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Just Sara A Bouquet for Pearls - share your appreciation for other members
  • replies: 715

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful word... View more

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful words. I hope this thread stays active through members giving out praise regularly to people they feel deserving, and therefore keep generosity of spirit alive within the pages of BeyondBlue Forum. My bunch of Red Roses (my choice) goes to Wishful for the following sentence; 'Personally, I see no reason to be praised in me, but I'm learning that seeing through the eyes of others can be more accurate!!' I so hear you Wishful. Just beautiful... Try to keep your leading comments short to focus on 'their' words. Choose specific flowers (or a gift if you like) to present to them. Sign off respectfully and sincerely. I hope this takes off... Spreading the love...Sara

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Anroca78 Baby steps to getting better
  • replies: 3

Hi, So it's been a nearly a week since I was discharged from local hospital Mental ward. Mental health team have rang me every few days to see how I have been going. I went to my g.p and got bloods done as suggested by the hospital. I had my first ps... View more

Hi, So it's been a nearly a week since I was discharged from local hospital Mental ward. Mental health team have rang me every few days to see how I have been going. I went to my g.p and got bloods done as suggested by the hospital. I had my first psychologist session and she was wonderful. I took my partner in with me, so he was able to ask questions relating to my attempted suicide and admission to psych ward. It really helped. In the end we agreed that it was best for my partner to lock up my meds and give me my doses every day. It sounds drastic, I at first felt my independence was being taken away, but if I want to get better I had to agree. I am feeling better but with Bipolar, you can never be sure of anything. It would stop me from skipping meds as well. Being manic, the first thing I do is spend, spend, spend!. It was agreed that if I become manic, my partner would take my credit card and give it to my mum who lives 15min away. He did not feel comfortable keeping it on him. Past experience of me screaming and chucking a tantrum and searching the place for the credit card meant he did not want to go through it. I don't drive, so taking it and giving it to mum meant I would have trouble retrieving it. These little steps are important to keep me from hitting rock bottom again. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom so that you can begin to heal. I did but boy, it was a draining experience and I do not want to go through it again. Strength in numbers is quite fitting, I am lucky to have family support. And as for staying well... So far so good..

white knight So, is it your illness or your personality?
  • replies: 1

What if we didn't have any mind troubles? What daily/weekly issues would we still have lingering that annoy us about ourselves? Sometimes we can observe our relatives to find an answer. Eating disorders come to mind. Some of us can come to a conclusi... View more

What if we didn't have any mind troubles? What daily/weekly issues would we still have lingering that annoy us about ourselves? Sometimes we can observe our relatives to find an answer. Eating disorders come to mind. Some of us can come to a conclusion that it is "our mental illness" when maybe obesity runs in the family. Moods could be the same. I'm on a hefty dose of mood stabiliser as is two of my blood relatives yet moodiness runs in the family....trouble is bipolar 2 and depression also run in the family and this can be a basis for bad moods or swings. This is just examples of my confusion about the topic as I'm not an expert. Sometimes we grapple at things. I have a relative. She has heavy depression and moods. She told me in front of her younger sister, that she tells her sister all the time about her moods, its like she has 5 houses and every day she could be in any one of those 5 houses....5 different moods. My answer to that was...well if you think that's bad for you, not knowing which mood you'll be in, imagine what its like for your sister? My point here is, insight is a gift for some of us. If you have insight you are one of the lucky ones. But insight into what is part of your mental condition compared to what would be there if you didn't have such condition would clarify so much and take away a lot of "circling around our problems"...indeed focussing on shadows while we could be putting all our energies into the real issues. Consider this: For several years since my first visit to a psychiatrist I was always, for most of my then 47 years in fact, thinking I was the one and only ultra sensitive highly emotional person in my extended blood family. Last November I visited this part of the family interstate for the first time. My parents had split from them when I was a toddler so I hadn't met these people before. To my surprise my sensitive side and the emotional side responsible for some heavy and deep poetry over many years was mirrored by others in the family. One was an entertainer, the other an artist, one a writer and finally one was a WW2 veteran. The war veteran had fought at Kokoda and I'd heard about his battles with mental illness. I, like others put it down to the war...apparently not so, he was much like that prior to the war. My message in this is try to be factual. Talk about these to your doctor/psychiatrist if you are concerned because by discounting some of your "hunches" it could help your recovery. Tony WK

Elizabeth CP Trying to acheive your goals and using positive self talk to stay on track
  • replies: 4

I saw my psychologist this week after a break during which I spiraled down hill with the exercises given to me for exposure therapy for PTSD exacerbating this. As a result my psychologist suggested complete change of focus to more practical goals. Su... View more

