FRUSTRATED

Bonjour, 

When you suffer from a long term chronic illness like M.E. you go through different emotions.  

In this blog I want to talk about one of the emotions that many of us experience. That's the feeling of being frustrated. 

So what makes us feel frustrated? 

We may feel frustrated 

• by the reaction and response of so many doctors
• by the lack of change and progress
• by the feeling that we are neglected
• trying over and over again to find things that might help, spending lots of money in the process but rarely finding anything that helps. 
• by the lack of understanding
• by people's attitudes e.g. get up and get on with it, everyone gets tired, don't be lazy 
• we often don't look sick and so people assume that we are ok
• having to repeat the same points over and over again
• by the restriction of our life and our choices
• by so many symptoms 
• by insomnia
• by brain fog when our brains no longer seem to function
• mixing and forgetting words
• being stuck in the house, especially on a beautiful day
• by loneliness and isolation
• having to cancel so many appointments and letting people down
• our hopes and dreams that can no longer be realized 
• losing a purpose in life
• no longer being part of 'normal life and society'
• not being able to use or apply the knowledge and skills that we have studied and worked for
• not being able to make plans because of the variability of the illness
• not being able to pursue hobbies and interests
• not being able to go out to places like the cinema, theatre, church, restaurants or shops
• losing our independence, the spontaneity of life, just being able to go out when and wherever we want
• losing our social life
• not being able to converse with others
• the unpredictability of this illness   
• losing contact with people
• by just being ill all the time and for so long    

  You make me

Frustrated

So angry

And irritated

You make me

Frustrated

So tearful

And feel defeated

You make me

Frustrated

Uncertain

And disappointed

You make me

Frustrated

A failure

And my life`s wasted

You make me

Frustrated

Cry and shout

That you are hated!

Bottling up our frustration can lead to anger, tears, aggression, loss of control or even depression. I believe it's better to share our frustrations with others. Perhaps we should reflect on what is making us so upset and how can we deal with our frustration. Maybe we need to look at our life and our situation in a new way. Perhaps our frustration will ease with acceptance and when we try to change all these negatives into positives. 

In the meantime if you are feeling frustrated have a scream and shout and see if that helps!! 

A bientot

From the French Femme

xxx