My Real Feelings...
Time to get a little personal. I've received SO many messages with individuals pouring their hearts out to me about having RP and living life with this condition. I feel so blessed to be able to connect with all of you, and be able to "get" what everyone is going through without having to explain our situations. There have been quite a few of you who mention feeling "useless" with this progressing condition, and I felt the need to share my view on this subject. Having RP can 100% make us feel incapable at times... add this with some self doubt and we have ourselves a swirling pot of "uh-oh." I'll be the first to admit it, depression and this condition are like a power couple... they work strongly together, and know how to take a person down. The key is not to let it. "How? That's so easy to say, yet so hard to do." I see where you're coming from... but I've been there and I get it! My first piece of advise? Talk to someone. After fighting for a few years with depression relating to my RP, my dad (who also has RP) finally told me to go see a counselor. I HATED the idea, and thought it would never work. Did it fix me? No. But it helped me open my eyes to a new way of thinking, which in the end helped me immensely. I learned that before I had started talking to a counselor, I had an "I can't" attitude about EVERYTHING! This was not only unhealthy for me, but also for the people around me. I didn't realize how badly I needed a third party to listen to me, and to help me see things from an outside perspective. My second piece of advise? Prove yourself.... to yourself. I had a horrible fear of sleeping alone in our house at night. What if someone broke in?! How would I get out in the dark?! One day I decided to just face my fears and get over it. I stayed up basically the entire night.... but guess what? I did it. Was everyone else surprised? No. But I was. I realized at that moment I had very little faith in myself, and that that was something I needed to change. My third and final piece of advise? Stop caring about what others think of you. Again, easy to say, hard to do. But extremely necessary. If someone can't accept me for who I am, and what I'm going though, then they don't deserve an ounce of my time. It's crucial to understand that the people that actually care for you and love you will not only show it, but continue to support you through your good and bad days alike. In the end I'm not a doctor or a researcher... I'm a 23 year old RP overcomer that wants to spread love and awareness!💜Be true to who you are. You are NEVER worthless.
Love always, Katey
(The picture reads: Sometimes in the waves of change, we find our true direction.)