8 Dimensions of Wellness

There's no need to respond to my post @Historylover

It's not always easy to understand what other people are going through - I find that often - if I haven't been there I can't know it at all - I just do my best

After all - not everyone has my experiences and you know what - I would rather they didn't - some people do of course - which is one of the world's great pities.

Just start again and I will do my best to understand - I read everything you write - I am intrigued -

Dec

Good to hear from you, @Shaz51, as always. My schooling was very inadequate and trying to teach myself in any area of interest is always fulfilling. School didn't have the same importance when I was growing up - where I was growing up. These days attitudes are different. How I wish it was in my day.

Of course, finding time to indulge when other things - family, work, time, money, responsibilities of adulthood - take priority, it is so often not an option.

I find it is equally beneficial to learn new things as to find our potential is greater than we had expected of ourselves.

I'd love to learn to play a musical instrument - probably the violin. Hell for neighbours!

Sending best wishes.and hope all is well with you. Take care.

I'd love to learn to play a musical instrument - probably the violin.-- way to go @Historylover

i leant how to play the organ when i was young and then stopped

I am embarrassed to tell you this @Shaz51, but my dear father ran into a childhood friend in the street one day, and he was a music teacher. Before I knew it, I was taking his classes - in piano accordian - and you cannot imagine my hatred of that instrument. My poor father then spent a lot of money on an instrument - did I want a second-hand one in green, or the brand new red one - I chose the red one, and then lessons for four years from the age of eight. Each one was unmitigated misery. My poor parents wanted me to gain musical skills and we didn't have room for a piano. I just wish my father had run into a violin teacher!

After the first lesson when he told me he had never had a student who learned so quickly - he probably told everyone that to encourage them into continuing - I began to detest the time I had to spend on it when my cousins next door had horses. I learned very little. I didn't want to. I hated - and hate - that instrument. I was miserable for four years, but my father thought I'd come good. (In adulthood, I've come to realize that although they were 'horses' - of a kind, they were not to be envied. Children are easily impressed - but you can ride horses!)

My ex-psychiatrist told me to get back to it to work through the emotions, and I worked my way through all that sheer misery, but I really am glad I had another look at that regrettable experience. The emotions were just as real. It went everywhere with us - on holidays, to family weddings, school breakup parties! If only my musical training had been beneficial to my life! My poor parents. They did their best for us. They were different times.

Dear @Shaz51 ,

thank you for including me in your very thoughtful posts. I really appreciate it. You are the only person here who consistently does that.

I know I said I was staying away, but I really appreciate being included.

Sometimes I have wondered if the people here are real, they just come and go, with ever more strange or stunning stories. I don’t know what to believe. Perhaps that is why people don’t stick with me, they see my doubts.

i hope you are not feeling too ill and tired .

peri x

Hello @Peri

Welcome back!

I'm real. Wish I wasn't sometimes.

Take care .

Hi @Shaz51,

With lockdown, I have lost focus on maintaining my intellectual wellness so this is such a wonderful reminder for me to put some more time and effort into this area again. Some ways that I work to maintain intellectual wellness is by watching TED Talks, doing sudoku puzzles and reading non-fiction books. I used to play guitar and your post has inspired me to pick up my guitar again - hopefully I remember some cords!

Take care, CalmingNature

yes @Former-Member i totally agree my friend , as a carer for my elderly mum and wife of someone with a mental illness is is hard to remeber us

yes I do words with friends puzzles but i no i need to include more

I am excited doing the Sane training which is soo good @Daisydreamer , need to do more xx

your post has inspired me to pick up my guitar again --- soo glad for you yo do this @Former-Member

Hello @Anastasia , @Peri , @Historylover , @Owlunar , sending you hugs xx

I know @Emelia8 is doing diamond art which is soo cool

and for @Judi9877 for her knitting xx

Hi @Shaz51

As usual, thanks again for including me 🙂

Intellectual wellness, hey? Hmmm. One thing I always feel guilty for is not fulfilling my intellectual potential. Without being completely up myself (the forum wouldn't let me use the original word I chose!), I was gifted as a child...

I haven't let it go to complete waste, but doing drugs for too many years didn't help! I ended up breaking my brain and have spent the last decade or so putting the pieces back together again as best I can. I am proud of what I have achieved in that regard, but damn I made life difficult for myself!

Still, I am evolving and learning. Not in a formal sense. I don't think I'll ever end up at uni or the like, but life is still the great teacher. The lessons aren't always what we might choose, but so be it

Hi @Appleblossom

It’s so lovely to hear from you

I’m so deeply sorry to hear that for the most part, your Birthdays haven’t been acknowledged or celebrated by those around you

In my experience, being ostracised by members of our family can evoke so many powerful emotions and I felt my heart sink when you shared ‘you kind of get use to it.’

I could really relate to this part of your story, as this is something that I’ve said to myself on numerous occasions. During these times, I’ve always been amazed how this seemingly benign phrase has the power to conceal and covertly communicate some of the emotions that I wasn’t able to voice. For example, anger, hurt and a deep sense of despair and resignation that despite my wanting things to be different, my situation would remain unchanged.

Absolutely! Initiating a grievance process can be an enormous undertaking and I can really appreciate your position in relation to this. Perhaps similar to you, this is only something that I would initiate after careful consideration and if I believed that it was necessary to prevent harm to myself or another person.

It’s always lovely to hear from you and I look forward to seeing you around the forums

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar