not just today, but other days in the year. Make a change for the better. They are interested in what's going on in your life, just as you are actually interested in theirs. Just try it. The time you have in their company will be time you are happy you spent.
Cheers,
Henry.