I saw my psychologist this week after a break during which I spiraled down hill with the exercises given to me for exposure therapy for PTSD exacerbating this. As a result my psychologist suggested complete change of focus to more practical goals. Summer is difficult for me due to the heat, risk of bushfires, fear of sunburn etc so everything becomes too hard or too scarey so I avoid doing things & become depressed because I'm doing nothing worthwhile. I now have some things I need to do daily or weekly and I am doing better. If I get into a routine I do much better but my life over the last few years has been full of stresses and things going wrong so one of my biggest challenges in coping when things don't go to plan and I have to get back on track. The negative self talk re 'failure' makes things very difficult. My plan to help avoid this is to write down each day which goals have been achieved that day I'm hoping this will help me keep focused. I am also writing down what productive thing I have done today. This is to help me focus on the positive and allow me to write down things that I don't normally count but take up time so I can't do what I want or think I should have done. For example today I keep thinking I haven't done much but then I am reminding myself that I spent several hours driving to and from hospital to pick up my husband and then have organised things he needed once home. I normally don't count that type of thing as doing anything!!! My question is has anyone else got ideas of what they do to keep motivated to achieve goals important for their mental health and particularly when plans have to be flexible to deal with circumstances. Also what do other people do to stop negative self talk destroy progress.

HelenM God as part of my life (but in no way do I expect everyone to agree.
  • replies: 11

Life's quite tough at the moment. When I go to bed I feel the best because the day can't ask any more from me. I write a prayer to God and read a little book that helps. God is dwith me always but unfortunately I don't feel it often during the day. B... View more

Life's quite tough at the moment. When I go to bed I feel the best because the day can't ask any more from me. I write a prayer to God and read a little book that helps. God is dwith me always but unfortunately I don't feel it often during the day. But if I read of religious people from the past some had a good relationship God but it didn't make everything honkey dorey. In fact I think that they were often writing years later and distance enhances the view. When I look at some of my depressions from the past they don't seem so bad. I t seems Mother Teresa found God to be absent throughout most of her life. I'm going out soon and can't finish what I'm saying. Plus I'm getting quite confused. Helen x

white knight Running around trying to save the world
  • replies: 6

Worry, is the root of my evil. How many of you try as hard as you can not to speed and just when you gradually go over the limit you get caught? So worrying about that possibility can prevent you speeding. It will also give you headaches, anxiety and... View more

Worry, is the root of my evil. How many of you try as hard as you can not to speed and just when you gradually go over the limit you get caught? So worrying about that possibility can prevent you speeding. It will also give you headaches, anxiety and in the end you wont enjoy life. Happiness will elude you. The two extremes are clear. One end is the fool, the one that doesn't worry nor concern him/herself about serious issues, key handling, income, rent, diet and so on....responsibilities!! The other end is ....me!! and some of you...worrywarts, ultra responsible, worrying about anything that needs maintenance...what other people think of me and so on. Somehow in the middle is where we should aspire to be, happy, having fun and carrying out our responsibilities with the least worry...before you get back to having fun again. And that leads me to "saving the world". Those like me that ty to save the world run around in our lives plugging up the imperfections of life. It's mid morning and I want to go to my shed to continue building my caravan. I grab the shed keys, take two steps than remember my phone as I'm waiting for Telstra to ring me regarding my account, take 6 steps, better check the mail, take 3 steps...take my dog for a walk to the mailbox...find the dog, walk 20 steps with the dog, go back 15 steps...grab the wheelie bin, tow it to the naturestrip, thinking deeply about my caravan, half way back to house forgot to check the mail walk back, no mail anyway, Dog is now confused. Upon my return better weed the garden, return to house, wife informs me I took the wrong bin down to the road, swap bins, return to house. Dog now tired and falls asleep. You get the picture. The brain never stops in this mode. But its harmful. Most people would simply enjoy the walk to the mailbox, think earlier about taking the bin down and which bin to take and so on, and smile while doing so, breath the fresh air and smile. Worry isn't productive and it robs us of enjoyment. It is the result of having a mother that I could never please. A dominant figure she be and will always be even after her death. Such is the fear. Worry can give you peptic ulcers, heart issues, depression etc. Such "programming" is rarely deprogrammed. You have to learn to live with it as a part of you and yes....that worries me. like everything else. Some parents "own" you as a product. I got rid of mine. That's one thing that doesnt worry me. Sadly but proudly Tony WK

hope4joy how do you combat morning fatigue?
  • replies: 9

Hi all, Does anyone else wake up with their eyelids so heavy its hard to keep them open, and feel like you've got lead in your system? And take every bit of resolve to get out of bed? I'm going through a really tough patch at the moment and need to g... View more

