Thanks, I don’t know the difference between counselling and therapy 
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Take it as “personal leave” they have no right to ask what it is for and therefor cannot say no.
Right then here goes, Mrs P has not long told me the results of her scans and her consultant confirmed that as well as her lower back and neck, she now has osteoarthritis in her hands, wrists and feet, with further scans to be had on her hips and there’s nothing they can do…
Really feel for her.
Therapist here, so in lay terms counselling is talking whereas therapy is active work.
Counselling is typically ongoing where you have a space to chat about what’s going on for you and that in itself can help a lot of people feel better. Therapy, on the other hand, is often fixed term e.g. 10-12 sessions, it’s solution focused and aims to provide tools and exercises to improve your quality of life. As @Delightful87 suggested CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) or DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy) might be worth having a gander into. There are even some free digital CBT resources e.g. SilverCloud if you want to give it a go and see what it’s about before forking out.
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Thanks @VanillaWithSprinkles, this is the first time I’ve ever talked about my issues. I haven’t heard of some of the options. I’ll have to try and google them.
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Mine has suffred with Rheumatoid Arthritis for about 20 years, so i sympathise.
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Cheers @WillC the thing is it’s only going to get worse
@JoCat unfortunately it doesn’t which is rather annoying 
They control my wife’s it’ll never get better and there’s occasionally flare ups and she’s in constant levels of pain, but it doesn’t stop her doing much.
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Sending Mrs @pootle and yourself big hugs and to wish you all the best. Life can be horrible at times and can be so cruel. Lets hope something can be given to ease the pain. Best wishes
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@WillC my wife does more than she should which causes arguments as i tell her I’m there to lift n shift stuff
@steve19 my wife is in constant pain and if her medication gets any stronger she’ll have to stop driving.
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That’s one of our arguments, she’s too independent tries not to let me lift and carry things!
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My girlfriend is suffering with depression due to grief many years ago, this has led to further illnesses that take their toll, there is no cure and the waiting for treatments is a joke. I’ve been supporting her for years, and as a consequence I recently started counselling (costing me a lot), my problems go back years and nothing can be done to help ease them. My life’s a mess.
@Knight1119 it’s shit when you want to help them but are unable to do so,
Regarding grief/depression issues have you heard of the “grief recovery system”?
There are over 40 different types of grief and this system along with a “recovery specialist” helps you to identify your grief and work through it,it’s a liberating experience and gives you tools to deal with many things.
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Wow , I had missed this thread for a long time . My wife is a chronic pain patient for over 23 years . They have had her on many different treatments . She has been battling depression “forever” . We are waiting to hear if final approval on having a spinal stimulater installed . The test back in November had great results and gives us both a glimmer of hope . She has been able to do very little for a long time . As my beat up and wore out body breaks down , keeping up with everything is becoming more challenging . I deal with my own issues with PTSD and anxiety , broken and damaged body parts . Along with being her main mental supporter . With my meager medical training I also oversee all her treatments and troubleshoot her issues . If she does not get this procedure done I fear she will not have much chance of continuing much longer . If I listed all her and my problems , it would be quite a long reply . Hang in there everybody ! We can only do what we can do .
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I’m having a real struggle with my patience this week at work. I am typically the most patient person on earth and will usually deal with any situation in a controlled manner and calmness, but this week is really testing me. I’m snappy and I feel I can’t control my emotions as best as I maybe could be. Before anyone says anything, it’s not PMT 
I haven’t had a period in over 12 years now.
Maybe because it’s the summer madness, people not reading T&Cs, expecting too much and just generally being a bit tit-ish, I feel I don’t have the patience to deal with some people.
I think it’s maybe time for some calming music 
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Yep my usual tolerance of idiots went right out the window today, with one moron in particular getting the full works,bit ashamed of myself now but at the time…
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@pootle I don’t even know if I feel ashamed of myself today. Other days maybe, but not today 
I sometimes find it very hard to believe how incompetent some individuals are. Why waste all that money without reading the terms first or expecting me to fix a problem when I physically can’t because the terms don’t allow me to 
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So utterly fucked off with everything I just don’t know where to begin, really feel like i could explode today
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So sorry to hear that @pootle mate 
, I’m feeling that way everyday trying to get a f****** job, I won’t rant, but it makes my blood boil.