Mental Health - Tips

from my perspective (going on 7 years with this, but with more recent onset of new symptoms), even though it's been a little while, I remember distinctly how scared I felt when my symptoms first came on. it's such an unpredictable disease which makes it even more stressful at times.

my first recommendation (although probably the hardest) is to try to change your mindset from one of fear and loss (fixating on how much hearing you've lost, how different your "previous" life was) to one of pride in yourself. think of how well you've been handling these sudden changes in your life and how much you've faced already, and brainstorm ways that you can work collaboratively with your body even while it's at a lesser capacity. I've found this has helped me slow down in my day to day life as well rather than trying to race through without consideration for my body and mental health. on the same note, I've found it really helpful to start doing more activities that get me connected with my body, whether that is exercise, meditation, etc. After spending so much of my teen years in and out of doctors, searching for cures, etc it was easy to feel at war with my body, and I only recently realized how detrimental that was to my mental health. it's definitely not an easy thing to fix, but learning to respect your body for what it can, has, and will do for you is probably the most helpful thing in handling periods of change like this.

I also found it helpful to learn about disability pride, specifically relating to Deaf culture and chronic illness. when I first lost my hearing, I was terrified of becoming fully deaf since I'd had no exposure to deafness before and couldn't picture myself getting by in the world like that. however, the more I learned about Deaf culture, ASL, etc. the less scared I became because I could picture myself living a full life even if I lost all my hearing. I love the movie The Sound of Metal, but there's plenty of good movies/shows/books about deafness out there.

it's also important to recognize that there will be times of remission, both mentally and physically, but that they are not the end of the world. I've just recently started having continuous dizziness/vertigo for the past few weeks and it definitely put me in a funk for a while - all I felt like I could do for a few days was sit on the couch and play video games. but each of those periods of sudden change you go through with your body makes you just a little more prepared the next time, so those episodes do get easier.

I think ultimately the most important thing to do is to take things day by day and make sure to rest, take care of yourself, and do the things you enjoy to the fullest extent possible while you're first dealing with this. don't be afraid to reach out to your community (online and in person) to vent. you'll be surprised later on when you look back on how far you've come without realizing it : )

 

Hi there,

I also found the mental aspect of the disease to be very troublesome. I think most important thing is to find some professional help: your family doctor, psychiatrist, etc.

I am currently doing cognitive behaviour therapy online and taking escitalopram.

 

For me...it's been the toughest year of my life. Ive been so sick and dizzy the only thing left is cry it out. I take meds anti-anxiety/depression. I never know how I am going to feel from one part of the day to the next. Cannabis has helped some, it definitely relives the retching/nausea, which in turn allows my body then mind to feel some relief.
-Find something you can do, something new, something that can occupy your mind and time.
-Find a significant other/friend, somebody, anybody that you can trust and tell them how scared you are.
-Accept your limits. That is the tough one.
-Challenge your limits, also a tough one.

 

Thanks for your perspective! It was the first to pop up when I searched "anxiety", and immediately helped. I've had issues for a month or so, and was wondering how to "cope/manage"...thank you, again...I really hope for the best for you, and everyone who is dealing with this!

 

A follow up..."Accept your limits" is something I'm struggling with...my work is full-tilt, very active, and my feeling that I "can't" keep pace has left me stressed out, and actually embarrassed. Learning how to take care of MYSELF is almost a foreign concept. Thanks, guys.