WHEN YOU SUFFER THE EXHAUSTING pain and misery that causes you to end up with an ostomy, it is not unnatural to find yourself questioning your place in the world. We’ve all been through that to one extent or another. Here’s how I dealt with it. I simply decided that I was not going to be intimidated by reality anymore. There were some small aspects of my life over which I had control. Then there was the overbearing, drooling monster of reality over which I had no say so. In case you haven’t noticed, reality happens to be a leading cause of stress in normal people. Once I came to grips with the daily necessities of my ostomy and grasped the absurd nature of what was going on around me, I was okay. I didn’t ignore reality, exactly. I bifurcated the hell out of it. It became Them and Me. Theirs and mine. Reality, I told myself, is what you make it. It is multidimensional and malleable enough to permit messing around with it a bit. This realization, like the cataract surgery I eventually had to undergo, helped me to see a lot better. So I guess it is a vision thing.
Morning Henry
YES!
It's sure a vision thing - how we perceive stuff and how we deal with stuff!
I LOVE your use of bifurcate!
Practical, accepting, and positive - full acknowledgment and active participation .....
Rather like the man who had all his family and home destroyed in front of his eyes .....
He resolved he had two choices - one to be bitter and negative - two not allow himself to become the former .....
How we perceive, what we think, what we rationalize, and HOW we FEEL going forward is how we use our own POWER TO MAKE OURSELVES WHO AND WHAT WE ARE!
What an uplifting post Henry - TY
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ waves ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jayne
verb
past tense: bifurcated; past participle: bifurcated
/ˈbʌɪfəkeɪt/
divide into two branches or forks.
"just below Cairo the river bifurcates"
This is a remarkable community of 40,901 members.
You will get real advice from fellow ostomates who truly understand you - things you won't find in the books.
And it's not all about ostomy - there is friendship and relationships too.
Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
Justbreathe
MeetAnOstoMate website turned out to be a lifesaver for me. I say this because, for me, this ostomy journey was a devastating event both physically and mentally.
Here, I found folks who understood my feelings even better than my family or friends could. Only a fellow ostomate can understand how you really feel.
Information sharing is key, as well as support and understanding, to ultimately bring more harmony into our ostomy life journey. I found here, virtually no ostomy questions that are not touched upon. Questions which some might feel, may be too trivial to contact a doctor about or even too shy or embarrassed to ask their own doctor about. They are all addressed here.
For me, anonymity was very helpful in seeking answers to each phase of this life changing medical and mental event. Sharing initial trauma feelings, ongoing support and finally acceptance was what I found with my membership here. I am not sure what my mental and physical attitude would be today without having found this site.
Additional benefits included: finding products and ideas to help with daily maintenance, innovative ideas and as a bonus - some great humor.
After all “laughter IS the best medicine”.
I have been a member for 3 years, an ostomate for 4 years - yes, I certainly wish I would have found it immediately after surgery but so very thankful I finally found it when I did as I truly believe it turned my troubled depression and situation into a more positive attitude and acceptance.
Sincerely,
An Ileostomate nicknamed Justbreathe 🫶🏼