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Living With Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain Like a lot of other people I have to live with chronic pain. As anyone who has this condition will tell you it’s not much fun to live with. If you suffer from chronic pain you are always more or less in pain. It’s just a matter of how much pain on any given day. This can very greatly. Your life becomes quite problematic and challenging. At present there is no cure for it. This chronic pain may be caused by arthritis, fibromyalgia, pain from past surgeries and a host of other causes. The only thing you can do is to learn how to live with it and how to best adapt your life to the condition. A person will usually going through the grieving process when they realize that they have chronic pain. It is also surprising how quickly you start to accept the condition as your new normal. It becomes hard to remember what it was like not to have pain. The sufferer must now learn how to manage their pain and their life. It is the process of adaptation. There are still many days when I...
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Recent posts

When Will They Wake Up?

When Will They Wake Up? As I mentioned in one of my recent blogs I was over at my son’s house watching a video about SNFU and their lead singer. Ken Chinn. This video managed to rile me up again as it showed how our mental heath system it is not doing its job. Actually I can’t blame this video for getting me angry. Even though I have been out of the mental health field for several months now I still think about the mentally ill and their plight every day. What really gets to me is that I know there are answers and solutions out there. They just need to be acted upon. I’m not saying that we can create a perfect life for the seriously mentally ill. What I am saying is that we can give the seriously mentally ill a lot better quality of life than they have now. Why are we not doing that? We are not doing that because of the politics and money that is involved. The seriously mentally ill do not have a high enough priority in our society. Our governments must be prepared and willing to spe...
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The Treatment of Depression

Is Recovery From Depression Possible? Is recovery from depression possible? It depends upon how one defines recovery. If one is talking about remaining free of the symptoms of depression for the rest of their life I would say that this is possible for some but not others. Some people are fortunate in experiencing only one episode of major depression in their lives. For others the prognosis is not as good. These individuals will likely experience recurrent episodic bouts of clinical depression. Persons in this second group may need to take medication for the rest of their lives. If the side effects are not too bothersome one will become used to taking meds. It will become part of their daily routine similar to taking nutritional supplements on a daily basis, There is another type of depression known as dysthymia. Dysthymia is a mood disorder in which an individual may still be able to function at their job and can meet most of life’s demands. The problem is that they are in a chronic ...
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Recovery and Depression

Recovery From Depression In my experience I have found that depression is a condition that cannot be cured but can be managed. I will now list some of the things that I have found help full in maintaining my recovery. 1 getting enough sleep. 2 eating a healthy diet 3 getting regular exercise 4 trying to moderate stress levels 5 trying to find work situations that are not excessively stressful 6 having a counselor to discuss your issues with 7 having a relaxed attitude towards life 8 getting in lots of leisure time 9 trying not to put a lot of pressure on yourself 10 trying to get along with others as best I can 11 having plenty of time to do the things I like to do 12 trying not to rush when working on a project 13 having faith in a Higher Power that is looking after me at all times 14 having pets 15 recognizing my limitations
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Living With Depression

Living With Depression If anyone finds that they have a significant number of the symptoms I wrote about my advice from one who has been there is to get help. As debilitating as the disease of depression can be, it is treatable in most cases. You do not need to continue suffering on your own. My experience is that few if any actually beat this illness solely on their own efforts. Some form of assistance is usually needed and this is nothing to feel bad about. I have read and heard some say that suffering is good for the soul, but I for the life of me cannot see what it is good for. There probably is only one exception. After you have suffered you can relate to what others are going through. All the same the idea is to stop the suffering. If you have all or most of the symptoms listed in my previous post you should make an appointment with your family doctor. He or she will be able to advise you if you tell them about your symptoms. Medication can be very helpful when it comes to tre...
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getting ready for retirement

Preparing for Retirement I was inspired to write this column by a fellow blogger. This blogger is looking for suggestions as to what he should do during his retirement years. One's retirement years can potentially be the best years of your life. First thing you are going to need is enough money to be comfortable. You will also need enough money for your hobbies. If you constantly have to worry about money it will be difficult to enjoy your retirement. If this is an issue you may have to look for part time work on temporary work. It will be good if you could still have approximately half the week for your leisure activities. I would also recommend getting a job that will not be very stressful. Retirement is to be enjoyed and is to be as stress-free as possible. The next thing you are going to need for a successful retirement is good health. If you have been taking care of yourself right up to retirement hopefully this will not be much of a problem. If you have health issues you m...
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Getting Old Sucks

Getting Old Sucks Today I have the energy level of a tree sloth on Quaaludes. I feel like a semi must have rolled over me while I was asleep but I can’t find any tire marks on my tee shirt. I’m pushing sixty; maybe that’s my problem. When I was a young man I could usually get myself back into shape in about a week. The first few days I’d be in pain but after I got over the hump it was pretty much smooth sailing. Not any more. No matter how much I exercise or how consistently I work out, the day after always feels the same. In other words get out the ice packs and the Tylenol and take your time getting out of your chair. Yesterday was a good example of this. I went out for a bike ride in the morning only to get a flat tire when I got to my destination. Don’t you love those people that break glass bottles on the street? This meant that my return trip was going to be on foot and not by bike. It also meant that I would be pushing my bike home not riding it. It didn’t help that it was ove...
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