Big Challenges Big Changes: Its not the year to cope its the year to overcome

By Kim Donahue - 2008-01-25 - Viewed 467 times. Find more articles like this in our Disability Articles category.

Small - Big

Email article       Print

Jenni is living with an invisible disability, fibromygalia, where pain is present in every aspect of her daily life.

Tiffiny is a C6 quadriplegic who lost the fine motor skills in her hands from a car accident. Sometimes the smallest tasks, like picking something up, can make her feel down. Jeff is a paraplegic and gets frustrated by the way people don’t make eye contact with him in his wheel chair. To help with their best and worst days they all use an online interactive community for people going through similar situations.

They, and thousands of others, use the website for more than just a ranting post. It is an online community where each blog about daily frustrations turns into a comic relief or an inspiring lesson. It’s a place where a chat room discussion turns into peer support for a 27-year-old that became paralyzed from simply sitting on a sofa. It is where information flows freely about illnesses ranging from chronic pain to quadriplegia. And it’s where people across the country can find a vast number of resources, from accessible restaurants and entertainment hot spots, to accessible home design and even a career center.

Imagine what an online community can do for you.

Ever had a day you just wanted to sit down in the middle of the street, throw something and yell, It’s just too damn hard!? Ever held back tears to appear strong in front of your loved ones? Or made eye contact with a stranger and wondered how they were coping?

An online community, such as Disaboom.com, offers forums for people to share their stories and hear the stories of others. Suddenly, your world expands beyond yourself and you realize you’re not alone.

With a new year comes the chance to make big changes.

To make your goals a reality this year, it’s important to have people that push you during the hard times and congratulate you during the good times. With a community of support, from an online network to family and friends, it’s easier to keep going even when the goal seems unattainable.

It’s time for Big Change.

This year as you think about what you would like to accomplish, here are some bits of advice that may help you along your journey:

Blog your goal and the daily struggles of reaching it.

Do something that scares you.

Ditch what is negative in your life, whether it is a cynical friend or a dead-end job. At online sites, such as Disaboom.com, you can make a new friend, find a new job.

Read about others’ stories. When the world becomes bigger than yourself, it can help put your struggles into perspective.

It’s okay to feel bad or frustrated. Write about it anonymously. Sometimes you just need to get it out.

Laugh about yourself. Others gage their insecurities depending on the person they are with. If you are able to laugh, then so will everyone else around you.

Give yourself 10 minutes a day to cry and feel bad, if that’s needed, and that’s it.

Live. Big change is scary. That’s why most people don’t do it and wake up 10 years later wondering what happened.

Ask for help.

Tiffiny’s PMS makes her resent her “quad-hands” because she drops things and then doesn’t want to pick them up. Jeff calls himself a sit down comic who’s always on a roll. Jenni’s invisible pain has made her strong in ways she never thought possible. Log onto disaboom.com today to share your story, rant, rave or even just read what others are saying.

disaboom.com

You can print this article by clicking the printer icon at the top this of page.

Ask, answer questions or add more facts concerning "Big Challenges Big Changes: Its not the year to cope its the year to overcome" below.
Your comment will NOT show up right away, it will be sent for approval before it will appear here. Please bookmark this page so you can check back for possible replies and answers to your questions.