What do you do??

[Loriebird]

Hi, everyone. It's been a while.

Just an update - I finally got my surgery Wednesday. I won't go into the specifics, it's not that important.

I'm really happy that I got the surgery. I have lots of support right now - my family really came togeether and has been helping me a lot. This is something I have been planning for the last 6 months. But now that it's happened, I don't know what to do with myself.

I took 2 weeks off work. Finals just ended. I went from being super busy to sitting on the couch all day watching TV and randomly falling asleep. Now I'm super-depressed, and I have a lot that I need to do (I haven't even started Christmas shopping yet), but I don't have the energy to do any of it. And now that I'm depressed, I'm completely unmotivated. Something simple like making phone call or sending out my Christmas cards feels like a lot of work right now.

What do you do when you're in recovery to keep from going crazy?

 

[David]

Congratulations on the surgery, I hope it went well!

When I had my surgery (not IBD related) and was confined to bed for about a week my laptop was my savior. Lot's of Netflix streaming movies and this forum kept me occupied

 

[Jennifer]

Sometimes Christmas shopping can be as easy as ordering online from Amazon (that's actually what I did this year for most gifts) or one stop cheap shopping at the Dollar store. When I ordered my gifts online I had no idea what to get people so I'd do random searches and added things to the cart as I saw them and then weeded out the cart later when I was done.

Besides the Christmas shopping though, you said your family has been helping you a lot but what about now? They can help you with your depression too and shopping (if you really want to do it before Christmas, no harm in late gifts or none at all and waiting for next year) by taking you to stores or just out of the house in general. You've gotta leave that comfort/safe zone you've created on the couch or bed and get your mind off of everything that's making you depressed and distract yourself with something new and interesting (well, mainly leaving the house). What's always helped my depression is having something to look forward to. Having a friend or family take you out is a great thing to look forward to (having small things to look forward to leaves less room for disappointment) and will get your mind off the depression for a little while. Its up to you to work on it and pull yourself out of it over time though (friends, family and even medication can help over time). Be open and honest and ask for help and someone will be there for you (even us) just like they were for your surgery.

After my surgery I slowly eased myself back into my old routine by allowing time for rest and visiting other people. When I'm depressed I try to limit my alone time as much as possible (I was on the phone a lot at first). When everything feels like WAY too much effort I stop focusing on everything that needs to get done and focus on one thing I CAN do. Start off with sitting up and go from there. When you focus on doing each step one at a time rather than the end result, it feels like less of a chore.

 

[GutlessWonder86]

hi lorie, I am recovering right now from my 2nd surgery this year. I told my family and friends ahead of time that I wouldn't be sending out home made cards due to an unexpected wound that wouldn't heal & needed removal and they understood. As for the Christmas shopping, I had that done back in April so I wasn't freaking out about shopping. My oven is broke so no stress about making cookies. Hubby has a buddy at work who's wife owns a bakery so he bought a few pounds of goodies.

The only thing I had to do was wrap a few gifts and just rest. I did have my friend take me out to do some grocery shopping. Can you have somebody take you out to finish up w/shopping or better yet, just send out a short email and ask family and friends to just call or send some funny emails to lift your spirits as well as call ahead of time to see if you are up for a short visit. Worked for me and it did wonders to keep my spirits lifted.

Do you have any hobbies such as reading, scrapbooking, watching funny movies, listening to stand up comics on CDs etc? Find something to keep your mind busy while healing to pass the time. Last year my recovery went really fast. Winter flew by and I went right into Spring not focusing that winter was dragging as usual.

My heart goes out to you. Rest when you need to. Be sure to eat and drink fluids, take your meds, and know that you are not alone. Merry Christmas from one crohnie to another!!! ~Gutless Wonder Woman :heart::heart::heart: