My Supports

Support, my personal definition is a collaboration of people, literature, self-help, and resources that work together to help you through adversities and even the encouragement through good times we face in our life. These entities work together only if you allow them. If you accept the support and work together with them to promote a healthy life style you will become victorious. I believe that self-support is the first obstacle that many of us have to accept as a way to work through adversities. We cannot wallow in guilt and pity and expect others to do all the work for us. We have to put in a little work ourselves. When we decide we want to work our way through the day and be an active participant we can then accept the support from others and have an open mind to look for resources and consider what those resources have to offer us.

In the past year I have faced an adversity in my life that has caused heartache and many obstacles. There were mornings I would wake up and want to stay under the covers and not emerge for the day ahead. I had support myself and have the determination to get out of the bed, once I did I then had to look to my support to help me cope with the day or sometimes even just the next hour ahead. I would call my support group which consisted of close friends and family members. The people in my support group listened, gave non-judgmental words of encouragement, asked what I needed, and also asked what they could do to help me. When I needed time to myself without those specific supports I could look to literature and other resources that would help boost my energy to keep fighting through the day. The best quality of a support group of people is that they know when you need them and how to be there and they also know when it is time to back off and give you room to breathe. When I speak of literature I am referring to books, online literature or even taking to writing in a journal of your own. Resources are those support groups online, music, or groups that gather in support of one another.

The benefits of support are to rely on another person, place, or thing in order to help put one foot in front of the other. When we cannot find the answers we are looking for, when we just need a shoulder to cry on, or when we need a pat on the back to say that we did the right thing, that is what a support system does for us. For me without the support I would not make it through many of my days. I would suffer mentally and I would say also physically. I would feel alone, become depressed, and ultimately physical illness would affect me. If we are not of sound mind, mentally and emotionally healthy we cannot be physically healthy as well. For me I need to seek within myself to take on the day and know when to use the support system that I have established.

Share the challenge you chose to imagine and the thoughts you have with regard to supports you would want and need. Again, describe factors within your daily environment would be supportive to you, including the ways in which these factors would provide support. Describe what you see as the potential benefits of these supports. How difficult would it be to exist without these supports? The impact they would have on your life if they weren't there?

We were asked to share a challenge we do not currently have. Let me first say that the adversity that I have been discussing so far is that I have a close family member who is afflicted with the disease of alcoholism/addiction. So the challenge that I chose to imagine would be if this person falls victim to this disease and ultimately dies. This is an imagined challenge but it is also a very real possibility for me that I have thought about more times than I care to share.

Before I go any further I want to acknowledge why I chose to share this challenge I face on a day to day basis along with the imagined challenge. Alcoholism/Addiction is a disease; it is also a family disease that has a stigma that has clouded the judgment of many people. When people and their families are affected by the disease they hide in shame and embarrassment when in reality the statistics are that 15 million of Americans are affected by the disease (http://alcoholismstatistics.net/). Think about that, 15 million people, now think about all of the family and friends around them that are affected, how common does it seem to be now? If I can share and help one person, then I will feel like I have accomplished something at the end of the day. Sometimes speaking out can save a life and you do not even know that you did.

So now we think about this real possible challenge that many people face on a day to day basis. If this scenario ever hit home for me, the support system I have now would be my life line. I would need emotional and physical support. I might even literally need the physical support to remove myself from the depths of sadness I would for sure face. This would affect our entire family and we would all need support to help one another grieve. We would also support each other in the daily activities and trying to move on with our lives without this most important person in our lives.  The benefits that the support system would bring me would save my life. Daily living skills would be supported by those in my family and close friends, while they would also meet my emotional needs. I know that I would have to find the strength to move on and support my family as well, but that is what defines a family unit, love and support.

For anyone who is need of help I will refer you to these resources.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Al anon

http://www.freeaddictionhelpline.com/?gclid=CKLImre9lLsCFbQWMgodXiQAUw

Help Hotline 1-866-925-7411