Just WOW! To feel so understood is a gift. A gift better than anything else anyone will buy out there today on this Black Friday. I have not worked for two years. It has been very hard. I do feel like a failure. I’m not contributing to the family budget. I feel like I’ve lost my vote on anything we buy/do. I stopped driving and working at the same time. My car was sold because we needed the money lost from my income. So now here I am, no car, no money of my own….I feel like I’m living as a 12 year old. This time of year only tends to magnify it.
Was timely listening to this message today, sort of needed to hear it after a difficult few weeks. This anxiety does take a toll in our lives, professionally & financially, and it becomes cumulative over the years as we get older I notice (ie. when everyone else around us seems to accumulate more & more stuff/money/experiences, and we ourselves never quite keep up). Which can leave one feeling rather small, isolated and even ashamed. As Drew notes, the level of empathy or understanding from others just isn’t there because, unlike physical injuries or illnesses, it’s not tangible, it can’t be seen. Which then causes further feelings of lack and shame when the horrid, competitive tidal wave of the Black Friday marketing machine arrives. So it’s great to be reminded to hang on tightly to our own sense of dignity, self-worth and yes, achievements. And stoically keep taking our seemingly insignificant but important daily steps towards recovery and (hopefully) tangible life improvement🙏🏼
So I too am giving the finger to Black Friday. And for those of us living in UK, as Martin Lewis (founder of MoneySavingExpert) always reminds us, many of the so-called ‘deals’ aren’t price-reduced in reality anyhow! Different things float different people’s boats but becoming a mass-consumerism puppet and spending money I don’t necessarily have, on things I may not necessarily want or end up using, because someone’s telling me it’s cheaper, isn’t my choice. Luckily more & more people I know are starting to wise up also.
Not to mention the millions of annoying Black Friday spam emails currently bombarding my inbox (what happened to auto-move into ‘Junk’ folder?!) which is a whole other rant. Thanks again for another message of validation & reassurance which I’m sure many reading/listening will relate to and appreciate😊
What a perfect post for today! It's been a hard year. I lost my job due to my inability to travel as a salesperson (That would have required leaving my house!). I have talked to many friends about losing my self-worth due to not being able to work. It's been a big struggle trying to find ways to figure out who I am now, without my career. Of course, this impacted my financial stability. I have to watch every dollar I spend now and will be doing this for a long while. Medical bills have piled up. Pride did not allow me to say to others," I'm having a tough year- in all ways." Now as the year is ending, I can finally tell a few of my closest friends, "Things have been very challenging . I'm sorry if your Christmas present is just a little something this year..." Drew, thanks for validating a very real and unseen part of this illness.
Just WOW! To feel so understood is a gift. A gift better than anything else anyone will buy out there today on this Black Friday. I have not worked for two years. It has been very hard. I do feel like a failure. I’m not contributing to the family budget. I feel like I’ve lost my vote on anything we buy/do. I stopped driving and working at the same time. My car was sold because we needed the money lost from my income. So now here I am, no car, no money of my own….I feel like I’m living as a 12 year old. This time of year only tends to magnify it.
Was timely listening to this message today, sort of needed to hear it after a difficult few weeks. This anxiety does take a toll in our lives, professionally & financially, and it becomes cumulative over the years as we get older I notice (ie. when everyone else around us seems to accumulate more & more stuff/money/experiences, and we ourselves never quite keep up). Which can leave one feeling rather small, isolated and even ashamed. As Drew notes, the level of empathy or understanding from others just isn’t there because, unlike physical injuries or illnesses, it’s not tangible, it can’t be seen. Which then causes further feelings of lack and shame when the horrid, competitive tidal wave of the Black Friday marketing machine arrives. So it’s great to be reminded to hang on tightly to our own sense of dignity, self-worth and yes, achievements. And stoically keep taking our seemingly insignificant but important daily steps towards recovery and (hopefully) tangible life improvement🙏🏼
So I too am giving the finger to Black Friday. And for those of us living in UK, as Martin Lewis (founder of MoneySavingExpert) always reminds us, many of the so-called ‘deals’ aren’t price-reduced in reality anyhow! Different things float different people’s boats but becoming a mass-consumerism puppet and spending money I don’t necessarily have, on things I may not necessarily want or end up using, because someone’s telling me it’s cheaper, isn’t my choice. Luckily more & more people I know are starting to wise up also.
Not to mention the millions of annoying Black Friday spam emails currently bombarding my inbox (what happened to auto-move into ‘Junk’ folder?!) which is a whole other rant. Thanks again for another message of validation & reassurance which I’m sure many reading/listening will relate to and appreciate😊
What a perfect post for today! It's been a hard year. I lost my job due to my inability to travel as a salesperson (That would have required leaving my house!). I have talked to many friends about losing my self-worth due to not being able to work. It's been a big struggle trying to find ways to figure out who I am now, without my career. Of course, this impacted my financial stability. I have to watch every dollar I spend now and will be doing this for a long while. Medical bills have piled up. Pride did not allow me to say to others," I'm having a tough year- in all ways." Now as the year is ending, I can finally tell a few of my closest friends, "Things have been very challenging . I'm sorry if your Christmas present is just a little something this year..." Drew, thanks for validating a very real and unseen part of this illness.
I really love this newsletter and I am not sure what do read when you’re finally bringing this chapter to an end this year.
Not sure whether there is a forum on your website? A place where all the subscribers meet and share their insights w/ each other?
Thanks for doing this podcast series. Really: thank you Drew!!