Participant comments

Audrey

We all join Lifemoves with some initial uncertainties. We have questions like: - What will I get from these sessions? How will meeting with a group of people ever help me? Don't they know that we all have different and specific medical challenges?

So, what did I get out of Lifemoves? Surprisingly, I came away with quite a lot. These discussion forums do work! We, the participants, may have different neurological problems but we do share some common challenges. The confidential and supporting atmosphere encouraged discussions. We shared our difficulties and we contributed our suggestions to help find solutions. Sometimes we succeed in doing so, sometimes we don’t. But it does not matter. Lifemoves is one of those programmes where there is no right and there is no wrong.

Discussions were wide and varied. We tackled issues ranging from physical to financial and emotional challenges. With some participants, we brainstormed ideas on how to achieve our individual goals. We discussed priorities (like not to waste time and emotions on small issues) and to break down the goals into small achievable tasks.

We talked about honesty to ourselves and to others about our conditions. We talked about friends and relatives over/under compensating for our difficulties or who may be embarrassed to contact us because of it. One participant shared with us that someone whom she had a close relationship with was not contacting her as often as before. A group member suggested that maybe they had difficulties talking to her about her current condition.

This point was close to my heart. A long time friend had not contacted me since I was diagnosed with my current condition. Over the next few weeks, I reflected on this discussion point. And around Christmas time, I picked up the phone and called my friend. After some initial small talk, she opened up and apologised for not contacting me the past few months. She just did not know what to say to me. It would appear that she was having more difficulties accepting my medical diagnosis than I was.

For those of us who chose not to talk, we listen. In Lifemoves, we participate, contribute and share as much as we feel comfortable to. And we take away as much as we want out of it. Through sharing and self-reflection, we find that even though our challenges are unique to each of us, we are not alone. We are different - but we are the same.

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