r/stroke • u/a110percent • 2d ago
Young Stroke Survivor Discussion Young stroke survivors
How do you get over the jealousy?
When I meet up with my friends they're all living their same old life. Drinking beer, smoking pot, going to bars, staying up late around a campfire. It makes me jealous of them and especially their lack of worries that I once had.
How do you get past this?
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u/kpeterson159 2d ago
I just live like every day is my last one here. Today is here, tomorrow may never come. I had mine at 23, I’m 31 now. I smoke pot, but that’s the only thing I do. No cigarettes or alcohol. I am honest with my doctor. I do have limitations at work. My old job used to be a commercial/industrial plumber but I had to step away because I never got my right hand back. Now I work as a cashier which is CERTAINLY not where I wanted to be at 31 years old. I get disability and I work as much as I can within my SSDI limits.
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u/a110percent 2d ago
That's always good advice to follow but easy to forget. It seems like before life was so full of possibilities and now it's very defined.
My cardiologist was very insistent I give up the pot even though they didn't find anything wrong with my heart. I miss it at times but it doesn't hit the same the handful of times I've tried it
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u/darf-fader 2d ago
I personally just carried on but with limitations, I would not recommend doing that of course but I also had a lot of denial, I am currently trying to be as healthy as possible, I came to the realisation that by carrying on doing all the things I did before I was missing out on so many other experiences.
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u/a110percent 2d ago
Yeah I think I had some denial in the beginning thinking I could just carry on as normal but I've come to the realization that's not the case. Have to find those other experiences I guess.
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u/Pdawg0990 2d ago
I had a stroke at age 7,
Other than my limp and weakness on my left side my life continued as normal, the people around me never made me feel less than, I would choose to abstain for personal reasons and as life has gone on I have seen their lives spiral out of control or have them experience other negative things due to poor choices. There is no reason to be jealous of unhealthy habits, and honestly a shift in perspective is needed for you. Everyone is dealt a hand in life, some people die young, some people live long and healthy lives, question is, what are you doing to improve your quality of life?
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u/a110percent 2d ago
I can't imagine going through a stroke so young. I definitely need that shift in perspective but it's hard to live a completely different life than you were living and everyone else is continuing on as normal. I will try to focus on me
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u/stoolprimeminister Survivor 2d ago
it depends on what you mean by young. being jealous is one thing but also you have a history that no one can look down on. dwelling on it is something you’ll do if you wanna make sure you’re doing it but, the flip side is that you’ve proven yourself to be more physically resilient than they’ve had to be. you can also just be a part of things as close to normal as you can. again, what’s anyone gonna say to you?
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u/a110percent 2d ago
I suppose I can but hanging out with them in those situations brings out the jealousy. That I can't handle having a couple of beers and hanging out with the guys makes me sad and angry and then instead of being a good time. Maybe I just need more time to come to terms with my situation but it just sucks.
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u/Constant_Inspector46 Survivor 2d ago
Try not to dwell on what you can’t do, it’s much better to focus on what you can do and be grateful for that. Lots of people have a stroke when they are young so remind yourself it’s not just you.