Dealing with GP over this Festive Season.

Hello !

How are you ? Welcome to GIFTuk.

So it's the 1st December, the festive season is upon us.

Dealing with chronic illness is enough pressure on a day to day basis never mind around December.

Firstly know and accept that you will get stressed and your body may hate you and secondly decide how much you can do or want to do and stick too it. As with everything in our lives we have to compromise so we can't go to one thing because we need to go to another and both of them will tip me over the edge of my life tolerance which is very low.

It can be beyond frustrating and there have been times I cry with frustration feeling alone and like no one understands. It is important to remember you aren't alone and there are people who do understand because they go through it too. It might not help kill your pain or even give you more energy but let it comfort you. Sometimes the best words you can hear are 'me too' You can always visit the GIFTuk support group to have a chat, a moan or ask a question and normally there is always someone about or even if it's not straight away one of our members will have some sort of an answer for you.

Now its the festive season and although like me you may love Christmas, it can still be incredibly stressful so here are a couple of general tips to hopefully help you get through the next few weeks

1. Know your limits and stick to them.

If you feel like your tired and your pain is getting bad don't ignore it just to carry on doing whatever you are doing. You need to listen to your body and as much as you might hate it you have to look after it otherwise you risk it throwing a bigger tantrum and you will be poorly for days. So just go and rest or take meds and let it win, for a little while anyways.

2. Think and plan a little bit ahead.

It's the festive season and you want to be out and about. You want to see your friends and do all the Christmas stuff but again your body can get in the way. I know that I take it a day at a time, anything more than that feels like too big a task. What I mean when I say plan a head is if you have arranged to see a friend on a certain day make sure the day before you get lots of rest to give yourself the best chance of actually doing your plans.

3. Communication

So you have planned to see your best friend and you really really want too go but you just can't even get out of bed let them know that. See if they can come to your house instead or rearrange for another day but talk to them about it. I know a lot of times I have a tendency to bottle up my feelings and leave them there but at some point you have to clear them out. Let people know how you feel and what is going on with you, how can you expect them to understand when they don't have all the facts ? Good or bad try to let people in, you might be surprised by the reaction.

4. Emotions

So I know sometimes and especially at this time of year my body plays up to the point where I have to stay in bed. There have been times I have cried and yelled expletives that haven't even been invented yet. Whatever is around me feels it when I'm angry, I have thrown shoes at walls, my phone gets flung as well no wonder it's in such a state missing a few chunks here and there and I have punched doors but then it bounced back and hit me square on the nose, I haven't done it since and my doors, knuckles, knees and nose thank me for it. 
Then you are dealing with sadness, jealousy and guilt which is such a fun combination - not. You are feeling rough again, you might have had to cancel something or you have a doctor's appointment or worst of all your in hospital and you just feel like your missing out on so much and you don't really have a choice. You want to feel all festive and jolly not sad at missing another night out and being sat there alone. If you feel these things your not a bad person, your a human being. They will pass and as much as you can try to enjoy this season in your own way, do all the things you love too do.

5. Do it online

Hello Amazon or maybe even Google, you have the world at your fingertips. Do your Christmas shopping and even your food shop from the comfort of your own sofa. No Elbows to the stomach for me, which has happened before and I saw stars, not the good kind. Thanksgiving is the day before Black Friday when all across America families gather to celebrate at the wonderful things in life that they are thankful for. You've seen it in movies and I'm so jealous it's like a warm up Christmas before the big event itself. Then not 24 hours earlier the hands that had been held in prayer are now shoving people out of the way with the biggest TV you can find. There are actual fights thank god the UK isn't too bad from what I have seen but still why put yourself through it.

I hope you enjoyed these quick little tips and they may help or comfort you in some way.

Have a great day

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