Mental or Physical

[[JR...]]

Hello BB,

What's everyone's observation or take that mental symptoms are hard to deal with or Physical and do people suffer more and longtime with mental or physical.

I had more mental symptoms then physical and they are still severe in nature and hard to deal with then any physical symptoms I had.

[[So...]]

I think they can be equal actually depending on the severity of each.

 

Having akathesia or a horrible terror attack when you can't walk or use your limbs....very mental

Having paresthesia that feels like your whole body is being squeezed in a vice grips lined with daggers...very physical

 

To me there is no suffering worse than another, it's all human suffering.

 

Some people will get different combos, some just mental, some just physical, and some will have different ones that last longer.

I happen to be one that mental symptoms left first and physical has been longer.

[[le...]]

Agree think both can be equally hard even though mine purely mental. Think the severity of symptoms and how long they go on for has the greatest impact. Was told by a help line here most people recover in the second year. When you get to 18 months with no improvement you start loosing hope of recovery. I find mental symptoms 24/7 awful but no doubt people with physical symptoms feel the same.

[[tr...]]

JR: You and I are close together on the "timeline of recovery"..lol. With that being said, I get both mental and physical still...and mostly they pair up. Like an increase in physical usually has an Increase in the mental at the same time. Personally I think the mental is the worst bc if that wasn't there I could find myself coping better with the physical.

But I can understand how months of physical can actually contribute to mental bc you can feel low/discouraged and worried (anxiety) bc of all the physical stuff. What a fix we are in!

I have seen improvements though, as well as symptom shifting, which I know is a good sign that my body is trying to work things out. none of this is going as quick as we want it to, and we all def have days where we're like, " when the heck is all this going to end?!!!".

Choosing to trust the reports of all the people gone before us that have healed and gone on to live normal lives!

 

I'm at a point where I don't have the need for 100% recovery. If it comes, great! But at this point I'll take "better". Like any injury, we may be left with a "scar", and I'm learning to be ok with that. But thats just me - thats how I'm trying to accept whats happening.

 

What did you used to like to do? Theres a reason I ask this... 

[[di...]]

I'd err on the side of saying that mental symptoms are the trickiest to deal with. "Mind over matter" is how most people battle through adversity. How do you do that when the the matter at hand is the mind? I believe that it helps still to try and apply the principle even knowing that it won't always work.

 

I say this without confidence speaking as someone who hasn't experienced chronic and severe pain. I hope I never become qualified to make a true comparison.

[[JR...]]

JR: You and I are close together on the "timeline of recovery"..lol. With that being said, I get both mental and physical still...and mostly they pair up. Like an increase in physical usually has an Increase in the mental at the same time. Personally I think the mental is the worst bc if that wasn't there I could find myself coping better with the physical.

But I can understand how months of physical can actually contribute to mental bc you can feel low/discouraged and worried (anxiety) bc of all the physical stuff. What a fix we are in!

I have seen improvements though, as well as symptom shifting, which I know is a good sign that my body is trying to work things out. none of this is going as quick as we want it to, and we all def have days where we're like, " when the heck is all this going to end?!!!".

Choosing to trust the reports of all the people gone before us that have healed and gone on to live normal lives!

 

I'm at a point where I don't have the need for 100% recovery. If it comes, great! But at this point I'll take "better". Like any injury, we may be left with a "scar", and I'm learning to be ok with that. But thats just me - thats how I'm trying to accept whats happening.

 

What did you used to like to do? Theres a reason I ask this...

Thank you for your detailed post. I just like to go out by myself and just hang want to enjoy mall, dine out , watching and  playing sports and traveling and that all seems so hard for now. I am scared that if I ever be able to do these things again and enjoy the same way I use to.

[[tr...]]

the reason I ask is because if you can even in  a small way do a familiar activity that was once enjoyable it can be helpful. Its like how when we've done sports, we have muscle memory of say techniques and skills we used. the same with our brin in enjoyable activities. the brain remembers what was once enjoyable. sometimes we have to engage in that activity even if the enjoyment isn't there. Over time the feeling will follow.

Knowing this I purposely (with help) put in a veggie garden when we moved to our new house. I felt so dead and stressed putting it in. Now months later I am finding peace and joy when I'm out there in it.

I just really think we need even one thing to distract us and to make us feel engaged ..that we aren't just existing.

Hope this helps

[[Ca...]]

the reason I ask is because if you can even in  a small way do a familiar activity that was once enjoyable it can be helpful. Its like how when we've done sports, we have muscle memory of say techniques and skills we used. the same with our brin in enjoyable activities. the brain remembers what was once enjoyable. sometimes we have to engage in that activity even if the enjoyment isn't there. Over time the feeling will follow.

Knowing this I purposely (with help) put in a veggie garden when we moved to our new house. I felt so dead and stressed putting it in. Now months later I am finding peace and joy when I'm out there in it.

I just really think we need even one thing to distract us and to make us feel engaged ..that we aren't just existing.

Hope this helps

I find this so very true..!!

I lost my “go to” fun just after my valium jump (due to an unrelated drama), and one thing led to another, making it very hard to return to or replace yet.. I feel I suffer for it.. 

 

***

My answer to mental or physical is -Both.. Sorry, but bad is just bad for me despite difference..

-Though my physical symptoms/damage tend to dominate most of the time..

 

 

[[JR...]]

the reason I ask is because if you can even in  a small way do a familiar activity that was once enjoyable it can be helpful. Its like how when we've done sports, we have muscle memory of say techniques and skills we used. the same with our brin in enjoyable activities. the brain remembers what was once enjoyable. sometimes we have to engage in that activity even if the enjoyment isn't there. Over time the feeling will follow.

Knowing this I purposely (with help) put in a veggie garden when we moved to our new house. I felt so dead and stressed putting it in. Now months later I am finding peace and joy when I'm out there in it.

I just really think we need even one thing to distract us and to make us feel engaged ..that we aren't just existing.

Hope this helps

Thank you Trina...will def try. it's just sometimes it so hard and feels like you loosing the battle. I am in a very bad wave....don't know what to do and trying my best to hang in there...