Posted by Gary on October 29, 1998 at 12:39:02:
Hi gang
Haven't seen as much about mental effects as physical & medical aspects. I think the mental side is REAL important; not until I started considering them as well as the pure physical pain, did I begin to learn to live with these things - at least some of the time
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So - I'm gonna put a couple topics up, see if we find some commonality. If nothing else, it would be nice to know that we're not nuts ! Jerry - jump into this, PLEASE
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Bill mentioned "missing" them when they go. I think I know EXACTLY what he means. I've had that sense.
~~~I see it this way - when in cluster, I have to devote all primary effort to coping. This involves day schedules, eating patterns, sleep patterns, mental activity & attitudes (and please see my second post about THAT one !) - in effect, totally transport myself into "another place". I've found this is the only way I can avoid unbearable dfeat, stress and anxiety, which occurs if I try to "behave normally" while in cluster.
~~~OK - they stop, often suddenly. That leaves me standing, all alone, in a strange place. Perhaps I THEN see how much of the real world life I missed while in cluster, and it's unsettling. Or, it might be that I work SO HARD to deal with the cluster that it becomes my primary persona, then POOF - it's over.
~~~Another thing - to be perfectly candid - I tend to be very stressed and a real worrier in "normal" phase of my life - and try to deal with that all the time, with a variety of approaches, both mental and spiritual. Then comes a cluster - pretty soon things get REAL simple, and nothing else matters.