Dealing with Mood Swings by Making an Impact as a Sickle Cell Warrior.

We celebrated the World Sickle Cell Day on June 19 and this year’s theme is ‘Shine the Light on Sickle Cell’.

In sharing the light on sickle cell disorder, I want to describe the mood swings that occurs in sickle cell warriors using my sickle cell experience of it to shine the light on sickle cell disorder.

Happy reading.

Mood swing is one of the mental health challenges a sickle cell warrior experience.

The swinging could be between a high mood and the low mood, or a normal mood and the extremely low mood.

Sometimes, I feel strong, so energetic that I want to do many things at a time, do some things at a period or do all things in a moment, and with this feeling comes the passion to be thorough, diligent, and altruistic in what I do and all I do. I do not just want to do them because I have to do them, I want to do them dutifully and appropriately because I want to make an impact in the lives of others, make an impact in my community and make an impact in my world.

Some other times, I feel so low, not necessarily weak, but dull and not interested in doing anything. I feel so unpassionate about pursuing my goals, performing my tasks, and making an impact. Sometimes, I feel so moody and gloomy that all should end. I feel so hopeless that nothing I do will work or doubt if anything I do will be meaningful.

Over the years, I have learned to adopt a better non-therapeutic approach to manage the low periods of the mood swings.

1. I assure myself that this is not me.

I reassure myself that this condition is temporary and transient.

I convince myself that I am not the only one that experience this low mood, so it does not define me.

2. I try to pray about it if I can. If I can because I must be factual that sometimes, the low or no interest and passion also affects your prayer life or habit.
3. Third, I focus on those tasks I do that gives me the opportunity to make an impact in others, in my community and my world.

My professional work is in infection prevention and control, and as the regional surveillance coordinator, I coordinate the surveillance programs of hospitals and dialysis centres to track, detect, manage, and prevent healthcare-associated infections such as central line associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated events, surgical site infections, dialysis events and antimicrobial resistance. These tasks ensure care receivers do not acquire these infections in the process of receiving care in the health facility. They will prevent hospitalization, disabilities, deaths, and increased cost on care, improve care quality and patient safety.

My work in the sickle cell community creates better sickle cell awareness, educate caregivers for better care, and encourage more sickle cell research.

These tasks make impact in my world and so during the low mood, I focus on these and it helps me bounce back by God’s grace.

As a sickle cell warrior,

Learn to identify and earmark (mentally) the people, places, or things that are a support system to you,

Especially when you are in a sickle cell crisis,

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Before the onset or during a sickle cell crisis,

Your subconscious searches for them for relief and comfort.

As regards human beings,

Do not force someone who is not a support to be a support for you during a sickle cell crisis,

You cannot force people to be whom they do not want to be,

And that they are not a support or comfort to you today,

This does not mean they will not be a support system or comfort to you tomorrow,

People change, so patiently allow them the time to change.

But you identify what works for you,

Know how it works for you,

And make it work for you.

Be inspired.

To know more about sickle cell disorder,

Get the book,

A LIFE WITH SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA,

On Amazon and Okadabooks.

By David Owoeye,

A sickle cell warrior, advocate and author,

Infection prevention and control specialist.