Share your achievements, small or big!

[Beltane]

Another nice little topic to chat about 🙂

It's really important to those of us with mental issues to hold on to our achievements and successes, especially the ones over our illnesses. Each and every achievement, no matter how small you might think it is, is so important. We should celebrate and take pride in each achievement- because each one is a step towards recovery.

So in this topic I'd like us to share our successes. You can post as often as you like, every time you have an achievement or success you'd like to share (even if you think "but it wasn't that big a deal"). Yes it IS a big deal! Fighting an illness is hard work, so lets celebrate all our achievements!

When i first fought my anxiety, my very very first challenge was to drive to the local shops. And I achieved it, and boy did I celebrate. Might not sound like much to someone else, but to me it was like climbing Mount Everest while wearing shorts and thongs (i imagine). So you better believe I went home and danced around my house celebrating my success!

My most recent achievement I am celebrating is: I attended my first job interview in 3 years that i did NOT take any anti-anxiety medication whatsoever for. Every other interview in the last 3 years i've needed strong anti-anxiety medication. But after much therapy and hard work, i learned more and more coping skills. I was nervous about not taking the medication as I was so used to doing it, but not only did i get through the interview but i did it calmly and kept my anxiety well under control. I'm pretty proud of myself!

(Also I got the job- yay- but unfortunately i cant accept it due to other reasons. But I'm still celebrating being offered a job!!!)

So lets hear it! Whats a recent achievement, positive step or success you made? Take pride in it and celebrate it!!

[Guest_5218]

Well done James on the making the GP appointment to review your mental health plan. Thats something I put off earlier this year too, so I do understand. But I also got there finally. And now I have used up all my 10 for the year.

My latest achievement has been to complete a poem in remembrance of my little 11 year old niece who died in a car accident a year ago today. It was very hard given the emotions involved. And difficult for me also because I have about zilch poetic ability. But with lots of help from Carol I believe its a pretty fair effort in the end. I have sent it to my brother and his family, and I hope he likes it.

Sherie xx

[james1]

Thanks Dottie and Sherie 🙂

Congratulations on finishing the poem Sherie. I am sure the family will love the poem. You have a real affinity to people's feelings and you've done a wonderful thing.

[Guest_322]

Hi Sherie,

I think writing a poem was a very beautiful way to honour your niece.I hope your brother likes it too.

Dottie

[Guest_5218]

Thankyou Dottie.

And yes he and his family did like the poem, I am so pleased about that.

My brother wrote back last night with the following:

Wow , that was beautiful . So much of what you have said , I feel, but I can`t put into words . You have captured a large part of our Em. Thank you for that , I / we will cherish the sentiment and memories your poem has captured.

So thankyou Carol for all your help. So much appreciate what you did for me.

Sherie xx

[Guest_322]

Hi Sherie,

That's wonderful to hear. Your poem helped your brother voice what he didn't know how to say.

You did a beautiful thing for him and Carol is a star for helping you 😊

Dottie xx

[Guest_322]

Hi everyone,

I'm almost up to date with the last few weeks of notes for 1 of my uni units (hurray).

If I'm focused, I should finish it tonight 😊

[james1]

Nice work Dottie 🙂 I was always celebrating when I finished my notes too! First half of this year didn't go that way though. It was more a matter of celebrating if I could even follow the seminar, haha.

Keep it up! Are you getting up to the mid-sem break?

[Guest_322]

Hi James,

Thanks! You've had a rocky start to the year. Uni must have been tough; I think it was more of a reflection of your mental state and circumstances- and not your ability.

You seem pretty switched on and articulate on these forums so I'm sure if the circumstances were different, the seminars would have been no problem 😉

Yeah, mid sem break in a few-ish weeks time so that will be nice!

[Evan_John]

Dottie, what a feeling that must be!! My heart smiles at your personal success.

My personal achievement today is related to an 'failure'. I've given myself one gaming session a day and one Youtube video to enjoy each day. I've found that I use both to distract myself from emotional discomfort and self-loathing, and both habit spiral me horribly into a wheel of anxiousness, neediness, and depression. Instead of banning myself from them like I've done before, which only leads to me bingeing and then self-hating, I've set a healthy limit. I've done well to stick to this over the past week, even with the occasional urge to play more than one game.
Today, my internet was playing up and I keep disconnecting from the game. Gamers will concur that this is frustrating beyond belief. As a result, I felt like I cheated of my one game of enjoyment, and I spiraled into a foul mood. I played a second game before calling the quits. There's been a major urge to just break my structure because I've already broken it, but the words of a self-help guide echo in my mind and i know that just because I broke my structure doesn't mean I have to binge. I'm so glad that I've been kind to myself, have loved myself, and accepted this instead of throwing it all up in the air.
This is a notable success for me! 😃

[Doolhof]

Hi All,

Evan John, thanks so much for your post. My go to in life when feeling really lousy is chocolate/cakes/biscuits! Emotional eating! This last week I have really gorged out on stuff I know is no good for me.

Like you with your gaming, if I could just have one biscuit with my coffee (only once a day) and one row of chocolate at night, I would be doing myself a huge favour.

You have encouraged me, so thank you very much.

It has been a very low week, the weekend is here, so I am going to make a list of nice things to do today and that will be an achievement if I manage to do a couple of those things at least.

Cheers all from Mrs. Dools