This is a marathon, people, not a sprint. How I wish I had someone tell me that 6 years ago. But now I’m learning. Here are 10 things that have worked for me in terms of overcoming the stress and day-to-day grind of having a child with Tourette Syndrome and other disorders:
- Find a support group (This blog, a private group I have)
- Be open with friends (I have some awesome folk in my life)
- Pray (It really works)
- Find a prayer support group
- Exercise
- Set goals for yourself
- Be honest – some days just suck. There’s no point in pretending otherwise. Just know you can always start over.
- Yes, really, you START OVER. Every second that passes is a new opportunity to start fresh.
- Focus on the kid and his/her gifts, not just the tics.
- Work on accepting the tics you can’t change, changing the tics you can, and having the wisdom to know the difference.
Wow – your timing on this is so perfect as I have had the most stressful few weeks, actually few months. no actually 5 years of my life! And it’s all manifested in a stomach issue that is totally stress related – now it’s all affecting my health! I’ve got to put the oxygen mask on myself first and it’s so hard to do. I find that I do most of the things on your list – really appreciate the suggestions and will try to add what I don’t do and do the other things more often!
What a long strange trip it’s been.
Hi JO, thanks for posting! We were actually just about to contact you, wondering if you will be attending the TS walk this year in Mendham. It’s a little more than 2 weeks away, and we’ve noticed that neither you nor your team from last year has signed up yet. We’d love to have you again!!!