SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Thursday 3am, wide awake, annoying 'cause have a o work tomorrow. But got a few things done tonight

- mended & hemmed trekkie pants

- attached bra extension

- painted first undercoat to drawers

- fastened jiant tarp to close in back verander.

- talked with a friend for over an hour

- watched Restoration Home dvd again, inspiring 😙

Hope you got some rest @Former-Member. That was a very productive day. Feels good huh? Were you awake on adrenaline? It would be good if this forum had a feature whereby you could easily see who was online. A broken night's sleep for me too 😩

Will try to get an early night @Former-Member. Sometimes a day time nap is tempting but that can mess with my sleep patterns. I am an extremely light sleeper in any case and use ear plugs.

Hope you get your early night, @Soul I'm in bed with my trusty heatpack and dog, nodding off. Have a strange sense of 'calm' underneath the aches and pains... Probably a good thing. Its like God himself is throwing a heated blanket over me saying 'rest, everything's going to be all right" you hear that @Zoe7 Strange but good.

The shop went well today. A lot of people coughing and off sick. The boss was exceptionally friendly, definitely a moody soul lol. Stayed back 1/2hr to help her as she's so overwhelmed.

Actually did my dishes before sitting after getting home tonight, despite the pain. I don't know what's happened to the last 4hrs since getting home - its like I just got here.

Hope everyone rests tonight 🌷🌿

Yes, I'm tucked up in bed now too @Former-Member. Hoping for a long and restful sleep for all of us tonight.

In case ya wondering, my day went well, probably because I spent a fair bit of time outside. Managed to sand back and put second coat paint on my drawers (mentioned in 'Project' thread), they're looking good. Also cleaned the bird cages and spent a lot of time up on a ladder sorting out the tarp that fell down 😕

It does help the mood / self esteem to know you've done something good today. I have discovered I actually like clucking around outside.

The physio said I need to keep moving despite the pain (easy for him to say), take a rest if needed then get up again. I'm not sure even he fully understands. There's a stigma around back pain too, and chronic pain but he did say I have valid proof on radiology & blood results. I'm doing his exercises, so see if he thinks I've improved next visit.

Wish I was more, but this is all I can manage, i'm trying so hard but... sorry world / God, just cant do more🌷🌿

Doing something is better than doing nothing @Former-Member. It's a good start. Yes, as much as you think,it might be better to rest a sore back, it is beneficial to keep moving. Have a beaut day.

Hi @Former-Member

There is a lot of stigma around chronic pain - to start with no one can see it - so in that sense it has a lot in common with MI and Bereaved Parenthood. Then there is the stigma of taking schedule 8 medication - it can be addictive - but not everyone has an addictive personality.

I have heard so many people say that taking pain medication increases the pain - I counter that with "The Pain was there first - the medication can't cause pain" but if people don't really know the way chronic pain can destroy someone's life - wow - that can be so hard to tackle without a lot of background info

Then people often don't want to hear that

I have heard people say that Schedule 8 medication should be only for people who have had surgery. They only need it for a short time. I find that laughable - truly - if people with chronic pain are denied that kind of medication why should people who are going to have it for a short time get it?

I find that stigma hard - and sometimes it's in the medical profession as well - but I have a good team and I feel pretty lucky about it.

My recommendation for clucking around outside - stop before it hurts and take a breather for a short time and start again

Dec