Hi all, Does anyone else wake up with their eyelids so heavy its hard to keep them open, and feel like you've got lead in your system? And take every bit of resolve to get out of bed? I'm going through a really tough patch at the moment and need to get through three weeks of full time work, I really need the money. I feel like a zombie at the best of times, but anymore of this morning fatigue and I wont get to work. The tiredness is just so intense and enduring. What helps you get going in the morning? How do you get through those really tough patches, that you trust will end, but have not finished yet? With thanks, Christina

Michala099 Hands up for those who believe 2016 will be a better year
  • replies: 5

I myself am determined to stay well in 2016 and wish to all hurt, lost souls (including myself) to start a better year, to fight and stay on top, after all we've been through we're still here! Happy 2016!!!

I myself am determined to stay well in 2016 and wish to all hurt, lost souls (including myself) to start a better year, to fight and stay on top, after all we've been through we're still here! Happy 2016!!!

Hamlet_24 Mental Health and Weight Loss
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, I was wondering is anyone had any tips for losing weight when you're going through a depressive episode. I've had a problem with fluctuating weight for a while; binging, lack of energy weight gain whilst on meds and it's just getting really ... View more

Hi guys, I was wondering is anyone had any tips for losing weight when you're going through a depressive episode. I've had a problem with fluctuating weight for a while; binging, lack of energy weight gain whilst on meds and it's just getting really difficult to keep under control when I'm this low. Does anyone have the same problem we can exchange tactics.

Guest_1055 Comfort Eating
  • replies: 27

Hello I was wondering if anyone else struggles with this issue. The issue being comfort eating or eating to receive comfort. I know of two other people on the beyond blue forums who do. Is there truly anyone else out here that does struggle with this... View more

Hello I was wondering if anyone else struggles with this issue. The issue being comfort eating or eating to receive comfort. I know of two other people on the beyond blue forums who do. Is there truly anyone else out here that does struggle with this??? I am beginning to think comfort eating is like a circle, or a merry go round, where it is extremely hard to get off from. I think it all ties into depression somehow as well. For me when I feel sad, alone, neglected, unloved, hurt and there is probably more emotions that I haven't recognized yet. But anyway when these emotions are strong, like they just blare out, and you are completely overwhelmed by them, well for some reason, I just turn to food. The food I turn to is mainly the junk stuff. I don't eat a lot of food, except for the chocolate. So I am feeling these emotions, I turn to the food, the junk in the food, whatever is in it, which for me is sugar, causes more depressed emotions. It seems to go around and around..... But I must clarify, eating the sugar brings me a small bit of comfort, but it is very short lived. And yes I have written out a list of strategies, to help myself get off this merry go round, in which I am now visualising painted happy horses going up and down, up and down. I know I also eat for comfort when I feel well.....empty, empty inside my heart. Or just a plain emptiness inside. But I am looking at it very logically now, and saying to myself, how can food actually fill that emptiness or that enormous hole in my heart. Because when you actually eat food it fills your physical stomach not your heart..... Well thank you to whoever is reading this, I so very much appreciate you listening to me ramble on and on. It is just I think I have kept my thoughts and feelings, which are many... all locked up for so ,so long, and now they are just flowing out. With much appreciation and many, many hugs to you Shelley anne xxx

ggcatlady In remission...hoping to help others get there too...
  • replies: 6

Hi, I'm a crazy cat lady just wanting to introduce myself to you. I only have one cat these days, my other cat passed away earlier this year (that was a time of a lot of tears). I am 'in remission' when it comes to my depression. I'm hoping that I ca... View more

Hi, I'm a crazy cat lady just wanting to introduce myself to you. I only have one cat these days, my other cat passed away earlier this year (that was a time of a lot of tears). I am 'in remission' when it comes to my depression. I'm hoping that I can help others by sharing what has worked for me. I also have another mental illness that is not very well known, it is called schizoaffective disorder. It has the mood features of bipolar disorder and some features of schizophrenia (such as unwanted thoughts, hallucinations and delusions). Thankfully, I respond well to medication so this mental illness is also in remission at the moment. One of the things that has helped me be in remission is staying compliant with my medication. I usually follow my psychiatrist's advice (except when she says I should exercise more for the endorphins. One day I might catch the exercise bug but so far it hasn't happened.) I have lots more to share but I think I will leave it for future posts.