We found that it's easier to say how you actually feel if you address the second part: "Incapacitated by cognitive dysfunction, but stable" or "anxious and emotionally raw, but manageable".
Which opens up to talk about it, just understand/share in it, as well as sneaks in an opening to express needs/wants/wishes (e.g. "manageable, but I would appreciate some extra encouragement" or "so I might drain faster and need to step out at times").
Or did it kill all the Martian cats?