Immediately after a diagnosis or injury, you may feel you will never cope with what life has dealt you. Overwhelming feelings of sorrow, anger, and unfairness are very common and absolutely normal. But somehow, most people do eventually adjust to their new lives. In this article, we look at coping strategies and find out how others have learned to live with a neurological condition.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Up to 1 in 3 people who survive a subarachnoid hemorrhage are thought to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – a natural reaction to the trauma of surviving a life-threatening situation. After a close brush with death, they may become aware of their own mortality, and become much more anxious about health or other issues.
Post-traumatic stress disorder may also affect you if you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic accident or injury.
If you think you may be affected, speak to your GP or specialist.
Looking to the future (and being realistic)
If you are newly affected by a serious injury or illness, thoughts of the future may at first be very upsetting. Your life is likely to be very different from what you may have hoped or planned for yourself and facing up to this may be painful.
Motivating yourself can help to set yourself small, achievable goals. It’s important to be realistic about these! What may have seemed insignificant before your illness may represent a huge challenge now, as Patsy, who survived a subarachnoid hemorrhage, found:
“It would even be the stupid little things like, say, today I’m going to walk to the house 3 doors away. And I’d do it and then it would be 4 doors away or I’d go to the postbox or something… And it was even things like, this morning I’m going to put my own socks on, rather than have my husband do it,” she says.
Pursuing your goal will give you a sense of purpose, and a great sense of achievement when you fulfill it successfully. Making a note of these successes can also give you hope and show you how far you have progressed.
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