Good afternoon @FloatingFeather @Appleblossom @TAB @MDT @Former-Member @Former-Member @Former-Member @hanami @Shaz51 @Eve7 @Daisydreamer @maddison and all those joining me in the jungle today.
I just thought I’d update you all on how I’m going at PARCS which is quite good although the new med they have put me on for sleep is causing some issues, mainly in the fact of actually falling asleep as I think I stress that the tablet isn’t going to work and that doesn’t help the situation at all unfortunately. I’m going to see what I can do to try and stop this stressing out as I feel that it wrecks the hard work I do before bed by meditating which is hard to deal with. My worker knows about this so I may bring it up with the facility psych when I see them on Monday sometime. I’m finding the tablet to make me feel a lot calmer as well as a side effect on my mood which means I’m not relying on my usual go to med to help calm me down. The use of a lavender spray has also helped as I spray it before I go to sleep so there are some things that are working which is a positive in that regard.
Ad for other things, I’m slowly learning to make the most of my time awake which is by having goals set for the day and trying to keep busy which is usually between 7:30am - 11pm. I’ve decided that when I wake up around 7:30am, I’ll spend an hour knitting my own project and then get started on the morning ahead provided I haven’t got anything on for that part of the day. I’ve got to try and allocate my time and break it up into sections so I’m always busy as I’ve noticed that I ‘drop’ in the mid morning around 10:30 and around 2:30-3pm with being bored so I’m planning on finding activities to do during those times. Hopefully I pass another test for a course I found out about on Monday- I’ll sit the test on Wednesday or Thursday when I get home on Tuesday - and get accepted into the 6 month course in aged care and disability leisure and health. I’ve also got my interview for the op shop volunteer role on Thursday morning at 11:30 which I’m hoping I’ll get as it means I can do that position for half a day a week if the manager allows it. I’ve also been on Facebook and found some knitting and craft groups they meet up on a regular basis in the local area which I’m looking at attending when I leave PARCS and provided they don’t clash with my impending course of 1 day a week should I pass the test and be accepted into it. I’m also planning on trying to make time to read some ebooks via the library service and get back into this hobby once again and realise that reading isn’t a waste of time and is good for me. Add to this the nightly meditation practice and I’m hopefully going to slowly conquer this whole boredom thing that’s been around since March.
My blanket that I started just over a fortnight ago when I had my psychotic episode is going really well with me being up to the final colour of dark green as of last night. I spent the morning knitting it in my room as I didn’t want to do the morning group session here at PARCS as it was a topic I’d covered lots of times before. I’ve had lots of positive comments on the blanket and I’m determined to finish it before I leave here so there’s plenty of time to knit over the next few days and get it done. The other lot of yarn I purchased to bring in here to PARCS with me is sitting in a bag in my room here ready to start should I finish my current blanket but if I don’t get around to starting it here, I’ll take it home and start on it there as the charity I knit for is in desperate need of blankets so it’s something to aim for. I’ll post a photo of my current blanket when it’s finished, hopefully by the end of the weekend or Monday at the latest. Knitting the blanket has entertained me and given me a sense of purpose and I’ve enjoyed the pattern which is a good thing and an achievement for me. I’ll also tell my psychologist about this in our next session in a weeks time and send him a photo of it so he knows what I’ve been doing and what I did when I experienced psychosis - go on Facebook, look at knitting groups, find a pattern and then start knitting a blanket with the yarn I’ve had in my stash! Simple!
Yesterday afternoon, I participated in a group based on cravings and triggers and urge surfing with an AOD worker but found I was able to utilise the knowledge spoken about and taught in a way that links to mental health which was a really good session and one that I really enjoyed. I learnt that things will happen and that they will reach a peak when things are really intense but like a wave, those feelings and urges will eventually slow down and pass with time - it’s just a matter of riding the wave out and realising that things will end and will get better. This is particularly true with my feelings of boredom and self harm tendencies so it was good to learn this skill. The worker also spoke about the 8 D’s of what to do when things are tough and you have the craving or urge to do something to relieve the bad or negative feelings or escape a situation that you feel you have no control over and he gave me a laminated card with these 8 things on it which I’ve decided to keep on me in my phone and also take a photo of as well as I know it will come in handy in the future, especially when my BPD stirs up mischief or trouble again. Overall, it was a really good session and I learnt a lot from it.
Okay. That’s enough from me. Thanks for reading this entry and leaving comments on the discussion thread as it’s so nice that people care about me here in forumland🥰! You are my friends that I’ll never meet in real life but I still think of you when I’m writing this so thank you very much for everything!
Take care!
Judi9877☺️🌻
