Family- Knowing how to manage energy
Being a stroke survivor and having your family supporting you is incredibly helpful.. However being a stroke survivor, if and when you have family get-togethers with more people than you are used to, you have to be more aware of your limitations… When I say you need to be aware of your limitations more, I mean there will be more people, more conversations, and more noise, which will all (combined) at a time become too much for you). This means you’ll need to act accordingly to help preserve your energy (being the main thing), including of course your focus and overall enjoyment of your family get together.
Awareness is key when it comes to having family get togethers.. It’s so easy to forget all of your guidelines that you should follow to help keep you mentally, emotionally and energetically on track. Especially when family comes to visit because you can easily ease off focusing on your guidelines that you should follow because now you’d probably be enjoying yourself (if you get on well with your family).
I have found this to be the case myself. I did have a stroke 17 years ago, but I still need to be aware of how I am feeling so that I can act accordingly. So I don’t “push myself over the edge” energy wise. I am sure you may ease off being aware of what you should do to help keep you on track when you see family. This is perfectly normal, so don’t think you are doing anything wrong.. It’ll take practice, yet you’ll learn how to manage yourself.. I’m lucky that I had a supportive team on my recovery journey (and you can too),
I learnt some pretty helpful tips along the way that have helped me and will continue to help me into the future. One of my team members taught me to put myself first. To know when I need help, to know when I needed support. This taught me to deeply respect myself and my needs. So when I feel off, I know how to react.
I can’t recommend having the right supportive team members on your journey enough. Once you start building the right team for yourself, you’ll really start to notice improvements that help you get through your day with far more ease, and honestly, you’ll also start to notice team members that may actually be not the right fit for yourself. Dont be afraid to try a few different people out. You dont need to simply “follow recommendations” from others. Trust yourself. Trust your intuition as it is never ever wrong.
From all of my current and past team members that I have had on my journey, I have created the most helpful team members imaginable (combining all of the most helpful team members that I have had). From finding the best physiotherapist in Australia that uses specific machines to strengthen all of your core muscles, to finding the best walking aids as well as great Occupational therapist at home exercise machines (all of which I can share if you wish to talk to me about it).
This is where I began my journey to becoming a supportive team member for other stroke survivors. This is when I began my journey of studying counselling and mentoring. This led to the development of my own business which is offering counselling and mentoring services for stroke survivors and their families.
To be ok with walking away from a celebration that has been organised for you for 15-30 minutes, to completely reset yourself energetically is part of the answer. To know you should do this is one thing. To remember you should do this and to actually go and do it is another thing all together. To be emotionally ok with exiting your family get together (or even a get together with friends) takes confidence in yourself. To build this level of confidence takes practice, yet to actually be ok with leaving the current situation knowing it is for your own good has benefits beyond belief.
I hope that you can try implementing what is talked about here this holiday season and if you still need help, I am here to help guide you further!
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