Coping Toolbox ( what is in yours to help you cope )

thank you @Alicat for your great idea

way to go @LearningWaters

hello @TiredL , @Flurry0306 , @Anastasia

@TiredL, i look after my elderly mum too and my husband has bipolar2 and other diagnosis

this thread is good one to click on to Carers Hints and tips to Success

also i have found small self care helps more then the big self care

like a cuppa out the front or under the trees

i only read magazines

can I ask what is your mental health issue -- hope you dont mind me asking , we have lots of friends here that may help

@Smc, @Determined , @Faith-and-Hope , @FindingStrength , @Krishna

Hello and Thankyou for your thoughts xxx I suffer with depression and have done for many many years. The big problem is that (and we all know this) it's not an illness which can be seen so if there is a sceptic onlooker then they place very little value on the illness and think, she's having a bad she'll get over it. ❤️❤️❤️

Hugs @TiredL , and you are not alone my friend ❤❤

I was trying to have a bath this afternoon alone but in arrived son number one and then son number two. I didn't realise until today our bath was big enough for me, a 10 and a 6 year old but it apparently is. Might have only got 2 minutes peace but ended up with laughs and cuddles which were even better.

Thankyou for your kind thoughts xxx

You all sound so caring and so kind I Thankyou for the support I'm feeling already xxx

Hi to all,

This may sound a little silly but we all need a break away from reality some time. I have schizophrenia and depression. I live with my parents who are elderly and are needing my support more and more. I am only partially better meaning that I still hear voices daily and in my spare time, have found at times hard to concentrate on books, tv and music. So I play discovery games on the iPad such as The Room, adventure games and even bubble pop. The interaction with the game isn't too taxing and actively engaging in the game helps me to concentrate. The voices even shut up whist I'm concentrating. WARNING these can become addictive!

Dear @Lost9, What an incredible person you are. Do you realise how amazing you are? It is good that you have found an outlet for any stress you encounter. I wish more people were as self aware as you. The world would be a better if more people had your insight. Hang loose.

@Lost9, I like to play an online "scrabble" game, with a selected group of friends. It's played via Messenger, and one of the appeals of it is that we'll often check in on how each other's going in between moves.

It wasn't intentional, but my "selected group" are all friends, unconnected to each other, who are dealing with mental health issues, either personally or as carers for someone in their family... or often both. So sometimes we end up offloading and chatting things through in between moves. Other times, we just play without the chatter, but if nothing else, it keeps us at the forefront of each others' thoughts.

I love books, but I've simply been too mentally exhausted for reading a lot of the time, for quite a few years now. But at the moment, my Hubby and I are re-reading an old favourite aloud as a bedtime story, which is nice.