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ak-666's avatar

Thanks you so much for sharing your experience. I’m sorry you were not met with the assistance and care you deserved.

I can see myself in parts of your experience both as the person and as a friend. It’s given me a lot to think about in how I listen to others. I can see myself being overwhelmed if a friend reached out with similar needs. But, understanding that you really didn’t need a professional, at first, just someone to care and advocate for you. I hope I can keep that take away for myself and if I find others in that need. Good luck on your move. Fresh starts have so much possibilities and anxiety but I hope you find what you need.

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Erin Griffiths's avatar

Thank you for sharing in such an honest way. I've lived that strange contradiction: when it's at its worst and I need the most understanding, that's precisely when people seem most skeptical or uncomfortable around me. The part about needing to "be well enough to advocate for yourself in the exact moment you're least able to" resonates. It's exhausting having to perform wellness just to be taken seriously about your unwellness.

Sidelining goals to make the best decisions for your health is not easy, but I want you to know it can lead to unexpected gifts. I am three years out from when I was hospitalized repetitively over the course of a year, and what's happened since then has transformed me. I've learned about surrender and discovered the actual power in it, not as giving up, but as creating space for new possibilities. What feels like loss right now may reveal itself as redirection. We're more resilient than we know, and growth comes in the most surprising ways when we honor what our bodies are telling us.

Wishing you healing and unexpected joy in your new beginning.

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