Endo and mental health

[OlgaSz]

Hi all,How are you dealing with mental strain of the diagnosis and living with a chronic disease? What strategies are you using? What tools turned out to be useful? Let's talk mental health! 🙂

[endowarrior12]

Great question…thanks for posting. Personally I have to really work hard on my mental health. It’s very difficult to live in chronic pain. My bad days I try and rid myself of the guilt and just allow it, but the following day I pick myself up again. Going for small walks, baths and watching comfort shows are my methods of self care so I do prioritise those as much as I can. It’s not easy but I think of my mental health being just as precious as physical so I do work on it. I hope that all makes sense 😊 xx

[OlgaSz in reply to endowarrior12]

Thanks for your reply. It is very insightful to see how others are doing. I find getting rid of guilt the hardest part of it. I started to allow myself so downtime, if I don't feel the best, but it later catches up with me and I feel that I somehow failed... It is a journey, I must admit! I also think that mental health is a big part of endo, so I am doing as much as I can to include it in my self care plan.My strategy is to follow the 5 principles of wellbeing: social connection, giving back to the community, exercise, mindfulness and learning new things. Apart from that I also prioritise sleep and good nutrition. I recently started journaling, as I found many research on how it helps those with depression and anxiety.

[Cocoacupid]

I struggle with my mental health due to other issues I have as well as endo. Was only diagnosed with endo last April after 27 years of issues. For me I was like finally I have a diagnosis for all the extreme pain and suffering. So I was able to take this as validation. So in fairness I think my mental health improved a little as I felt validated and it wasn’t just in my head. X take care .xx

[OlgaSz in reply to Cocoacupid]

That's so interesting!I also found that the diagnosis was validating. I finally understood that it is not "just in my head" and I am allowed to not feel ok due to the illness.

What are the things you do to improve your mental health? How do you deal with that?

[LivvyCat in reply to OlgaSz]

Your thoughts on validation really resonate with me. It was a huge relief to confirm the reason for my terrible pain after being fobbed off my so many doctors.

I had an argument with the first gynae consultant I saw about whether I needed a lap - he thought not. He did the operation and can to see me afterwards while I was off my head on morphine; he said "well you've been vindicated" and I never saw him again. 😠😠😠

[OlgaSz in reply to LivvyCat]

Oh that's so typical, isn't it?My gynae told me that I should be on mini pill (I refused to continue taking it after 6 months, as I was bleeding constatnty for 4 months during that time) or she will "need to send me to the OR and I don't really want that, do I?" When I said that I will be happily fully diagnosed through the lap, as it is a golden standard for Endo, she was flabbergasted. Of course the lap confirmed endo as expected...

[LivvyCat in reply to OlgaSz]

Why do they not listen to us?? SMH. Sigh. 🙄

[Cocoacupid]

hun sorry for late reply am at work. What I was going to say is I had dbt as they said I had a horrible mental health condition which I knew I don’t have but two weeks tomorrow am having an assessment for autism which I think fits me more better. Through having that therapy it helped me to be able to be in the moment and have a rational mind instead of irrational mindfulness is based on zen budda not that I believe in that as a Christian hope that helps a bit so being mindful is good 😊

[Sunset-lady]

My mental health is up and down Some days I can cope and get my head around it but others I'm wrecked with medical anxiety about the future. I hate having a disease. I've always lived a healthy life with lots of exercise yet I'm in a complete mess now with stage 4 endo, fibroids and adenomyosis. I've been bleeding heavily for almost 2 years which is exhausting and made me very depressed. I've read loads and feel overwhelmed by the amount of conflicting information around hormones. I'm on zoladex but it's not really working and I'm still bleeding. I can't handle ANY stress anymore. Peri Menopause and endometriosis destroyed my career. On good days I'm ok but being chronically anaemic is awful and gets you down. I probably shouldn't come on here every day as I'm just keeping this disease at the forefront of my life, but the constant bleeding is ruining my life and I guess I take strength from the incredible women on here. I wish the medical profession cared more and tried to help. Zoladex is just masking my issues, and nobody cares about finding out why I'm bleeding. It's been very hard and very lonely. It's been tough on my marriage too. So mental health is up and down I guess. I never ever thought I'd be like this at 51. I had so many plans 😩 xxx

[OlgaSz in reply to Sunset-lady]

I am so sorry to hear that you are feeling this way. Having a chronic disease is never easy and the one that is invisible is even harder to deal with I think. I totally understand that it can take a toll on both your profes and private life. It is exhausting!What do you do to take care of yourself? Did you find things that work?