Night Shift

Hi @eth Nice to see you pop in.💜 I hope your day has been ok 💜😊

@Faith-and-Hope Last night all I wanted to tell you that lots of your hard work and patience with me was paying off as many things began to click on Sunday. Got myself a notebook and am going to use it to detail all things which require my brain power at the moment so I have everything in one place including things like the renovation plans, things I need to remember from therapy and everything in between. Not sure what comes first and why I can switch things on and off on certain days but I feel more aware of what is going on with me which was also great to sort out a bit more in therapy today💜😊

see that you are busy as always. Glad your dads ears were sorted and that you had some lovely time out today💜😊

That's great you have a therapist you can get on with and who can help you. @Former-Member.
I haven't had one for ages. Years, actually. Have to do my own research, self help books etc. Wish I had a good GP etc. Not to worry.

I can imagine that you feel drained. Hopefully you can get an early night.

Do you like being on ypur own?

How are you feeling @eth?

We are still here @hope77 if you want any support💜💐

@eth I wanted to ask you and @Mazarita If you think that stress is the defining factor which triggers things that cause your mental health to change. I think I'm just beginning to understand that part but I think mood also is a factor. I'm trying to work out if my mood reflects my ability to cope with stress or whether stress affects my mood. Anyone else reading this with some ideas feel free to jump in. 💜😊

Thanks @Former-Member 😊💜🌷

Re the notebook ..... can I suggest to you something I do ? I "patchwork" things onto covers of diaries or excercise books, visual diaries, etc. It creates a connectivity for me, and makes it personal and attractive. I add on stickers, or images that I happen across - perhaps a shell from the front of a card someone gave me, or a flower, or a bird, or a dolphin (😊) ..... I write a quote that appeals to me if I feel like it ..... create a bit of a border or fill in a space with a bit of whatever .....

I started doing this with school diaries because they were cold and boring, and as a visual processor, I was good at keeping it neat and organised (made handwriting an aesthetic so the written work looked beautiful on the page) but this wasn't enough to keep me engaged with using it ....

Once I started to embellish it it became an extension of myself ....

It sounds like that is what you need this notebook to be.

I hope that is useful to you .... 🌷🌸💕

@Former-Member mostly coming on the forums gets me out of my shell as I tend to isolate a lot. And it's been really good to see where my input has helped someone at times. Just rarely a topic will be quite triggering but I'm getting better at having boundaries about that.

@Former-Member stress is definitely one of the factors but there are other triggers for me too. Lack of sleep can be a big one. And of course stress itself has many triggers. Actually I think it goes both ways with the stress/mood question, a bit chicken and egg.

Hi @Faith-and-Hope

Are you there @hope77. Thinking of you.

@Faith-and-Hope I had planned to go shopping after my therapy appointment for a notebook that 'spoke to me' but when I told my therapist she told me she had one and gave it to me and I couldn't refuse. It was exactly the kind I would have chosen ans so knowing it came from her and there is a connection to it I'm hoping it will 'feel' right. I so understood what you meant.

I hope you realise that yesterday and today are my usual best days of the week so I'm not likely to stay stable but I feel like when I fall next I hopefully won't fall as far back this time. She is going to support me with the psychiatrist too in trying to sort out my mood fluctuations every week which like I feel I need. In hindsight I really possibly should have been in hospital for a couple of days last week. Hoping I don't go back that far this week. 💜😊