allow me to introduce myself....

[jbjacksoncfc]

Some of my biggest (health) challenges are with issues and conditions that are concurrent & conflicting, meaning doing what is meant to help/treat one condition contributes to or worsens another condition. For example i suffer from both chronic aenergia AND fatigue. I have a rare form of diabetes (called LADA or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults). I have (symptoms of) additional (as yet) undetermined autoimmune disorder(s) & both physical and mental health issues for which there seem to be no specific accurate name or diagnosis (yet). I "name" them to myself of course "Mean Brain" "Chronic Chemical Dysregulation" "Accelerated Ageing" are a few examples.

[gajh]

Hello and Welcome. You will be able to find a lot of support here.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

thank you for your response. i hope you're right, i could use a lot of support 😞

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

It is nice to see you active here today. Have you been finding it helpful?

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

hi! thank you for noticing me.... i have not (yet) had much helpful experience with this site, but any/ a little bit is better than no progress at all. i'm looking forward to continuing to try to find some positive connection & interaction here

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

I can't relate to your other diagnoses. I can relate to depression and anxiety if you are suffering from them. Would it be helpful to talk about that?

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

certainly. I am most definitely, and have for the vast majority if not entirety of my life, suffering from depression & anxiety. to the point where they are definitely more than just 'conditions that i have' and are more like core parts of my self-being.

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

I ended up with agoraphobia from covid lockdown. I got too used to not leaving the house, got out of the habit, and then couldn't go out. I have been making progress in the last year, but it is still an issue. I am also making progress with my depression and anxiety. It has been such a long process. Talking to people here helps me so much. It is nice when people actually understand. It is nice to be able to share progress and get support with that. It is hard to talk about depression to people who don't get it. It is nice to be able to be open and honest with all of the struggles.

[Downandout123 in reply to gajh]

I notice that I became reluctant to leave the house after my retirement. I was out of the loop with seeing people during the day. I would go out every day to walk my dog, but don't even like doing that. I just became really self conscious about myself-more so than I had ever been.

[gajh in reply to Downandout123]

Did covid play into it at all? Getting out of the habit? Do you get out at all to the store or anything or are you just at home right now?

[Downandout123 in reply to gajh]

Covid had no play into it. I owned a day care center and was allowed to stay open, so I was still working 5 days a week. What makes it worse is that I don't drive. I do have a deli, nail salon and hair salon right up the street so I do get out for that.

[gajh in reply to Downandout123]

So it was retirement. That is great that you are still able to go to the deli, nail salon, and hair salon. I have worked up to going out regularly once a week with my boyfriend. I am just starting to work on going out on my own.

[Downandout123 in reply to gajh]

I wish you nothing but continued success!

[gajh in reply to Downandout123]

Thank you so much. I wish the best for you too.

[Downandout123 in reply to gajh]

Thank you!

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

idk if this will be helpful to (either of) you at all, but two places that i actually *enjoy* going when i need to just *get out* are my local public library and surprisingly enough, shopping mall. these are both places where i can go and simply exist (walk or sit) and observe and be in proximity to people and have the *opportunity* to interact without necessarily the *expectation* to interact. and they're both free of course

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

The library sounds good. I have just started going to a studio that is offering mindfulness classes in my town. I have been to the first 1 1/2 hour single one. Then there was a one day vision board class. Monday I started a 6 week mindfulness based life coaching class. Amazingly I am the only one in the class. I already knew the instructor from years ago. I can't believe she is willing to run the class just for me. It is such a good first step for me.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

that sounds great! go you!

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

Thank you! That is one of the best things about being here. Being able to share the progress and have people who get it that it is a big accomplishment instead of people not understanding why it is a big deal at all.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

ugh i gotta go to work. but it's been really great talking with you & hope to get to again / more soon

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

I look forward to talking with you more. Have a good day at work.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

i completely agree about how important & helpful it is to be able to interact with others who actually *understand* these issues! I am very blessed/lucky/whatever that i have multiple people in my life who genuinely care about me and want to be supportive, but they *dont know how* because they've never experienced it & they cannot understand it. they're so well-intentioned but often end up contributing to me feeling worse instead of better. even sometimes professional care providers (like doctors, therapists) just dont *really get it*. they've got the knowledge and training and all and they can help with some things to a certain extent, but what works best always comes from someone who *really knows*

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

I agree. I am glad that you do have some people in your life who want to be supportive. Some people here have no one and are all alone. I have the support of my boyfriend and Mother and Father, but none of them really gets it.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to gajh]

"Some people here have no one and are all alone" -- so unfortunate!

i really like that i've found the option to sort/ seek posts by the "no replies" filter so that i can reach out to those who might be in that type of situation who dont have anyone (else)

[gajh in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

I was glad to see you responding to unanswered posts. I try to keep on top of that myself, but I haven't kept up.

[Downinil]

Hi jbjacksoncfc! Welcome! How are you feeling this evening? I couldn’t help but notice on the top of your bio in the heading a picture of a bird with text underneath stating, to see the color 9. Is this related to mirror touch synesthesia?

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to Downinil]

i'm not familiar with that condition, sorry

[Downinil in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

No need to say sorry. It’s just something I’m interested in learning more about.

[jbjacksoncfc in reply to Downinil]

so i looked it up (of course), and it definitely DOES seem interesting, and i for sure HAVE experienced some degree of this many times in my life, i just didnt realize it was "a thing". i figured it was just some sort of innate brain chemical-y human sensory empathy-type whatever that all or most people experience in general. the best example for myself that i can think of is that any time i see a suicide by slashed wrist portrayed in movies or television, my own corresponding wrist *twinges* for lack of a better word. but like i said, i didnt realize there's an actual condition that some people have that manifests this way. wow

[Downinil in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

There’s a book written by a neurologist, Mirror touch if you’re interested in a first hand account of it.

[Downinil in reply to jbjacksoncfc]

We need to make sure that if we think we have a medical condition it’s likely that we do not until it’s evaluated by the appropriate medical professional.