Feeling a little down right now. Not gonna do anything stupid. I can think of other four-letter words to relate to Ataxia but since this is a family place, “HATE” is the best that I can come up with right now. However hate is a wasted emotion so does anyone have any other ideas? 
Over 50 years with Ataxia makes it tough. I forget what it’s like to be normal.
I’ve recently come through a bad patch myself, so I can empathise… During that time, it crossed my mind whether to ask my GP for a short course of antidepressant, but as it happens I didn’t … We all know from bitter experience there are inevitably going to be peaks (
) and troughs with our condition, and it’s a case of weathering the storm. I sincerely hope you feel differently soon 
xB
You actually are normal. We are just a variant of what it is to be human. Just take it one moment at a time. When it gets overwhelming for me, I let go and play a game or watch a great series or read a great book. I do anything that will hold my attention so that my attention is not focused on negative thinking. That can easily become a pattern and it’s that pattern of negative thinking that we need to vigilantly protect ourselves against.
For games, I like Sim City and Civilization 6. For books, I like my library iphone app…so if I get bored or loose interest it is easy to swap it out and mix it up!
Good luck.
For me it’s feet up with the recliner, sitting by window and watching people go by. At night, I play FB word games.
I tried keeping a journal which worked at the time but prefer to just write on FB timeline. I also have two people with whom I exchange messages several times a day.
I have have a hypnotherapy app with a recording called ‘be grateful’ which works too.
Exercise is good of course but cant manage that sometimes.
Four letter word? well, let me think… nope… cant think… maybe dark… mean…
50 years is a long time. I’ve only known about having Ataxia for 12 years now. The last year has been the most difficult.
Try to reach out and find others to share experiences with. You might try to find a support group. We started one in my area and it has helped emotionally.
You are not alone and Ataxia is not easy. It sounds like you are an overcommer. Hang in there.
You could say ataxia is a beast or ataxia is icky…
Oops! Beast has 5 letters…
Yes…beast is 5, but it does fit the bill. I hope you are keeping OK Cicina xB