Monday 14 May 2012

Beginning Recovery


Making a start towards recovery is difficult. As I said before, deciding to sit on the bottom rung of the ladder, or even the floor and waiting for recovery to find you is possibly the best way to do it. I had to cut off a lot of ties, emailing and FaceBook became my social life. Knowing what is going on around you is very helpful and doesn't make you feel so cut off from the world. Deciding to not "Over do it" is also the first rung of the ladder. To find this place you have to learn to say "no"! and find quiet things to do when you can say "yes". My quiet "yes" time is having a friend over for a cup of tea for an hour or so. My husband also takes me out at the weekend to sit in a coffee shop for an afternoon. Six months ago he would leave me there and go and do some shopping. Now I am able to join him in the wheelchair and make some of the decisions. Soon I will be walking around some of the shops. It is all about taking small steps.
When I was spending a lot of time in bed, taking a step back meant removing cognitive pressure rather than physical pressure. Last year we cleared out the bedroom. I chose some patterned boxes and filled them with the items from the surfaces; DVDs, make-up, hand-held mirrors, necklaces, scarves- just little things that I used occasionally but, by my being in the bedroom more, were becoming clutter. By reducing the eye candy, I had a calmer viewpoint; less to distract my mind. I also decided carefully on things to put by my bed. Firstly to just ease the need to call for help so often I now have a bottle of water and a small glass there constantly so I can refill when I need to, rather than waiting for assistance. I have always had a box of tissues there, a pack of patience cards, hand cream, throat pastilles, a few books to flick through and the phone and my handbag are usually there too. One other thing that I started using last year is packets of wet tissues. For a while I was asking for a flannel or piece of damp kitchen towel, just to wipe my face or hands after eating. This can now be sorted without the hassle and on days when I am finding everything difficult I use them instead of washing in the bathroom. A lot of these things are no longer necessary every day for me, but a welcoming bedroom is still something that says to me "don't be ashamed if you need to come and have a quiet rest for a while, give yourself a break"

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