Posts by B.B. participants: Naomi Gilchrist

Set up by Katie Fant the 'Bravery Bottles' project is a new project for anyone with a chronic illness, regardless of whether its physical or emotional everyone is welcome to join. Bravery Bottles aims to highlight acts of bravery, such as a hospital stay, going to a therapy session, having a test/scan etc. It’s whatever you personally consider an ‘act of bravery’. Through the project our acts of bravery are recognised, rewarded and our fight made seen. Katie sees that ”anyone living with a chronic illness is brave”.

"How does ‘Bravery Bottles’ differ from other similar projects?

Put simply, the difference between my project and other similar well-known projects is based on the definition of ‘bravery’ within the chronically ill community, in particular who and what is considered as ‘brave’. The majority of other similar projects are aimed at those with an illness that, at times, means lengthy hospital admissions, the need to be blue-lighted to Resus in ambulances, require multiple ITU stays, need regular surgery etc. as their lives are at risk. Having to face ‘acute emergency’ type scenarios like this is, of course, very scary and no doubt deserves recognition and reward - and this project does just that. As well though, it extends to include the people who still have to face, manage and cope with a chronic illness as part of their daily life, but who don’t necessarily have the ‘acute emergencies’ as mentioned previously as part of their illness. Those who have a ‘stable’ illness, or one that doesn’t require emergency hospital admissions, either because of the nature of their illness, or because they have community care implemented to allow them to be cared for at home when they’re more unwell than usual, are often not considered ‘ill enough’ to take part in these sort of similar projects. Not only is this unfair to the patient, but it also encourages competition within the medical community as to who is the ‘most ill’." - www.braverybotles.com

Being part of the project and seeing my little glass bottle filled up bead-by-bead has greatly helped me recognise the resilience I have within myself to just keep going an fight whatever battles come my way and it's a visual reminder of how strong I am and how I got through some really difficult things or the everyday things that I have to endure like blood tests, seizures, dislocations etc.

I have given myself a bravery bead for acts such as:

• Going to an appointment
• Having my spinal injections
• Getting through a bad pain or fatigue day
• Getting though a bad day with my emotions
• Seizures
• Hospital admissions
• 999 call outs
• Having a bad dislocation
• Fighting anxiety
• Having a blood test
• Getting through a bad insomnia night
• Bad symptom day

How to project works:

Each person is given a 'Bravery Bottles kit' which include a tracking booklet, 30 bead and a glass jar charm and a charm bracelet. For each day of bravery a bead is added to the jar. Once your jar is filled with the 30 beads a milestone charm is awarded. There are also extra charms, such as introducing a friend to the project or when its your birthday.

It's a way of recognising and awarding ourself for the 'acts of bravery' we face as a life lived with a chronic illness. As well as this there is access to the participants Facebook group, monthly prize draws and other competitions that you can be a part of.

Posts by B.B. participants: Megan Whitehouse

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- OCD. Three little words that seem to rule my life with overwhelming power. OCD has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. For so long I thought it was 'normal' for your brain to be constantly full of a never ending stream of thoughts and worries. 

OCD is an anxiety related condition where a person experiences frequent intrusive obsessional thoughts which are often followed by repetitive compulsions or impulses.

An obsession is an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters your mind, causing feelings of anxiety, disgust or unease. A compulsion is a repetitive behaviour, action or mental act that you feel you need to carry out in an attempt to relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought.

OCD affects as many as 12 in every 1000 people (1.2% of the population). 50% of cases fall into the severe category, with less than a quarter being classed as mild cases. The symptoms of OCD can significantly interfere with the ability to function on a day-to-day basis as they are incredibly difficult to ignore. 

Every person with OCD is affected differently and has different symptoms, so each person has a different story to tell. Here is how OCD affects me.

I have a range of complusions caused by OCD (some more distressing than others) and they all impact my daily life in their own way.

• Counting up to ten in multiples of two repeatedly in my head. 

• Dermatillomania (Skin picking).

• Everything Organised in Alphabetical Order (Apps, Bookmarks, Lists etc.)

• If I forget to check the time on my phone before I lock it I have to unlock it then lock it again 3 times (just to make sure I've read the time correctly).

• If someone 'tempts fate' I have to 'touch wood' (I can't relax until I do and if I don't it feels like something bad is going to happen).

• Need for constant reassurance (I'm continuously asking for reassurance on the same topic for a sense of 'relief').

• Obsession with even numbers and multiples of five.

• Push the toilet handle three times.

• Rearranging everything in the room if something doesn't 'look right' or isn't in the 'right place' (it makes me very stressed and upset when objects aren’t arranged 'properly').

• Repeating actions three times (counting as I do so).

• Repeating random words and phrases over and over again in my head.

•Rereading a sentence I misread or don't understand three times (it takes me a long time to read something).

My OCD is currently unmanaged so my head is filled with intrusive thoughts for most of the day and my complusions take up an awful lot of my time. It's only when I have an 'OCD Moment' (when my complusions become visible to those around me) that people notice that I'm struggling. 

That's one of the problems with OCD; it's an invisible illness. So much is going on inside of your head all the time but your friends and family around you have no way of knowing because from the outside you look fine. It isn't until the obsessions become too much and spill out that people can see what's going on inside your head all the time.

You know that the complusions you do make no sense and that the 'reasoning' behind them is completely illogical but that doesn't make the fear or the anxiety any less real! The OCD part of your mind is just spiralling out of control and you feel completely incapable of stopping it. The intrusive thoughts of OCD feel like they're controlling your life and cause an awful lot of distress!

If you'd like to know what its like inside my mind watch this video. https://themighty.com/video/i-have-ocd-this-is-what-its-like-to-be-in-my-mind-for-3-minutes/  The constant counting and never ending stream of thoughts is just like what I experience. (The only difference is I count different numbers and have different thoughts/worries).