It resonates a lot with me. As already mentioned elsewhere on my site, the physical recovery is intense and hard work. Especially the cardio physiotherapy is something that helped me a lot personally.
As the leaflet describes, the mental health side is something that is often forgotten. Most cardiologists look at the heart from a pure technical perspective and if it pumps regularly, there is no problem for them.
Some important takeaways from the leaflet are:
It's true, as survivors, we should be happy to still be alive! I'm telling myself this every single day!
Many survivors report a good physical recovery, but many experience fatigue, mild memory problems, challenges in returning to work, and difficulties with anxiety, low mood, and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
The sudden nature, ie going from perfectly healthy to clinically dying, affects all areas of your life and is likely to impact your emotional well-being.
Examples of "issues" are:
frustration around cognitive and physical limitations
concerns around returning to work and day-to-day life
Anxiety, feeling irritable, unable to concentrate, anger, low mood, depression, PTSD, etc.
Dealing with the ICD which is in the end a foreign object (computer) implanted into your body
Frustration: why did this happen to me?
Family members, especially if they were part of the rescue, probably will go through their own process of recovery:
Shock of witnessing the event
Dealing with insecurities of the situation of the patient in ICU / hospital
Being confronted with the recovering patient
Post-Traumatic stress
Once fully recovered, many survivors report feeling a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude for life, and family
Getting help from a healthcare professional is very important! Nothing wrong with seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist !
If you're interested in learning more, certainly have a look at the leaflet: