Any diagnosed germophobes or hoarders on this forum?

Good morning dear @Maggie , thank you for the ☕s and 💙s

Hehe re not knowing what day of the week it is. I find that when I'm not at my volunteer job, it's the same. Did your painting student end up coming last week?

It's a beautiful calm morning here, cool and sunny. I see you have a similar day, with rain forecast later like here.

I was wondering if I could ask you a question...no need to answer if you'd rather not. Do you get changed and into bed every night, despite having pain all over your body? I know you like your doona, so I'm guessing you do... I was just thinking that if you can do it, then I could maybe also do it...

Sending much 💜 to you and heaps of good wishes for you and your little furbaby.

@NatureLover Grey sky here already, so rain isn’t far off. Very pleasant temperature so far today.

I’ve been out listening to the birds singing. They are always lovely and calming.

Yes, I do get changed every night, mainly because jammies are more comfortable. A shower, if you can manage one, really helps with pain. Slowly does it though. Nothing happening fast here these days. Have you tried heat/cool packs ? I find them helpful sometimes.

I hope you are not in too too much pain , but it sounds like you might be. It certainly doesn’t help mental health.

Take care. More 💕💕☕️☕️☕️

Thanks for your reply, @Maggie ...no, I'm not in too much pain - well, what I mean is, it comes and goes, sometimes bad and sometimes just a constant ache. I haven't tried heat /cool packs as I am actually not sure which to try - heat? Cool? I should have asked my GP. I used to have a shower every night to help me sleep and so I could get into the sheets all clean, but have got out of the habit of it. Actually, I confess that since my nervous breakdown, I struggle with showering. I only do it when I have to, when going out mainly.

I really admire how you live with constant terrible pain every day and night 💔 <--broken heart

Your rain is obviously coming before ours. I'm going outside shortly too, after I finish this coffee. Got a bit of gardening to do...pulling up baby trees that have started all along the garden path...they're huge wide bushy trees, we have one at the gate to our complex...so they can't grow there, unfortunately. I struggle with pulling up any living thing/plant, even weeds....I think of them eagerly finding a place to grow once their seed has fallen, and the waste of the magnificent huge tree that they could become...but there's lots and lots of them, and it would render the path unusuable eventually, if they grew there. I just love trees...poor baby trees.

My lovely boss just messaged me to say their paperwork was a mess and so were they, after I messaged her to say I would be back on Monday. I am psyching myself up for her retirement in April...she has protected me for all these years, as she has a husband with Hoarding Disorder and bipolar...she understand mental illness, as much as someone who doesn't suffer it themselves can. Her husband refuses to treat his Hoarding Disorder....in fact, he erected a couple of huge $18,000 sheds to hold it all 😮 She's very supportive of me, for instance if I ring up to say I need a mental health day, she says "Oh honey, take it easy, sit in the sun, we'll see you later in the week" and things like that. I just got so lucky getting her as a boss...I don't think I would have been able to do a volunteer job otherwise, without support like that at work.

I hope today is a good one for you, or at least manageable 💜

@NatureLover I’m exactly the same when mentally struggling. A shower is beyond thinking, let alone doing. You are doing just fine in what you are doing.

The pain I live with requires I manage some movement/exercises as I can. We are always told not to overdo it if feeling a bit better, but no one ever really gets that message until they have overdone it. Make hay while the sun shines kind of thinking. 😂😂 Most of us learn the hard way.

The grey sky has passed, and it’s sunny now. I’ve just watered and eaten some strawberries. Leaving a few for you. 🍓🍓🍓

I find it hard to pull things out also. I have 14 pumpkin plants. I didn’t expect all the seeds to take. I hope my neighbors like pumpkin. I hope I have enough space.

Your boss sounds lovely. She obviously appreciates you and what you do there.

My mother was a hoarder. She would go to the secondhand stores, auctions etc. the house was full of everything everywhere. Wardrobes were full of clothes she never wore, or never would wear. I’m a bit the opposite, if I haven’t worn or used something in a while, I’ll give it away, but I think there’s a bit of a problem with that too. Understanding our psychic is a puzzle. I just never wanted to be like her, but who knows really.

I hope your gardening and walks today are enjoyable. Do you take pics ?

I’m off to find some bench space. It’s in there somewhere. 😂😂😂😂

Oh gosh, @Maggie - your abusive mother was a hoarder? Oh gosh...and here I am talking about it! I feel...wow that you can come on this thread and talk to a hoarder...wow. You are pretty amazing, and I want to thank you, as you could easily have avoided me as it must remind you of things you'd rather forget 😞 Actually, I have worked hard on it and have achieved lots of success...but still. Thank you.

I do think it's much healthier to do what you do, and get rid of stuff that you don't use.

Yes, I am so lucky with my boss. I am worried about what will happen to me when she leaves.

I've just pulled up 78 baby trees from along the pathway 😮 I'll put a pic in my next post, as I can do that from my phone (I'm on the computer at the moment).

Thank you for the strawberries 🙂 I am on a strawberry and yoghurt kick at the moment. I squeeze lots of lemon juice into the yoghurt, then add cut up strawberries.

---

@Maggie wrote:

I find it hard to pull things out also. I have 14 pumpkin plants. I didn’t expect all the seeds to take. I hope my neighbors like pumpkin. I hope I have enough space.

---

Oh gosh, I hope you have enough space too! That's fairly amazing that all the seeds took. I know my mum always said a rhyme about seeds: "One for the sparrow, one for the crow, one for the (something else) and one to grow."

Thanks for understanding about showers.

Good luck with finding that bench space 😄

Hi there you two @Maggie @NatureLover .. I enjoy following along with your conversations. Hope you dont feel 'stalked'. 😊💞

@Maggie Both my Mum and my Dad were/are devoted hoarders. 💓 From a young age I vowed I would never be the same. It used to drive me half crazy, the sheer disorganisation and clutter of life at home. Interestingly my sister is similar to them. I am total opposite to the extent of OCD and a very real need for minimalist surroundings and absolutely everything needs to be in its place and perfectly placed. Clutter or anything out of place drives me nuts. I have only enough clothes that I know I can use, anything else is tossed out or given away.

My brother is somewhere in between. I was talking to him only a few days ago and he was frustrated because his house (he says) is becoming so badly cluttered that he is desperate to clear it. He despairingly said "I married someone just like Mum", meaning his wife is a hoarder just like Mum was. Every minute spare bit of space quickly gets overtaken by more and more clutter. There is no spare bit of space anywhere. He said that he can handle it mostly, but there comes a time that he 'encourages' a major clear out. So he sets to work, with his wifes assistance, in culling things to bring back a small bit of 'order' to the house. So its interesting how horders can affect those living amongst it.

I am very sorry @NatureLover and @Maggie about the chronic pain you both experience. I know from my Mum @Maggie how rheumatoid arthritis affects daily life. The simplest things are difficult, and often results in pain. And @NatureLover I have experienced torn tendons in my shoulder and resulting frozen shoulder, so I know how painful and debilitating that can be. I also have a long term back injury which results in chronic pain. Mostly manageable, but at times almost unbearable. With my new oral chemo meds I am experiencing increased joint and muscle pain right now too. So I sympathise with both of you.

As for the heat or cold packs ... I would suggest you give both a try @NatureLover . The hot pack will help to free things up a little to enable more fluid movement with less pain. And the cold pack helps to reduce inflamation. So a hot pack to start ... do some exercise .. then use the cold pack to settle things down afterwards. See how that goes. But if you remember ... ask your GP or a physio next time you see them. You could also look it up on the internet. Just do a google search eg " should I use heat or cold to treat ***?"

Oh @Maggie ... I wish I could collect one or two of those pumpkins you're growing. Strawberries look yummy too.

@NatureLover ... I hear you re pulling up the baby trees.

Emelia 🌸

@Maggie here's some pics of the stunning rosebush that my neighbour gave me recently:

Hi @Emelia8 , thank you for tagging me in your update earlier this morning. I'm sorry to hear about the bad side effects from the chemo pill 😞 I hope they don't get any worse...

I'm sorry too about your increased joint and muscle pain...and your chronic back pain. 😞

Thanks for following along in the conversations 🙂 I'm aware how fortunate I am that poeple visit me here on this thread.

That is good advice about the cold /heat packs, thank you.

Thinking of you, as aways, @Emelia8 💜

@NatureLover It never crossed my mind to avoid you or anyone because of hoarding. It’s just another way of trying to deal with internal pain. Strangely enough, my now neighbor is a hoarder. He has stuff stacked out the front of his flat. The back is cluttered. Housing give him a few nudges every now and the, and it lessens, but soon returns.

There is nothing amazing about me @NatureLover , I just like you, as you are. 💜💜

Wow, that’s a lot of baby trees.

The pic of you rose is beautiful. Such a beautiful colour. 💕

@Emelia8 Join in the conversation, the more the merrier. I don’t feel stalked. I try not to monopolise, might be strange spelling there.

You have had a tough life. Now you are dealing with breast cancer. I just don’t have words, it seems unfair, but life is not fair, that’s for sure.

I struggle with the simple things, opening anything is a struggle now, and lots of bloody this and 🤬🤬🤬 the rest. I sympathise with you and the side affects of your new meds, on top of the other pain you have to live with. Sigh.

I wish i could share my pumpkins with you and the world 😂😂😂 Leaving some 🍓🍓🍓and some 💜💜💜