Hi Everyone!
As always, we ask that in order to participate in the weekly megathread, one self-identifies as some form of disabled, which is broadly defined in the community sidebar:
"Disability" is an umbrella term which encompasses physical disabilities, emotional/psychiatric disabilities, neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental disabilities, sensory disabilities, invisible disabilities, and more. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to consider yourself disabled.
Alright, with that out of the way, let's talk about COVID-19, specifically the kind that messes with you for long time, possibly forever! <-- (so fun /s)
From the Wikipedia Page on Long COVID:
Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.
Long COVID is characterized by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction may also present. Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise. There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The causes of long COVID are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include lasting damage to organs and blood vessels, problems with blood clotting, neurological dysfunction, persistent virus or a reactivation of latent viruses and autoimmunity. Diagnosis of long COVID is based on (suspected or confirmed) COVID-19 infection or symptoms—and by excluding alternative diagnoses.
As of 2024, the prevalence of long COVID is estimated to be about 6-7% in adults, and about 1% in children. Prevalence is less after vaccination. Risk factors are higher age, female sex, having asthma, and a more severe initial COVID-19 infection. As of 2023, there are no validated effective treatments. Management of long COVID depends on symptoms. Rest is recommended for fatigue and pacing for post-exertional malaise. People with severe symptoms or those who were in intensive care may require care from a team of specialists. Most people with symptoms at 4 weeks recover by 12 weeks. Recovery is slower (or plateaus) for those still ill at 12 weeks. For a subset of people, for instance those meeting the criteria for ME/CFS, symptoms are expected to be lifelong.
Globally, over 400 million people have experienced long COVID.
Mask up, love one another, and stay alive for one more week.
I seriously don't think most people have any idea how to emotionally support men. Hiding in bed and gave up on reaching out to anyone bc they never seem to understand what i'm asking for. I hope it's not like this for everyone. Maybe it's just america. Maybe it's guess culture people. Idk. Right now it's just me and my stuffed pig and hope sandoval against the Dread and the Big Sad and frankly we're kinda outnumbered.
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I'm female and I've never had a shred of emotional support either. My friends stopped bothering with me when I got too sick to be fun any more. I haven't had any kind of social life or companionship in years. I've got no family to speak of. Even the nurses and doctors aren't kind. I was laying in bed crying after my cancer surgery because I was scared and in pain and the nurse crossly said to me, "Oh stop whingeing. Lots of people have it worse than you." That's just one example. Now I'm destitute even the support agencies (like macmillan, citizens advice, etc) just keep passing the buck to each other, when I beg them for help with things like accessing food or any other kind of support, they just try to pass me off to each other instead of helping me. The only people I've actually had help from are those here on hexbear/lemmygrad.
Even when I got so desperate at my situation that I made a suicide attempt, everyone including the medical staff treated me like absolute crap.
Don't ever forget that your survival rate vs the Big Sad is 100%. I'm not the gambling type but if I was, I'd be betting on you comrade because that's one hell of a batting record.
If you're interested, I've started running a Drop-In Peer Support server via a cosy game online. Sometimes we hang out and shoot the breeze, other times I'm monologuing, but I'm also there if people need to vent and you're welcome to join in.
I've been keeping it a bit quiet and only posting about it in the neurodiverse comm so I don't get absolutely flooded by an unexpected amount of demand but survivors of the Big Sad are part of the neurodivergent umbrella (and even if they weren't it doesn't matter one bit because anyone can struggle with poor mental health and need support, which is who the Drop-In server is for).
I'm almost certain I've been up in your replies talking mental health before. If you've ever found any of that from me useful, the Drop-In server is an opportunity to get more of that but in a way that is a bit more relaxed and dynamic/interactive so it means I'm able to draw upon different methods while providing peer support.
I can point you to a post with more information if you're interested.
Toxic Masculinity makes any kind of emotional support as difficult to give as to receive. A lot of it just boils down to starting when people are young and being receptive when they come calling. If you're trying to reach out to a father or an older sibling or an old school friend who just isn't having it, you're going up against decades of contrary social conditioning.
My grandfather was physically abusive to his kids, but my mother's father was comparatively very kind and chill. When my dad had me, he decided to be more like his mother's father than his dad, and he raised me with all the kindness and compassion in the world. He also gave me his mother's father's name.
Now that I've got a newborn son, I'm striving to be the kind of parent my dad was to me. I'm giving him my dad's name and I'm hoping to raise him to share that kindness and compassion with others. And hopefully he'll pass it on to his kids. And on and on.
Hiding in bed has been my mood for the past year. I’ve tried to reach out to friends and they show up for a while but then they forget about me again. Me and my stuffed elephant lie in solidarity with you and your stuffed pig.