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  • Chronic Illness Columns: Mental Health

    Posted by Christie Patient on August 25, 2022 at 1:30 am

    Howdy, everyone!

    I find that when I am struggling with my mental health, reading stories from others about their own struggles helps me not feel so alone. It’s really common to struggle with depression and anxiety when you live with a chronic illness. Bionews, the company that publishes this site, publishes a lot of other rare disease websites. I have sourced some columns from our other sites on the subject of mental health for anyone who might need to feel connected to someone out there. Even though these writers come from outside of the PF sphere, I think a lot of what they have to say resonates across disease borders! I hope they are helpful to you 🙂

    Please, always remember that this is a safe place to share your struggles and get support.

    Claire Richmond, for Porphyria News, writes about reckoning with her anger, which first manifested as anxiety.

    Kerry Wong, for Sarcoidosis News, writes about the challenging emotions she had after several incurable disease diagnoses… and how she learned to cope with them by going to therapy.

    Lori DePorter, for Parkinson’s News, shares tips for managing stress, anxiety, and depressive thoughts, while acknowledging that these can be related to your disease, or come from outside circumstances.

    Richard E. Poulin III, for AADC News, writes about noticing the signs of depression during a prolonged crisis. He shares how symptoms of stress and fatigue were overwhelming as a caregiver, and how knowing the signs could help you get support when you need it.

    Lastly, I have one excellent comprehensive piece from one of our own Pulmonary Fibrosis News writers, Sam Kirton. He writes about several ways to get non-medical therapeutic support, including support groups, and a “mental health first-aid” course, that is offered worldwide. There are plenty of other mental-health-themed columns on our website. Just head to the home page and search for “mental health”.

    Steve Dragoo replied 2 years, 4 months ago 1 Member · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • Steve Dragoo

    Member
    August 25, 2022 at 9:59 pm

    Awesome Christie.  I hope you reshare this at least quarterly or even once a month for the newbies.  Thank you! – Steve

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