Monthly Archives: February 2016

Happy Leap Day

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Leap Day!!! Today is February 29th and as you all know it only comes once every four years. Leap year falls the year when both the Summer Olympics and the United States Presidential elections happen. Just some random crap I thought I would share with you all.

I am full of random crap in my head. I just never thought the random crap would be helpful in a job interview. I mentioned to you all in my previous post that I had an interview last Thursday (February 25, 2016) for a peer specialist position at my current employer. Anyway, I got “bonus points” for knowing something the other interviewee’s did not mention. I was asked about my knowledge or experience of what an RSN is? My response what it’s the Regional Support Network which is going to be changing to a BHO or Behavioral Health Organization on April 1st. It boggles my mind that someone who is in recovery and applying for a peer specialist job doesn’t know this information. I just figured in was just some random crap I store in my head of mine that wouldn’t necessarily need to be used for anything. Boy, was I wrong.

I am looking forward to work today. I do have to leave work an hour to go to an appointment to see my Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (ARNP). As much as I enjoy my job and don’t want to leave early, I also realize that I need to see my Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner so  I can maintain and continue on my recovery. My recovery means the world to me and if I don’t continue with it then I wont be able to help my current clients as well as future clients I will serve.

Speaking of clients, I need to get going so I can get ready for work. I hope you all have a wonderful day. In fact I hope everyone has a wonderful work week. Happy Leap Day and Peace Out!!!

Elusive as of Lately

Posted on by Gertie

It’s been a while since I last blogged and it’s obvious that I’ve been elusive as of lately. I’ve been elusive for various reasons.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that my depression has been rearing its ugly head due to the two miscarriages I have. One back in November of 2013 and the other back in January of 2015. It hasn’t been the easiest of times for me and unfortunately, I didn’t complete the Writing 201 course that I signed up for and was looking forward to doing it. Loss of a child is one of the toughest if not the toughest thing a person can go through.

Talking through the pain of loosing two sets of twins with my therapist, Diana, has not been easiest things to do. While discussing the miscarriages with Diana , she realized how close I was to actually attempting suicide and how I lost all hope as well as loosing all the goals I had set for myself. Diana being quite concerned considered putting me back in the hospital but realized that if she did it wouldn’t be helpful to me or my recovery. That’s when thought to ask the question many people dread, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” My response was “I can’t even focus on the next five minutes much less the next five years.” Diana response was, “I know its difficult to look beyond the next five minutes much less the next five years. I would like for us to focus on your goals because it appears to from my end that you have lost sight of your goals. Goals that mean a great deal to you.” There was no point in arguing this point with Diana due to the fact that it was spot on and completely true. Not only that it’s difficult to argue with someone who is just as stubborn as you are and you know that the person is right on with what they said. With all that being said leads to the other reason why I have been so elusive.

What Diana had said to me had me thinking hard. Hard about my future and where I want my life to be. It still might be difficult for me see where I will be in five years but it did get me to refocus. It got me to focus on my career. A career as a Peer Specialist. If you been reading my blog for a while you know that I am currently employed as a Consumer Aide at a mental health agency. You also know that I got the job to gain “paid experience” to be able to get a job as a peer specialist. Well, I’ve been a Consumer Aide, a week shy of a year and a half and decided that I will start looking a Peer Specialist positions. In fact a week and half ago, a Peer position came available with a clinical team at the agency I work for. I applied for it and ended up interviewing for it this past Thursday (February 25, 2016). I personally  don’t think the interview went all that well and wont find out if I got the job or not for two or three weeks. Which actually means about four to six weeks because the hiring process is so slow at the agency I work for. I am looking at applying to more peer position within the agency I work for as well as outside the agency.

I am hoping that I will be more diligent and less elusive when in comes to my blogging. I really doing enjoy blogging. Not only do I enjoy the writing part of blogging but reading other peoples blogs.

