Have you ever been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness?

Yes.

I got diagnosed with life.

My to do list involves waking up,surviving and going back to sleep.

I would play along with this, alas today's not the day.

On a more serious note, depression and it was once bulimia.

I have depression too, but this is different. At least with my depression I know it can't suddenly kill me, but this is out of my control...

You could take up knitting, I find it helpful when stressed, or maybe an instrument. There really are no hard and fast rules when it comes to stress relief... you could go on a holiday and relax?

I do knit. Should I even continue going to college? I can't think straight. And I just came back from holiday and was given the bad news but now I'm awaiting further test results.

Sorry, knitting is my go to piece of advice, all I can say is see if you can be put forward for extra exam time. Do you know when the test results will arrive?

Some time next week.

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How did you deal with the diagnosis and every thing after that? How do you cope?

Put it in chat so it could get more responses (potentially).

How did you deal with the diagnosis and every thing after that? How do you cope?

I've never been diagnosed with one myself, but I've done my fair share of waiting for results and being around people who have had a diagnosis. I think, like coping with most things in this world, the only way to get through it is to live in the moment. Obviously thoughts about the future will creep in and sometimes there are decisions to be made, but while you are here you have life. That quality of life might be impaired by illness, but people do manage to still enjoy and cherish life while they have it even in what might seem like desperate circumstances.

I'm probably being hypocritical saying all this, because I've been a worrier forever and I'm all for indulging in some doomy and gloomy feelings more than I should, but I am starting to learn that the only thing you can do is make the most of what you have now because the future isn't guaranteed for anyone. I would say don't make any rash decisions re. college but once you have a diagnosis think about what you want and try not to think what others might advise you to do or what you should do. The only right way to cope is to do things your way. If you feel able to continue with college and you enjoy it there's no reason why you should leave. Even if you might struggle to attend ask for help and I'm sure you'll be given it. On the other hand if you feel like it's a waste of time and you don't really enjoy being there and doing what you're doing then leave and spend your time doing something that feels worthwhile and makes you happy.

I'm going offline now for the night but if you need anyone to talk to my PMs are always open and even though I'm cutting back on TSR use these days I do still check my PMs and would be happy to chat to you or just listen if you feel the need to get things off your chest.

I don't have anything life-threatening but I do have a pretty serious condition affecting my joints, still waiting on referrals and I am not a patient patient (couldn't help myself, sorry). Waiting around is the worst, especially when you know you need treatment and the longer you wait the worse your condition is going to be to deal with.

On a serious note though, everyone copes differently with these diagnoses, some better than others and it's nothing to be ashamed of if you can't put on a brave face all the time. All I can suggest is to keep yourself busy, and try and maintain normality as much as possible. I've witnessed and dealt with the fallout of medical professionals giving my patients not so good news in a less than helpful way, and that's me being extremely diplomatic about the situation.

If you (or anyone else) wants to unload their feelings on a random stranger, my inbox is always open

Yes I was diagnosed 2 months ago with a very rare life threatening lung condition. I have always had a lung condition but was slowly getting worse, I was recently re diagnosed with this new one. I was told I was going to progressively get worse, that eventually i was going to be unable to breathe on my own. I was also told this condition had no cure, but worst of all I was told there are NO treatment options available. Nothing to slow down it's progression, nothing to help me breath every day.

At first I was devastated I'm 20 and to be told I was dying and nobody knew when or why or if I have years or months left to live. Made me feel like I was already dead.
I'm still devastated but I want to get on with my life, when I do die I want people to say all the good things that I've achieved. It is difficult to cope with emotionally I found the one thing that helps me to not think about it and it's swimming. Just find something that stops you from thinking.

What I will say is don't give up on college, try and carry on. You might even find that going to college helps to keep you busy and focus on something else. And one last thing, don't keep you feelings bottled up, message me if you ever need more support.

Put it in chat so it could get more responses (potentially).

How did you deal with the diagnosis and every thing after that? How do you cope?

Put it in chat so it could get more responses (potentially).

How did you deal with the diagnosis and every thing after that? How do you cope?