Any diagnosed germophobes or hoarders on this forum?

Hi @Dimity , not sure that my cough has eased but I did manage to go out for books, more cough medicine plus groceries.

Yes re maybe inviting more people over. In fact, I've decided to treat Christmas Day as if it's an inspection day, and get the house neat and clean by then. Maybe after that I can invite someone over. After all, an inspection is now overdue.

I understand if the EMDR material is too much to deal with at the moment. I think sometimes we have to grind to a halt. Plus you put so much pressure on yourself that it must be exhausting. 😥 I would be happy to hear that you've given yourself some time off that constant pressure.

I want to also congratulate you on staying afloat.

No plans for the weekend but a friend has invited me out on Monday. I resisted as I'm still coughing, but she insisted and we are going to sit outside.

I might try to tidy for Christmas too @NatureLover . It's a good idea.

Thanks re staying afloat. Yes somehow I muddled through a series of setbacks this year. You had a number too, starting with problems at your old job and escalating from there. Well done on getting through, and chalking up some mh wins.

I achieved what I'd hoped for today. Chores, a bit of weeding and trimming, and trying to tidy. Not a lot, but gratifying after having had a bad night and some slow days.

Well done on achieving what you'd planned yesterday, @Dimity 🙂

Yes, you had some long lasting major setbacks this year. An incredible struggle for you 🫂 You've done well.

That would be great if we could tidy together for Christmas.

Thanks for your kind words.

I'm going to make a schedule of the days remaining before Christmas and what needs to be done, but I think I'll need to do 2 hours a day. Activity is still causing me to cough, so I'll have to take lots of rests. The 2 hours might take all day to achieve. The aim is also to not put anything in the shed.

Hoping that today is a good day for you like yesterday.

@NatureLover I'm glad you'll see a friend tomorrow - even if outside and masked.

I took the day off today and attended a Christmas service for people grieving or otherwise struggling to celebrate the season. It was very moving.

@Dimity that service sounds great. Was it a church service? I've never heard of such a service. I'm glad you found it meaningful.

I did 1 3/4 hours yesterday including cleaning both sinks and the small kitchen bench. I was pleased as they were the areas I was most ashamed of. Chantarelle's thread helped to inspire me, so thanks for tagging me there.

I'm amazingly brightened by the prospect of going out for coffee this morning.

Will you make a schedule of tidying, or see what you feel like tackling each day?

Well done on cleaning @NatureLover . Hope you enjoyed your meetup.

Yes it was a church service. I was an emotional wreck. I thought I could move forwards then the news came of Bondi.

My psychiatrist said trying EMDR might make things worse.

So a lot to process.

Had craft today then a long chat with a reclusive neighbour.

Sounds silly but I'm unable to plan ahead re tidying although I know it's sorely needed. I'm also at an impasse with some other things that absolutely have to be done. It's very worrying. I'd been trying to get back on track with daily routines but have lapsed again there too.

Very tired. New eye specialist tomorrow, early indications aren't promising so I'm not expecting good rapport. If it doesn't work out I'll ask my gp. I don't have a good relationship with my current optometrist.

I'd actually really like to sort out the house if at all possible... but I don't know how.

Sorry you were an emotional wreck, @Dimity .

Was your craft group good yesterday?

It doesn't sound silly to be unable to plan tidying. I often make a plan but then decide on the day to tidy something different, so the plan doesn't always work.

Regarding the "how", would it help to focus on one room at a time till it's done? (Splitting the room into sections if it's too big?)

I was busy all day the last 2 days but didn't achieve any tidying. Today is errands this morning, then tidying /cleaning (2 hours if possible).

Good luck with the new eye specialist today 🤞

Hi @NatureLover

The group shared some Xmas treats which was nice. The matriarch wasn't there.

With my level of disorganisation I can't hope to "finish" tidying a room. But yes I could try to work on one room at a time. I usually try to rotate through different areas.

The eye specialist confirmed patchy vision loss and other problems the optometrist had denied or minimised so I'm glad I'd insisted on the referral. I made my expectations clear at the new practice too. Perhaps there'd been mental health stigma and ageism, plus lack of care from the big impersonal retail chain who'd be more into sales than healthcare. So it is what it is, and hopefully treatment will slow further vision loss.

It's ironic that at the same time I've lost another type of vision - the ability to imagine what I want, from the look of a room to life in general. I think without an end-goal it's hard to think of the steps to get there. It's depressing. Maybe it's because I'm depressed so a vicious circle.

I have home help tomorrow and visitors Monday so must do what I can beforehand. Today I didn't get beyond a few chores.

Best wishes for your continued efforts.

Well done for insisting on seeing the eye specialist, @Dimity . I hope you don't have to go back to that optometrist who minimised and dismissed your eye problems. But I am very sorry about the result of the black spot in your eye 😥

Do your 2 social groups have time off over Christmas /New Year?

I wonder whether you feel you're getting nowhere on the house because you work all over the house so never see any one area mostly finished?

I didn't achieve much yesterday after a long errands trip out.

I am upset, as one of my nice neighbours told the nasty neighbour she could use the shed. It's not even his shed, so he had no right to say that. The nasty neighbour doesn't respect boundaries (e.g. she looks through all our mailboxes every week, sits on my outside couch etc.) so she would definitely look in all my boxes.

I'm not sure the owner of the shed will actually let the nasty neighbour use it. But in any case I've had a fright, and have decided I have to tackle the boxes in the shed. I thought I'd continue working on the house till Christmas, then start the boxes after that. I thought I'd try to do one box a day, over January and February. Obviously not on work days or other busy days. I'm not looking forward to it 😣

Was it too hot to walk yesterday afternoon? What will you do this afternoon for your walk, seeing it's going to be 38C?

Good luck with the home help today.

@NatureLover my groups are now in recess until tge first week of January. So not much break.

I felt compelled to go out in the heat to post Christmas mail. Otherwise I've been inside in air conditioning, a great luxury I don't take for granted.

You do have a serious problem coming up with the shed. Your unpredictable nasty neighbour can't be trusted. I'm surprised the nice neighbour is thinking of giving her access.

My out of home storage situation is also quite fraught and seriously worrying for a number of reasons, and I've been seeking advice on it for years... mh team, support workers, lawyer and family. I don't want to explain because of anonymity but it's something I need to resolve. I realise that I'll need to sort out my home situation as part of the process of dealing with it all. My new psychologist is well aware of it and recognises the layers of difficulty and the complexity.

Meanwhile I have plenty of boxes and unstructured stash at home to work through if you'd like company. The only glimmer of a plan I have, is to clear a workspace in my livingroom.

My home help won't be back for at least a month. Her visits have been motivating me to make more of an effort. But I've been maintaining the status quo rather than progressing.

I'd better water the pot plants before dark. I haven't felt up to handling the garden hoses since prior to surgery last summer so the garden has been missing out.