As, I end this particular post, I want wish you a good rest of your weekend. Please go out and enjoy the world or attempt to enjoy the world to the best of your ability. Have a good Sunday and Peace Out!!!

Writing 201; Week One: What’s Your Angle

Posted on by Gertie

Apparently, this WordPress course is more of a workshop style and we will be getting weekly assignments so we can work on them over a course of a week. I like this idea. It will give me time to work on the assignments and exactly what I want to write about. I personally will attempt to write and post it daily because it will give me more focus of what exactly I will be working on.

Sometimes it’s that focus I need on a specific topic to help me create a better blog. That is why I am doing this course. Creating a better blog to gain more readers so I can educate others about mental illness and show those struggling with mental illness, grief and loss as well as miscarriage loss that they are not alone.

I hate to do this but I need to finish getting ready for work and end this post for now. Have a wonderful day everyone. I hope to blog again this evening. Peace Out!!!

Writing 201: Finding Your Story; Day One: What’s Your Angle

Posted on by Gertie

As many of you are well aware of I am taking yet another WordPress course. It starts today and todays assignment is on what my angle is. Like many other courses I have taken it is how one interprets the assignment on how that person does the assignment. Or at least that is my understanding. The following is my first assignment:

What’s my angle? My angle has always been geared toward sharing my story with recovery with the mental illness I struggle with. I have done this to help educate others who do not struggle mental illness as well as to give others hope that recovery is possible for those of us who struggle with mental illness. Don’t worry, this is still going to be a part of my angle, I have just recently added more angles to my blog.

I have realized over the last year, that people don’t really discuss (or write about) miscarriage and the pain that comes along with it or how to deal with the grief and loss one experience’s when they have a miscarriage. So, I am adding a couple of more angles to my blog. They are to share my journey through my grief and loss with my both my miscarriages. That means the added angles to my blog are miscarriage and grief and loss.

On a side note for those who are new to reading my blog I miscarried January of last year (2015). I miscarried my second set of twins in fourteen months.  Over the last year I have struggled greatly with both miscarriages and realized no one ever talks about grief and loss and how to deal with it or even miscarriage.

Now that you are now aware of what my new added angles are, I am going to end this post in a moment. I am grateful that I was able to take my lunch break today. Most importantly I am grateful I haven’t been called back early so I could do todays assignment. Well, I need to get back to work. Have a wonderful day. Most importantly have a great work week. Peace out!!!

Weekly Goals

Posted on by Gertie

It has bee quite some time since I last did weekly goals. I have  missed doing them. The weekly goals gives me something to shoot for, for the week. I am going to just start anew with my weekly goals.

Lets start with the more difficult stuff:

1)  Work on a self-help workbook; The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, PhD., Jeffery C. Wood, PSY.D., and Jeffrey Brantley, MD. I thought I would be finished with this workbook by now however I will start it back up. It will also give me the structure I need on days I don’t have much or any structure at all.

2) See my therapist. I see my therapist on Wednesday (2/3/2016). Therapy is always difficult.

Now on to blogging stuff:

3) Start Writing 201: Finding Your Story. I love taking the courses WordPress puts on. It gives me a sense of structure on days I don’t have much or any structure at all.

4) Start my Friday Feature back up this Friday (2/5/2016).

Now on to fun stuff :

5) Work on jigsaw puzzle. Junior and I started a 2,000 piece holiday puzzle we got for Christmas.

6)  Color. I color various coloring pages and posters at a time. I am focusing on one in particular at the moment.

7) Walk up ten(10) flights of stairs twice everyday. Yes, I still have my apartment even though I spend the majority of time over at Juniors place. The apartment building I live in is ten(10) stories and I am practicing to do the next Big Climb which is in January of 2017. It is a fundraiser where people climb up 50+ flights of stairs. It might not sound fun at the moment but am looking forward to it.

I am happy to be getting back into the swing of things. I am thankful to be apart of this blogging event over at: http://greenembe.rs/category/building-rome-2/. Happy Monday and have a wonderful work week! Peace Out!