Any diagnosed germophobes or hoarders on this forum?

Sorry your sleep's not great, @Dimity . Mine's mostly good with sleeping tablets, thanks.

You were right and the landlord did send a contractor to view and quote for fixing the verandah. No arborist yet for the dangerous tree.

Interested to hear whether you decided to finish up with the counsellor? If so, I presume you'll continue with the psychologist?

A lunch today some way away. I'm trying to go a bit longer distances again. Drove 20 minutes to my psychologist yesterday, so was pleased with that. My psychologist said my agoraphobia would be a daily battle for the rest of my life.

Hope you feel you are recovering from your procedure in hospital 🤞

Thanks @NatureLover I guess I've recovered. But not yet back on track. The counsellor suggested not making an appointment. I don't have any with the psychologist either. I don't really know what to do.

I hope you're not waiting too long for repairs and tree assessment. I doubt my fence will be fixed until it completely collapses.

Living with agoraphobia sounds hard. My

anxiety is too.

I'm glad you think you've recovered from your hospital procedure, @Dimity 👍

Yes, the agoraphobia is hard. But I was pleased to be able to drive 25 minutes to lunch yesterday. I did cough quite a bit with asthma at the lunch though.

Are you waiting on a neighbour to agree to fix the fence, is that what the delay is?

Yes, anxiety is hard, I know as I have it too. Particularly when it's severe. The fears seem terrifying. I'm sorry you suffer with it 😢

Well done on driving to lunch @NatureLover . Is it any easier if the roads are familiar?

It sounds as though you'll be needing your respiratory specialist... I hope you have no trouble updating the referral and getting an appointment.

Neither the other owners in my owners corporation nor our neighbours seem interested that the fence is faĺling down. The posts are on the neighbour's side so fencing contractors need access there to assess and quote. And the owners corporation will have to pay their share. I'll pay for the bit along my backyard. I remember the nightmare of getting 9 households to agree when the fences went up.

Question: does your anxiety subside when you're reading? I lose myself in doomscrolling then find I feel worse and have to do something useful. But I'm lulled into thinking the doomscrolling is an escape and keep going back to it.

Hi @Dimity , yes, it's easier to travel when the roads are familiar. Do you find the same?

I probably should go back to the respiratory specialist, but I'm putting it off for now.

Your fence situation sounds very difficult 😣 Sorry to hear.

Yes, my anxiety subsides when I'm distracted with reading books or on Facebook. Or doing my volunteer job as well.

I'm confused by the term "doomscrolling" - does it mean seeking out negative content? Or does it mean endlessly and mindlessly scrolling? Cos I seek out positive content on Facebook, so am not sure if I'm doomscrolling or not.

@NatureLover I guess I'm being hard on myself calling it all doomscrolling. It probably really means following down the endless feed provided by the algorithms. But more often I use the search page for my set list of pages I'm most interested in. And I choose to view some news sources and Google notifications. But I do lose an enormous amount of time to it, and wish I didn't. I lose track of the time.

I don't like going to places I'm unfamiliar with and these days use my taxi concession quite often rather than attempting public transport. I'm finding it more difficult to use PT these days.

Sorry to hear re your asthma, I wish telehealth or something could help. Today I heard covid deaths are still an issue. But I haven't seen people wearing masks for a long time. Except that my gp clinic still insists on them.

Fingers crossed we get some rain tomorrow - unless your verandah damage needs to stay dry.

@Dimity I'm also hoping we get solid rain today - the trees need a deep drink. I've moved soft furnishings out from under the verandah damage so all that's there is my broken table and my outdoor chairs.

Hopefully neither of us will have to water the garden for a few days.

Thanks for explaining doomscrolling.

Why do you find it more difficult to use PT these days?

Intetesting that your GP clinic still insists on masks. Mine doesn't but I sometimes think it would be nice if they did.

I have a nice day at home today. Somehow mess has come back - I don't notice it and it creeps up. Need to tackle it today.

I really hope you can get some practical help with that support worker. And that you can get some hope back soon 🤞

Unfortunately mess builds quickly @NatureLover, at least it does for me. Recently trying to keep up with chores has been harder, let alone the decluttering backlog. Hope you had some success today.

My eyesight is getting worse (reading destinations and stepping up and down) and I sometimes have trouble interpreting Google Maps. I never go out at night any more. Even cabs are unreliable. I had to take the cat to the vet Friday and I had to ring 4 times for a cab to get there then postpone the appointment..Earlier on Friday I was tracking the arrival of my bus when the screen changed because the bus was cancelled so I was late for that appointment too. Public Transport isn't getting easier.

Today was a difficult day, low level scams at both the pharmacy and supermarket. Dentist tomorrow. (2 broken teeth since my hospital admission... the anaesthetist had said it was a risk )

I'm exhausted yet I've done very little.

We missed out on rain. Hope your trees fared better.

Oh gosh, the public transport does sound difficult! @Dimity 😣

And I'm sorry to hear about your cab fiasco 😥

I'm shocked that broken teeth seem to be an effect of your hospital procedure!

Yes, I tidied quite a bit yesterday but not all. Today I need to renew my driver's license, which seems to be a different procedure to when I did it 10 years ago.

I'm also meeting my abusive father on Thursday for coffee at a neutral venue, so am trying to psych up for that. It's part of an infrequent contact schedule.

Your ongoing exhaustion is a worry. Do you think you might need to see your GP about it?

Good luck at the dentist today...

Thanks @NatureLover , glad to have one tooth done.

Well done on tidying, hope getting the license wasn't too onerous.

I imagine Thursday will be difficult. Try not to stress (hard I know). I think it shows inner strength to meet him on your terms.

I'm trying to put off seeing my gp, I'd have to book a week or two in advance. Hopefully I'll pull out of the slump soon.

Best wishes for tomorrow and whatever you choose to do. I'll try to tackle the mess after getting home from craft group.