Being Happy

[comad]

,,,,,

[BillyG]

Originally Posted by GoTWHeeLs

This Sticky was just a thought one day when I opened the “Life” forum and saw the “Suicide” thread and thought, “What about all of the happy people and things going on in people’s lives.”


My injury is C5C6 complete and I am about 2 and a half years post. I’m still new to all of this and feel blessed to have this website for all the info, resources and the people. When I first found this site I thought life was over and it wouldn’t ever get better, but I was wrong. Here’s a few thread’s that show how my life has changed.

1. Does it really get better?


2. The New Life


Many things have changed since then and I am the happiest I have ever been, even pre-injury. I have many things and people in my life that I have to thank for that, but the thing that keeps me happy is me. When I get bummed something in the back of my mind starts to slap me around and lets me know that I don’t want to spend my day like that. I maintain my positive outlook because I know the opposite too well and choose not to live day in and day out like that. Here’s a couple of things I do to keep my spirits up.

• Fresh air always helps.

• Positive people. Whether it’s in person, on the phone, internet and if no one is around or available put in a positive movie or t.v. show.

• Staying occupied keeps the mind busy.

• Pets, just watching the things they do makes me smile.

• Exercise. The feeling you get when doing positive things for your body is incredible.

I’ll post more as they come to mind, but the most important aspect for me is thinking positive constantly. Even when negative things slam me in the face I just step out of the box and put things in perspective in a positive way.

This Sticky should provide any kind of information on what you do to keep positive and happy, and also what kind of positive things are going on in your life.

Very nice post! You are someone I would like to know...Thanks for sharing

[47+years]

Laughter

[darlagee22]

After days of feeling down I call my kids who have kids and get "baby therapy". Kids that I love, just bring out the best in me and they make me want to make THEM happy, which takes my mind off of myself, my pain, my puny measurements of my life. They remind me that its people that are important. Then I send them home and REST!!!

[quad247]

I was unjured when I was 20,(now 47).I was never "happy" after my accident,I had "momments" of happiness when I was younger,but now it's a chore just getting up and have to depend on people for that...
I have it better then some people here,I can feed myself, sleep through the nighte without horrible pain...so for that i'm thankfull,but not happy.
Nelson.

[bob clark]

Originally Posted by quad247

I was unjured when I was 20,(now 47).I was never "happy" after my accident,I had "momments" of happiness when I was younger,but now it's a chore just getting up and have to depend on people for that...
I have it better then some people here,I can feed myself, sleep through the nighte without horrible pain...so for that i'm thankfull,but not happy.
Nelson.

Hi Quad247,

Ditto. My feelings exactly about SCI. I can't say, in the 34 years since I was paralyzed (T-4) at age 24 that I've had one joyous moment. Not one. The words "joy", "fun", "satisfied", etc but especially "happy", no longer exist in my personal lexicon. Those words and feelings are for other people. Mainly the healthy able-bodied people who are able to use and enjoy their bodies as they were designed to be used and enjoyed on this earthly planet. Just like I was able to do prior to Sunday 2:45PM July 22nd, 1979.

Compared to this state of being, work was a joy. I was employed by US Steel on their railroad as a "train operator" using a remote controlled locomotive to move millions of tons of steel around... one big RC toy! That was exciting and fun and they paid me well for the opportunity. I sure miss "work".

Gravity is a word that I'm quite familiar with though.... I deal with it constantly. And "broken leg" too. My fuckin' femur has been broken in two since August 5th. Ya think it's about time they stuck it back together? I have another appointment this Tuesday to see about it.

Thanks for the opportunity to rant in the "Happiness" thread. Hmmm, think I posted in the wrong thread. Oh well.

Bob.

[Beth67]

Originally Posted by BillyG

Very nice post! You are someone I would like to know...Thanks for sharing

Ditto, great post!

[bob clark]

Originally Posted by Beth67

Ditto, great post!

Geez, looks like we've covered the whole range of feelings in just 2 consecutive posts!

I'm wondering though.... do you have disposable income that enables you to do fun things? Do you own or have access to a car or transportation? Go on vacations etc.?

And secondly, do you have a supportive family or some sort of support system?

I have no idea what I'm gonna do when my 13 year old air conditioner/heatpump, 23 year old water well or 23 year old roof go on my 23 year old house and need to be replaced. These things worry me. I live alone and barely get the bills paid. And just a few hours ago the second of three fluorescent tubes burnt out in my kitchen and although I have replacements, I have no one to do the replacing. There doesn't seem to be much room for having fun. But that's just me.

And aside from being either a para or a quad.... and all those other variables brought about by the uniqueness of every SCI, I believe there are two types of SCI'd people. Those with money and/or "means" and those without.

When I was able-bodied I had no trouble finding relationships or employment and always had a girlfriend and always had enough money to live on and spend on her. And enough to buy those expensive guy toys with and to go on vacations with etc. Not now.

Bob.

[Patton57]

Originally Posted by bob clark

Geez, looks like we've covered the whole range of feelings in just 2 consecutive posts!

I'm wondering though.... do you have disposable income that enables you to do fun things? Do you own or have access to a car or transportation? Go on vacations etc.?

And secondly, do you have a supportive family or some sort of support system?

I have no idea what I'm gonna do when my 13 year old air conditioner/heatpump, 23 year old water well or 23 year old roof go on my 23 year old house and need to be replaced. These things worry me. I live alone and barely get the bills paid. And just a few hours ago the second of three fluorescent tubes burnt out in my kitchen and although I have replacements, I have no one to do the replacing. There doesn't seem to be much room for having fun. But that's just me.

And aside from being either a para or a quad.... and all those other variables brought about by the uniqueness of every SCI, I believe there are two types of SCI'd people. Those with money and/or "means" and those without.

When I was able-bodied I had no trouble finding relationships or employment and always had a girlfriend and always had enough money to live on and spend on her. And enough to buy those expensive guy toys with and to go on vacations with etc. Not now.

Bob.

Spot on

AB'd partners greatly ease the burden of living with an SCI in so many ways. The isolation is a slow killer.

[Zeus]

I'd say genetics (i.e., brain chemistry), money and a supportive family all make a huge difference. I thankfully have all three on my side, but life is still way harder than it should be for this complete quad.

Chris.