NDPH Support Group

Sorry that I haven’t posted in quite some time!! I had good intentions for this blog, as at the time, I was really motivated to share my story. However, things in my life were up, then down, then all over the place, so I wasn’t really able to devote extra time to blogging. But I am interrupting this hiatus to share that I have recently discovered (thanks to a commenter) that an NDPH support group exists!! Just click here to go to the NDPH support site over at mdjunction.com. While I haven’t had much time this week to participate there, I think this is a great thing!! For a lot of years, I’ve been thinking that an NDPH group needs to be started somewhere on the web. Granted, we (those of us with NDPH) are small in number, but this is such a life-altering condition that it is just that much more important to connect with others who are going through the same thing. In addition, because NDPH is so chronic and can last for years and years, sufferers are at various stages at any given point. For instance, I’m now nearly 6.5 years into having NDPH, but I can remember what the first 6 months were like for me to experience, and if I can help guide someone through that time or offer support, then I think that would be wonderful. Likewise, I would hope to also gain support and guidance from those who have been at this “game” even longer than I have been!

In so many ways, people with chronic conditions go through the Kübler-Ross Five Stages of Grief of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While these stages are usually applied to those who have received a terminal diagnosis or for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, they can be adapted and applied to those who are suffering with chronic illness as well. At some point, I will share a paper that I wrote for nursing school on the “Theory of Chronic Sorrow”. While my paper was designed to talk about how that particular theory applied to the parents of neonates, I found in my research that it could also apply to those with chronic illness. So what I’m getting at here is that those with such a chronic condition like NDPH will all be in varying stages of these grieving processes in some way. And if the theory of chronic sorrow applies, we go through these stages again and again each time we experience a strong reminder of what we lost. Because we’ll all be at different points on the journey, it’s good to have others around to help us through it.

So, if you or a loved one is suffering from NDPH, I strongly suggest that you check out the New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH) Online Support Group over at mdjunction.com.