By: Theresa Blume
There is definitely something to be said about feeling supported when you have a disability of any kind. You feel alone and like no one understands, and you feel guilty that you can't do more. I think it is especially hard when you live with others, particularly when you have a significant other.
The statistics are not good for married couples when one has a disability, and living with Fibromyalgia every day has shown me an inside view. Thankfully, I have the best of husbands who is committed to our marriage, even after 25 years. But even he is not perfect, and I can see his shoulders slump when I have to cancel something we intended to do together. I know he gets impatient when I sleep late, and wake up still too tired to do anything fun on his days off. I see how he tries not to complain about doing the dishes and making supper once again, after a long day of work.
I could go on and on, but I want to stress something positive that can come from this, and that is support groups. Friends are wonderful, especially ones that really get it, but in a support group, you feel like you are actually in a family of peers on your own level. We all have our bad days, our good days, our favorite doctors, and experiences of what works and what doesn't. Of course we don't wish anyone to have a disability, but a support group makes it so much easier to live with.
I tried to get a group together in our little town a couple years ago, and immediately found out that people with Fibromyalgia make poor members when it comes to meeting in person. With our unstable challenges, it was impossible to schedule a time when everybody will feel good enough to go to a meeting! But online, they are the best! Most of us can't do much physically, so we've turned to what we can do, and that is communicate online.
Thanks to a friend I was hooked up to a new group that started up in my state. We already have members from other states who don't have a group of their own, and when you are online, it doesn't matter where you are from. I remember when I had cancer, one of the biggest things that helped me get through it was the interaction with those who had the same kind of cancer on the site, "Daily Strength". There is a group for EVERYTHING on that site, whether you are depressed, a single parent, sick, or whatever, check out Daily Strength.
I recently was able to get an Android Tablet that has helped me tremendously for connecting because I can sit anywhere and take my time and read and respond. Being at the computer is hard for me, and I didn't realize what I was missing until I got the tablet. There's always a perfect timing to things, as the saying goes, "When the student is ready, the teacher arrives", or something like that. I feel like this tablet is my teacher and I was finally ready for a real support group online.
It's very hard to live every day of your life with Fibromyalgia, but I thank God for old friends, new friends, and tablets that I can carry wherever I go!
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” ― Mark Twain
