My failing health is making me depressed and feeling helpless. What can I do?

Question

About the last 18 months I have have had deteriorating health. It started with the death of my father followed with my first of three bouts of pneunomia. I have always been overweight but recently i am experiencing weight gain even while trying to lose some weight. In addition I have been exttremely weak and have difficulty breathing with even mild physical activity. I have always been a very strong man and this new "weakling" feeling is disturbing. Adding to my feeling of helplessness, I tried to get some health insurance (to make it more affordable to me) and was turned down citing pre-existing conditions. Those conditions being respiratory problems and being overweight. Exactly the reasons I was seeking help! I can't afford to pay regular doctors fees and felt that insurance was my best option. Now I am feeling really helpless. My wife and family seem to blow me off when I try to talk about it. It is difficult for a "big strong guy" to communicate his fears.

Answer 1

Try to do strict things like watching your diet and light exercise. If you need to go to the doctor, don't let your financial situation keep you from going. It is better to owe money than to die of your condition. You might want to look into going to the mental health center in your county so they can help you with your feelings of depression.

Your family sounds like they are being insensitive, or maybe they just don't understand how serious you are. A good step might be to tell them exactly what you have told on here.

Surround yourself with things you enjoy, movies, books, etc.

I hope you get the help you need soon and your family realizes how much you need them! Good luck and I hope things get better soon :)

Answer 2

you haven't had insurance, you are overweight, you probably have not seen a doctor for anything other than short term illnesses in some time. Did you think that those sorts of habits would not catch up with you? Did you think you were immortal and could go on forever ignoring the health risks you faced by gaining all that weight and not seeing a doctor for regular checkups? As we sew, so do we reap.
You've lived irresponsibly my friend, no wonder an insurance company won't touch you. And now you compound the problem by sitting on the pity pot. Time to grow up and take responsibility for yourself.(past time)
Since you say you cannot tolerate exercise, you need to restrict your calorie intake to no more than 1,000 calories in a day. It will take some time, but you will lose weight if you do this, and it will actually give you some control over your life if you decide to control what you eat. Once you have lost at least ten percent of your current total weight, you will be able to begin mild exercise, like going for a walk. Once that happens, you will begin to regain control of your life and health.
You've reached this state thru your own folly, you can take the tiger by the tail and deal with it, or you can sink into the pity pot, the choice is yours.

Answer 3

Mentally focus on the positive in your life, understand that you have a choice to either positively talk to yourself or negatively talk to yourself. The later will only prevent you from turning your life around. You can help your shortness of breath by taking walks everyday. Start with 5 minutes and work your way up. If your sitting and doing nothing physical, then you will gain weight. That is a given. Please understand that you have the power to change the path your on. Because honestly, you don't need a doctor, you need physical activity. Your lungs need you to exercise and as soon as you do, you will get less sick, less often.

Answer 4

exercise