Benefits of Joining a Support Group

• Support groups can help you process your feelings about your experience and improve your understanding of life following an amputation. You may feel lonely or despair on your own, but coming together with others who share your experience can make you realize you don’t have to go through this alone.
• We also recommend joining a support group to help you address your feelings that may include lowered self-esteem and self-worth. You likely have several feelings regarding your amputation. If you had a medical issue you may be glad your body is free of disease but grieve for your missing limb. It’s common to feel as though others are looking at and treating you differently. It’s important that you sit with those feelings, but it’s equally as important to move forward from them for your own well-being. Sharing your feelings with others can help you work through them and regain your confidence.
• Many support groups will also assign you a mentor who will help you through your more difficult moments. Sharing in a group can be unsettling at first, so your mentor will be available for you to chat with one on one. And since a mentor knows firsthand what you’re experiencing, they will be best equipped to provide you with support.
• Our last point leads right into this next one. Support groups are excellent for finding companionship without pity. Many people will, understandably, try to connect with you differently now. Some will show compassion while others will show pity, but both are trying to be supportive. Socializing with other amputees will help you learn how to navigate social settings and advocate for yourself in a variety of situations. Having friends with shared experiences can also help you to tackle this new aspect of your life with your spouse or partner.
• Staying active is crucial to maintaining good health following loss of a limb. Having a leg or foot amputated doesn’t mean you’re stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. The other members of a support group can give advice about which prostheses are best for activity and what they themselves do for exercise. Their suggestions can help you to develop new, healthy routines for yourself.

Contact Us

The friendly team at Durrett’s Orthotics and Prosthetics understands the importance of your independence and we will do everything we can to help you keep yours. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to help you begin moving forward following an amputation. Our state of the art facility is in Edgewood, KY, and we are pleased to serve Erlanger, Florence, Covington, Fort Thomas, Union, Walton, Edgewood, Oakbrook, Taylorsport, Fort Mitchell, Hebron, Beaverlick, Burlington, Belleview, Independence, Newport, Verona, Elsmere, KY, and Cincinnati, OH.