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How do you use humor to cope with ALS issues?
Sometimes, humor can be a powerful coping mechanism. Whether it’s ALS-related or just something else entirely, for me, it helps to identify the things that ultimately don’t matter as much. I call this my “I don’t care” list.
We are all affected differently by ALS, so some things may not resonate with every pALS, but, for example… “I don’t care what dinner tastes like because I’m using a feeding tube anyway!”
Or “I don’t care if they want to draw more blood, I get a spinal tap every 28 days!”
The list shouldn’t be insulting or hurtful, just a way for us to poke fun at our situation if we choose. ALS definitely isn’t funny, nor is it easy, but perhaps we can use our humor as a coping skill.
How do you use humor to cope with ALS issues?
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5 Replies
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Amanda, I love your idea of an I Don’t Care list. Let’s all share what’s on our lists. Here are a few of mine:
I don’t care if I speak slowly… conversations around me need to slow down anyway.
I don’t care if I have to drink my coffee with a thickening powder… I pretend it’s one of those fancy coffee-flavored malts.
I don’t care if I have to use a rollator when I walk around the house… It’s a good way to carry stuff from room to room.
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Good one Edward-joseph-mytych! 😉 😉
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I tend to see the irony of the situation. Or, that my symptoms make me feel as if I am in a comedic movie or weekly TV series.
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We are well known in our friends-and-family circle as the funny, often punny, ones. I wrote this year’s holiday card in limerick format, from the perspective of our cat. It helped that our trail camera picked up bob kittens as well as the adults, so we had some interesting photos to share. We do try to have some non-ALS time for sure in our life, but mostly this disease consumes our life, and I didn’t want the holiday card to be a downer, but it needed to be honest. They are arriving in mailboxes this week, so we’ll see what the response is….
We hope you all have a beautiful, safe, and joyful holiday season, with a little mirth on the side.
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