Yes, it is devastating. Beware! It can be so disastrous, you want to end it all.
You are living in a nightmare, unable to wake up. You are extremely vulnerable due to the disabilities, the loss of friends, the evaporation of family, and the loneliness after your stroke.
You feel like a prisoner — and the prison is within your inner-self.
You feel like you are drowning, and there is a danger of not coming up for air.
You ask yourself, “Am I better off if I don’t?”
You are in a frenzy, you are full of self-doubt, and you are plummeting into a downward spiral. You feel lifeless, and you just want to die.
Thoughts like these are dangerous.
When you are walking across a room one moment, and the next moment — which can actually be the next day, next week, or even next month — you awaken in a hospital bed with no memory of what happened, and maybe no memory at all, it is terrorizing. Your nightmare is just beginning.
You go through your rehab —you are discharged — you have no idea what’s in store for you now.
The last time you entered your home, you were walking, talking, and eating. You were involved in whatever activities you enjoyed, you were meeting friends here n’ there, and you were going to work.
Things have changed. You may not be able to walk, you may be in a wheelchair or using a walker or cane, you may have lost your speech and you may be what they call locked-in.
You may not be able to dress yourself. your memory may be gone, and you may have constant migraines. You may have vertigo, you may have vision problems , and you may not be able to read or write.
You thought you are going back to reality. Little did you know, that first you have to accept your disabilities, in order for reality to set in.
In the meantime, you are confused, angry, and scared. You are frustrated, insecure, and disabled.
You not only become overwhelmed, but these feelings can become very dangerous to your mental state. You need help getting through them!
You need help, but where can you get the help you need?
A black-hole is being dug little by little, and if you don’t get into a “stroke support group” where you can share, learn, and grow with others, there is the danger of that hole being closed up, and you’ll start to suffocate.
People come visit in the beginning, because you were just discharged. As time moves on, your friends and family melt slowly away, as your insides collapse while they evaporate. Accepting it — is hard. The hurt is unbearable, as one by one disappears. Your unhealthy mental state is germinating.
You can now add loneliness to the hole.
The danger signs are getting riskier. Only you understand what you are going through. It’s unhealthy not to share with others. You are digging deeper and deeper into the hole and, possibly thinking of suicide. Stop smothering yourself, before you start choking and can’t breath.
Why you must join a support group.
Many stroke survivors have nobody — no family — no friends — no therapists, and many spouses have left the scene.
Make sure you cherish those that have remained, and while they think they understand you — you, the stroke survivor knows different. You sit with your own thoughts within you — feeling alone. “Only” another survivor can understand.
You must realize the danger of not joining a support group.
The feeling as though you’ve been thrown into a mason jar with the top sealed, the anger that takes over and you just want to scream, and the horrific frustrations of your daily living that want to make you strangle someone — all adds to the downward spiral that gets deeper and deeper causing more stress, depression, and mental agony that in turn, can cause death.
As the loneliness intensifies, you need to do something about it, before it does something to you.
Speak with those that have the same crippling disabilities , the same feelings, and the same losses. Climb out of that mason jar and breath.
Join a stroke support group – or start one here, if there is none in your area.
Not only for your benefit, but for other survivors that may be living alone, need friends, and may be homebound.
Stop feeling embarrassed, share your experiences, and mix with fellow stroke survivors. Give them your support — allow them to give you support, share, and socialize.
Make new friends, unlock the prison within you, and start living life.
You will soon see — you are awakening from the nightmare, the mental anguish is diminishing, and thoughts of the dangerous desire of suicide are dissolving .
You will enjoy eye-opening experiences, and start to feel empowered.
You are alive and taking hold of your new life.
Climb that mountain of yours, and soar with other stroke survivors. Grant them the chance to share with you. Permit each other to embrace one another, so you can all seize hold of your incredible journey together .
And live life to the highest peak possible!
NOT SURE 