A different view of things (from a Medium article I wrote last year)
I write about stroke because, for me, it is a lived experience.
We are not all the same. Stroke is extremely destructive and in many ways the destruction is random. The effects vary considerably from one individual to another.
Although addressing the difficulties and problems that stroke has introduced into everyday living is a major concern I feel it is important to realise, maybe to get help realising, that we are still capable of functioning, dare I say it, in an excellent manner on some levels.
I write this also for those unaffected by stroke.
In their case I would like to open their eyes and help them to look beyond the disability into a world where there is possibility, even realise that this might include excellence and value.
It is certainly important to every human being, to have a feeling of relevance and worth. These concerns are severely challenged immediately after a stroke and this must be a problem addressed not a difficulty ignored.
So, I suggest that, rather than listing the aches, the pains, the things that don’t work, we look elsewhere for a bit.
When we have accumulated some energy we can return to problem solving but for now why not create list of what we can do, what is enjoyable, even where we can still triumph and where there are no barriers.
Looking for these positives can reveal a new route, better options. Maybe we need a little help or support but that doesn’t diminish our successes and the energy that they will bring back to us.
(the above is a quote from my Blog)