Hi I can relate to many of the feelings here and I am sorry everyone has to face them. For myself I feel the past 3 years I have went through many changes in how I face this condition and the people/things that impact me. It is like a learning process in what works and does not. I have for sure and continue to go through the stages of emotions. A big thing I work on daily is to stay in the day of what I can do to get through it in the healthiest way. As for family and friends at many times I feel unheard and alone. I try to focus on the people who do understand in the ways they can. I have some family members like my gramps for example who blames me for my pain that I have had to separate from. I don't have the mental strength to constantly fight with people or explain why I can't do something. It takes all my mental energy to fight through the pain. I see where when I get upset with people or life issues that I don't tolerate my pain as well. Being calm is very important. I know for myself I will never be able to do what I did in terms of being active and I have learned to accept that and hope to find new things in the future I can do. The more I focus on the can't the more I feel down and the harder it is to fight. My pain doctor said something to me I found so helpful that on the bad pain days you do the best you can and on the better pain days you do the most you can. That one has to find a new way of living and doing things in the condition we face.
Hopeful and anyone else with trying to increase activity. When I first came to this board I was in bed full days from pain. When my doc said you must move or you will atrophy it was torture getting on my feet again. Anyhow I did start with increasing by 5 min at a time or even 2 min each week. So hopeful though at this time you can only do 5 min setting small goals for each week or each month I think gives the body time to adjust and also makes one feel proactive. Wishing everyone a better day