Living with a Disability? Find Power in Numbers

When living with a disability, being part of a support community can be a source of hope for recovery and a brighter future. Community can help you feel less alone, find new coping skills and motivate you to stick to or try new treatment plans. Community members share their personal journeys of living with different health conditions while offering emotional comfort, moral support and sound advice to others dealing with similar conditions based on their own experiences.  

One thriving example of such a support system is Disaboom -- the largest online community for people touched by disability. It offers an online resource that combines medical information, lifestyle articles, resources and community. Visitors to Disaboom's Community Section can interact with members from a broad range of nationalities, professions and ages, including caregivers, doctors and friends or relatives who want to understand and support those they care about.  

Disaboom's power of community stems from helping people with disabilities overcome the everyday challenges that they face. It offers a social outreach that enables the user to communicate with thousands of other individuals who are going through similar situations or have already mastered their adaptation. Disaboom provides the ability for its users to ask other community members questions regarding care, equipment, research and more.  

The community is not just composed of one organization or group of people with one diagnosis. Visitors can meet and interact with other individuals living with a broad range of disabilities from multiple sclerosis to cerebral palsy. Members may have different diagnoses but face similar challenges in life. Together they can overcome their obstacles and help each other live forward.

Joining a community such as Disaboom offers a variety of benefits from the practical to the emotional, including:

* Networking  
Meeting other people living with similar health conditions broadens your social horizons and may reduce feelings of isolation. Some people are nervous or embarrassed about sharing personal issues with people they do not know. If you find yourself feeling this way, start out by listening and learning from the community. Eventually you will see that your issues are not exclusive to you. In order to benefit the most from community, start contributing your own ideas and experiences. Expand your friends, contacts and network.  

* Developing Coping Skills
Joining a community offers the opportunity to draw on collective experiences. Members with similar experiences may have tips or advice that you haven't thought of on how to better cope with your condition. It is often reassuring to find others with similar conditions who understand what you are going through. Two heads are better than one. Brainstorming and collaborating with others can lead to innovation and new ideas.  

* Getting Motivated
Community can encourage you to seek professional treatment, try new methods or stick to your current medical treatment when you are ready to give up.

* Keeping the Hope
Connecting and sharing experiences with community can promote a positive outlook on life. Relating to others fighting similar uphill battles may give you hope about your own future.  

* Improving Well-being  
Participating in a community can boost your emotional and even physical health. Research indicates that participating in a community reduces anxiety, psychological stress and depression, which results in a healthy immune system.  

Remember that to obtain maximum benefits from a community, the best approach is to participate and become a regular, valued member of the community. Through participation, you can increase your knowledge of the latest treatments and techniques; learn new coping skills; share and learn from common concerns and experiences; and provide and receive emotional support and encouragement.

"The word 'disability' may apply to us, but it will never define us" says Dr. Glen House, co-founder of the Web site. "We decide who we are, and what lives we will create. My goal with Disaboom.com has been to provide the information, community, and connection that will enable people to choose the life path that supports their new goals and dreams - and determine in what way they will choose to live forward."

To join the thousands of others living with a disability, visit Disaboom today.  

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