Ask Bobbi!

1) How are you feeling on the day to day during the quarantine? How has this affected your mental health? 

The quarantine has been difficult for everyone. When the quarantine first started it was a bit easier because we didn’t know how long it was going to go. I know I have good days and bad days. The good days are started when I wake up and I’m able to move my body the way I want to and the way I need it too. I feel more energetic and am able to do some exercise.
Now the tough days. Those are started differently it’s usually when my body is fighting me and hurting and it’s difficult to do normal tasks that I have to do. It’s those days that I really have to fight. I look for something on TV that will make me laugh. I congratulate myself for getting through the first half hour on my own and then an hour. I also have to try to force myself to workout or do something constructive. I realized that it’s important on those days especially to give myself a little bit of a goal something that I want to finish. Once I finish that goal I can let myself know that I’ve accomplished it and it doesn’t feel like such a hard day. I will be honest though there are days especially tough. I really want people to know that it’s important to realize that it’s okay to have those days to feel how you feel and not to bury it. Burying it will cause anxiety to heighten. I allow myself to have these days but try to remember to congratulate myself for getting through them. It’s okay to need help as well whether that means calling a friend or emailing a friend it’s amazing how helpful it is when you hear a friend tell you things about you positive things. We forget positive things about ourselves when we’re having difficult days and that’s normal but it’s important to be able to hear the reminders from other people.

2) How are you keeping positive during the pandemic?

I think keeping positive during this pandemic can be difficult sometimes. The things that I have mentioned in question 1 can be helpful. But another thing that I do is when I’m having a tough time I look up Trent Shelton on YouTube he is a motivational speaker and has a lot of different topics that he speaks about. I pick one that I think will be interesting and I listen to it. Another thing that I do is as silly as it sounds I talk to myself when my anxiety is high. I tell myself it’s going to be okay we’re going to get through this and it’s going to be okay. I say this over and over and then I try to watch something funny on TV or something I’ve been looking forward to watching. I also look for relaxation exercises on YouTube. This is new to me because I just got a fire stick so I could see this on my TV when I find good ones I will let everyone know.

3) As someone with cerebral palsy, how do you feel about the pandemic? Are you anxious/nervous/scared?  How do you address these feelings?  

As a person with CP honestly because of the CP I think my pain is increasing or it could be because of my sitting in my chair. I’m not altogether sure. At the same time I truly believe but during this pandemic the feelings that I deal with on a day-to-day basis are relatively similar to someone that doesn’t have a different ability.

4) How has your daily life changed since the quarantine started? 

My life since the pandemic started has changed dramatically as I’m sure everyone’s has. I used to get up and go to variety Village 5 days a week, I went to church on Sundays, and I had a job on Saturdays. I also attended meetings on the acat committee ( advisory committee on accessible Transit) for the TTC. We met at least two or three times a month and I also sit on the appeal committee and participate in that once every couple of months. So it’s been a bit of a challenge and adjustment.