Disabled and chronically ill people often spend more time in bed than someone who is not disabled, because sometimes we need a lot of surgeries to manage our health or live with chronic pain, and are in a flare. Non-disabled people sometimes wish they could watch TV all day, and think people who are able to do that are living the dream. As a disabled person, I have had a lot of surgeries because of my disability that sometimes require months of bed rest. When I am recovering from a surgery, and the pain is high, I will watch some TV, but eventually, I will start to get bored with it because watching TV is not what it’s cracked up to be. Technology has made it easy for disabled and chronically ill people who are experiencing high pain levels to entertain themselves without having to move, but eventually, you get bored and want to do anything else. What can you do to entertain yourself when you’re stuck in bed? In this post, I am going to talk about a few things I do when I am recovering from a surgery or am stuck in bed because of pain.
Write a blog post– When I am recovering from a surgery and am experiencing high pain levels, I sometimes will schedule a couple of posts in advance but will not start blogging until my pain starts to lower because high pain levels affect the quality of your posts. Blogging or journaling is a great activity to do when you are experiencing high pain levels because you can do it while sitting in bed When I had hip replacement surgery, I didn’t blog for a couple of weeks because I was in too much pain to think clearly but after about month I started to blog again even though I still had high pain levels. I was stuck in bed for about three months because my doctor did not want me to bear weight on my new hip right away and I got bored. Blogging is a great activity for when you can’t get out of bed because you can blog on any device and all you need is an Internet connection. When I have a surgery, I don’t use my computer to blog like I normally would, but I do have an iPad with a keyboard that allows me to continue to blog throughout my recovery. Blogging can take hours out of your day and there is no better time to start a blog than when you are stuck in bed.
Start a YouTube channel- Blogging is a great activity for people who do not have a lot of money to spend on equipment because you do need things for a YouTube channel that you would not need for a blog. As a disabled blogger, I have no interest in starting a YouTube because I am very introverted and can better express myself through my words rather than through a camera. A YouTube channel can be a great option for people who don’t enjoy writing because both blogging and video content can create great opportunities and it all in what you prefer. If you want to start a YouTube channel it is often recommended that you get a nice camera because it will increase the quality of your videos but it’s not a necessity and you can still make videos without one. You will have more limitations in the types of content you can create if you are stuck in bed, but it is possible.
Listen to some podcasts- When am in pain and stuck in bed, I sometimes do feel like watching a TV show, but I do listen to a lot of podcasts and music in general because it distracts me from the pain and keeps me entertained for a while. There are a lot of free podcasts online and some of them have quite a bit of episodes and are quite long, so it will take you a while to listen to all of them. Find a podcast that will spark your interest or start one if that has been something you have been wanting to do because it’s an easy thing to do while sitting in bed. When I was recovering from hip replacement surgery and was sick of watching TV, I listened to so many podcasts and read a lot of blog posts, and never got bored because there is so much content on the Internet that it’s nearly impossible to run out.
Play some games on your phone– When I am recovering from surgery or experiencing pain flare, I sometimes will take my phone out and look for a fun free game to play because there are so many free fun games that you can play while sitting in bed. Technology has made it so easy to entertain yourself when you are stuck in bed and sometimes, I will download a game to my phone or if someone is available, I will ask them to help me set up my PlayStation and I probably play more games than I normally would.
Learn a language- If I was stuck in bed for a long period of time I would probably start to learn sign language because I have always wanted to learn it but struggled to find the time. Learning a language is the perfect activity to do when you are stuck in bed because it’s not like you have anything else better to do.
Start an art project– Disabled and chronically ill people spend more time in bed and often enjoy coloring because some people find it therapeutic. I have never been the type of person who can color for hours and be entertained but do keep a couple of coloring books on hand for when I have surgery because sometimes, I am desperate to do literally anything. Get yourself some coloring books or start some kind of art project because there is no better time to utilize your creative skills than when you are stuck in bed.
When you are stuck in bed, watching your favorite TV shows can entertain you for a little while, but eventually, it gets to a point where watching TV is not entertaining anymore. I am grateful that most of the time I am not stuck in bed, and the only time I usually am bed-bound is when I have a surgery. Most of the surgeries I have had have pretty quick recoveries, and I am not down more than a few weeks, but I have had surgeries such as hip replacement, where I was down months. It is harder to entertain yourself when you are stuck in bed, but it is a reality for many disabled people with severe pain because sometimes you don’t have the energy to do anything else and either find a way to entertain yourself or be bored. How do you entertain yourself when you are stuck in bed? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe And Never Miss A Post
My Rockin Disabled Life 