I can’t cope

After the last few days I can’t believe I’m saying this but today I’m in a good place!

I’ve been to the hairdresser today and had 20cms cut off and had it coloured. I also have done all the housework and have a silverside in the slow cooker for dinner.

Hope anyone reading has had a good day.

Good on you @Captain24 with your hairdresser's appt tonight! From your msg last night, I only just read it - no need to be sorry.

I was just about to eat a Mars bar so I wanted to enjoy it with you. I'll wait till you've made yourself a cuppa 🙂

It feels good to have had my hair done @tyme

Thanks for supporting me even though I do make it difficult being so up and down.

Just made a hot chocolate.

I have a mars bar story. Many years ago my pop ask for a mars bar for Christmas. Nan said no as he was a 4 needle/day insulin dependent diabetic. So I got him a mars bar wrapped inside a big box. He knew what I had done and from then in we exchanged mars bars for birthdays, Easter and Christmas. When he died I put a mars bar on his coffin and sent it with him. 20 years later I have a mars bar on his birthday and the anniversary of his death.

So enjoy your mars bar.

Hopr you had a good day

That's an incredible story @Captain24 . Thank you for sharing! That story should be sent to Mars! So people know a Mars bar can such a powerful symbol for some people.

My Mars bar story is.... I think my first taste test was baking a mars bar in a green apple as a kid. I wanted to try it, so I went out to buy a granny smith, cored it, stuffed it with a mars bar and baked it..... yummmmm!

Before that, I only ate Snickers... now I'm onto Mars bars 🙂

I had a hot mocha with almond milk 🙂 yum!

btw, haircuts can somehow have a huge impact on one's MH. Now a question - do you open or close your eyes when having a haircut? This was a debate on the radio a few weeks ago, so now I'm intrigued.

I never thought of sharing my story @tyme . I might do that. Pop had 19 grandchildren and it was just a him and I thing. When I put the mars bar on his coffin at the graveside my cousins said ‘that bloody mars bar’ so it made everyone laugh.

The mars bars in an apple sounds good. I also like deep fried mars bars

I went to Spain for world youth day a few years ago and we went into one church and as I was listening to the sermon I felt my nans presence. (She would have been so proud that I went to see the pope!) When I got out of the church there was a shop next door and in the window was mars bars! So I had to get one for pop!

When getting my haircut my eyes are open but I look around the room through the mirror. When getting my hair washed it feels really awkward so I close my eyes.

What do you do?

In terms of opening/closing my eyes, I open my eyes @Captain24 . I never thought of closing them until I heard the debate. I actually want to know what they are cutting lol! Who knows? I might be so impressed with their skills that I inspire to be a hairdresser myself!

I've been googling Mars.... it's harder to find than you think! But this is the closest I got https://aus.mars.com/made-by-mars/mars-wrigley

I believe you can connect with them via their social media platforms? I don't have insta, FB or linkedin... so that's as far as I got.

I was listening to a lived experience speaker who wrote a book about their experiences. Writing a book has been on my heart for a long time. After last night, I'm really considering going back to this dream - not to make money, but to clarify my story and to help others through my own MH journey.

Your story of the Mars bar has reminded me to pursue writing. I am thrilled with your Mars bar story, and about how you saw a mars bar while in a church!!!! You really need to tell that story to the world!

There is a contact us @tyme so I will do that! It’ll be interesting to see if they respond. To me it’s just what it is but reading it back it is very meaningful.

I think a book on your MH journey would be good. I haven’t really thought of looking for one but I will on my next days off. I think it would help me try and understand what this mess of my life is. I am really having a hard time trying to understand it and deal with my really bad mood swings.

I hope nothing to bad happened last night for you to reconsider going back to it. You do have a really good way with words. Feel free to use my story! Lol.

Did doing a peer support course help you understand you MH better? Or do you need to be well to consider it?

Nothing 'bad' happened last night - listening to someone's lived experience just reminded me of the power of telling your story - it can make a huge impact on someone's life.

And I think writing aides recovery. It helps you hone in on certain aspects of your life so that you gain a clearer picture of how it fits in with everything else that is happening - not as much to focus on the 'mess', but to see the jigsaw as a whole rather that seperate pieces.

In terms of doing a peer support course, I actually didn't start off doing one! I was a Community Guide here on the forums practising peer work on a voluntary capacity, and was so impressed by the power of lived experience, that I THEN did a a bit of 'study' in peer work (or shall I say 'training'). Did it help me understand my own MH better? No, it didn't. It just confirmed my strengths in peer work and that I should pursue a role as a peer support worker!

To be honest, I get so much out of this role. I look forward to the forums everyday even though I only work part-time. And with this role comes ongoing training which I thoroughly enjoy.

Not sure if i've answered your question properly.

Thanks @tyme .

I did send my story!

I’m starting to feel like I need to do more in trying to understand this to get through.

Every night I am writing down my moods to see if I can find triggers or what has work. Maybe I need to look at my days differently. I just thought a course might help.

I think you do a great job.

Wow! I'm so glad to hear you sent your story @Captain24 ! I'm really excited to hear how it goes. I really think your story is amazing. I would make you my poster child if I was Mars.

What worked most for me in terms of reflecting on my MH, was definitely group therapy.Group therapy made me stop and consider my thoughts, take heed of my emotions, look at the situation, then respond appropriately. I hated the thought of group therapy, but alas, it had the biggest impact on my recovery - oh, not to mention, I DO have a psych degree. The psych degree has had the LEAST impact on my ability to understand my own MH. I'm not sure what I got from the degree apart from naming certain parts of the brain.

Of course, I'm not saying a psych degree is 'bad'. I'm absolutely speaking from experience that it didn't help my own MH. I understood more in terms of science and head-knowledge, but didn't add a speck to my own MH recovery.

MH recovery looks different for everyone - do what works for you.

tyme