It is hard to be a patient. But it is hard, also, to be the caregiver.
I just realised while talking (blabbing pointlessly) to a friend that it's the same for mental health.
It's hard for me, but it must be sooo hard for my friends too, to be this unwavering support all the time. The unpredictability of the situation, not knowing when I will need to talk. At least a physical patient follows a routine.
I had the first panic attack of my life 2 days ago. The attack itself was done in 15-20 minutes but the aftermath and uncontrollable crying went on for hours afterwards. A friend had to hand hold me - literally and figuratively.
It's not fair. It's not right. And it's incredibly hard for friends to be informal caregivers all the time, and get no credit for it. It's not the usual awww-you're-having-a-bad-day-let-me-give-you-a-hug kind of being there. It's serious heavy lifting. You have to physically lift the dark clouds surrounding someone and get them to see the sunshine. I just think that it's not fair to do that to one's friends.
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