3 ms·

A decade ago, my wife had a very severe colon event. Three very difficult to recover from surgeries. On each one, she rested a day, maybe two. Gotta do that,

A decade ago, my wife had a very severe colon event. Three very difficult to recover from surgeries. On each one, she rested a day, maybe two. Gotta do that, or risk tearing and such. No worries. She could feel that. Tested it constantly. But, once the very dangerous time had passed, she always did the same thing. Get proper clothes on. Top and some shorts or simple skirt. The minimum. Then she, in her words, "got the fuck up and moving before she gets stuck, trapped in there." I watched her get half the wing up, some of those people resigned to dying in their beds. The nursing staff were amazed. They told me some of those people had given up too. I would help, and just stayed out of the way otherwise. Within a few days, she knew everyone, who had kids, whatever. And it was all simple. "Tomorrow, we walk to the ice machine, deal?" I am convinced there is real value in simple human contact and communication. I have seen what can happen when people connect, share their stories, their pain, and most importantly, their dreams, who they matter to, who needs them. All of that brings us strength, motivation, the simple realization that it really is not over, that others are there, that we are relevant, matter, is powerful. We heal, we cope with pain, and we laugh, love, feel, are alive and it matters. Yeah, get them out. Get them up. Get them people who they can talk to, with. Treats, that pet they love (I did that a couple times and had to sneak, do it outside or in a common area), whatever helps them see themselves out of there, living life, basically, not done yet, matters a whole lot more than I thought it did. I know now what I will do, and it is that. Get the fuck up. Just get started.

skookumchuck 8y ago
> Get the fuck up. Just get started. Amen. And it applies to all ages (though I often get downvoted for expressing such sentiments).
- sitharus 8y ago
  > though I often get downvoted for expressing such sentiments There is a huge difference between environmental depression, where such advice is definitely positive and will help, and psychological depression where that sort of advice given without consideration to the whole situation can be unhelpful at best and damaging at worst.
  - xattt 8y ago
    Thank you for putting this into tangible concepts. There’s a slice of a population that I work with that shows tendencies of the way that “typical people” would react to a given situation. If a challenging situation comes up, there’s a good balance between anxiety and resiliency. They tend to be in acute care specifically because their needs exceeded the ability to cope and manage their situation at home. At the same time, mental health conditions can diminish individuals’ ability for resilience with chronic conditions. Thus, this necessitates admission to acute care for something that could be managed at home. In acute care, the life style pattern known to these patients presents as ongoing “malingering” in beds. The “activation” that’s discussed in the article seems to reflect that individuals who do have diminished resiliency tend to do better when their days are structured.
  - skookumchuck 8y ago
    I don't believe the downvotes are all from clinically depressed people. For example, people say there's no opportunity for them, they can't get a job, they can't invest, they can't negotiate, etc. I point out that hundreds of thousands of people walk thousands of miles just for a chance to get into this opportunity-less country. I point out opportunities, like where they can get a free MIT education. I get downvoted to hell :-) It's not that I mind the downvotes, I just think it's a sad commentary on the current political climate that people feel that way. Even Hillary Clinton wrote a whole book about her being a victim in the last election.

skookumchuck 8y ago

> Get the fuck up. Just get started. Amen. And it applies to all ages (though I often get downvoted for expressing such sentiments).

sitharus 8y ago
> though I often get downvoted for expressing such sentiments There is a huge difference between environmental depression, where such advice is definitely positive and will help, and psychological depression where that sort of advice given without consideration to the whole situation can be unhelpful at best and damaging at worst.
- xattt 8y ago
  Thank you for putting this into tangible concepts. There’s a slice of a population that I work with that shows tendencies of the way that “typical people” would react to a given situation. If a challenging situation comes up, there’s a good balance between anxiety and resiliency. They tend to be in acute care specifically because their needs exceeded the ability to cope and manage their situation at home. At the same time, mental health conditions can diminish individuals’ ability for resilience with chronic conditions. Thus, this necessitates admission to acute care for something that could be managed at home. In acute care, the life style pattern known to these patients presents as ongoing “malingering” in beds. The “activation” that’s discussed in the article seems to reflect that individuals who do have diminished resiliency tend to do better when their days are structured.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  I don't believe the downvotes are all from clinically depressed people. For example, people say there's no opportunity for them, they can't get a job, they can't invest, they can't negotiate, etc. I point out that hundreds of thousands of people walk thousands of miles just for a chance to get into this opportunity-less country. I point out opportunities, like where they can get a free MIT education. I get downvoted to hell :-) It's not that I mind the downvotes, I just think it's a sad commentary on the current political climate that people feel that way. Even Hillary Clinton wrote a whole book about her being a victim in the last election.