Monthly Archives: April 2018

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I am at a loss on what to say right now even though I have a lot on my mind. A lot on my mind because of everything that happened this past week. Not that any of it was bad. Just a lot happened.

Tuesday, I met with my therapist for our first one on one session. My new therapist appears to be cool. He is recovery minded and is in line with what I want to accomplish in regards to my recovery.

Wednesday, I had my job interview that went okay. In all honesty I won’t be let down if I don’t get the job as I don’t think the job would be a good fit for me to begin with.

Thursday, I met with my new psychiatric nurse practitioner. She appears to be cool. She took me off of the Seroquel as I am on Abilify now. I’m just having even more trouble sleeping now.

I also got my taxes done on Thursday. I am getting more money back than I expected and am thrilled about that. Now I can pay a good portion of my credit card off.

That’s pretty much what I did this week. I mean my depression has been acting up and it sucks shit but all I can do is accept reality and push through it. It’s the only thing I can do right now. I can not let it get to me at the moment as if I do then shit can hit the fan quite quickly.

Thank you for reading. Peace Out, World!!!

Attempting to Lessen the Depression Symptoms

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World or at least what is left of morning. I am feeling slightly better than my last post but I realize it is going to be one of them days I have to pay attention to what is going on symptom wise. Knowing that I am depressed means I need to make sure I do basic self care shit; like eat, take shower; you know that kind of stuff.

Besides focusing on basic self care stuff, I decided to work on one of the workbooks I am working on; The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese Singh. The chapter I am working on is having identify other identities we may identify as. An example of that is I am a person with live experience of a mental health diagnosis who is learning about Buddhism.  Working on this work book is challenging in a good way and helping me build up the confidence I want to have in my life.

Another thing I did was talking to my best friend of nearly 30 years. We talked for a couple of hours on the phone. It was a good conversation and am happy that we finally got to talk. She is one really good friend who has stuck by me during the bad times.

Thank you for reading. Peace Out, World!!!

Saturday Morning Depression

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I’ve been awake for several hours now. I am a wee bit depressed. Not sure what is causing it but I sure in the hell know that the crappy weather isn’t helping. I just wish I wasn’t dealing with the depression however it is a reality I have to deal with.

A reality that is having me focus on good self care as well as doing DBT skills. In fact I feel like my DBT skills are self care. Or at least a form of self care. I am needing do some self-soothing skills as well as some distracting skills.

One of the skills, I’ll be doing is drinking tea which is self soothing for me. Another skill I am going to use is read the news paper which is somewhat of a distraction skill for me. I know it seems like a weird combination to do at the same time but it helps me if I start my day out like that.

I am also going to be going to the mall with a friend today. I am not a big mall person but this is an “out of the box” thing my therapist wanted me to come up with. Going to the mall will be challenging for me but it will be helpful for me as well.

Something that I have already done to help with my depression as well as my anxiety is some meditation and mindfulness practices. Since I have been doing the mindfulness and meditation on the regular basis, I have noticed some lessening of the anxiety or least lessening of the intensity of the anxiety.

Thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Early Morning Ramblings

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is 3:33 in the morning in my neck of the woods. Yes, I realize it is early but at least I got some sleep. I think I got about four hours of sleep. I, did however wake up from a nightmare. A nightmare that scared the shit out of me but thankfully I was able to get the support I needed from a friend.

After talking to my friend, I am now blogging. Pretty much I am blogging about whatever comes to mind at the moment. Hence the reason why my title is what it is.

As mentioned in a previous post, I checked in with my therapist yesterday (Friday). We discussed what I am going to do this weekend. I told him I don’t have much going except cleaning my apartment later on today (Saturday). We discussed a little about what I could for fun over the weekend. I came up with my usual stuff like reading, art and blogging. He encouraged me to do something out of the box for me. So, this is where I get stumped as this means going to the stupid mall or something like that. I informed my therapist that I could call a friend and spend a few hours with them at the mall. Apparently, his first impression of me was correct when he stated “You don’t appear to be a mall type person. Good job with thinking outside of the box with doing something different with a friend.” I told my therapist that he was right that I am not a “mall type person.” He chuckled and we continued to discuss what my weekend plans were. I hope I am not wrong on this but my therapist appears that he is good at what he does. Yeah, he may be a little timid but I think that is his personality.

I think I am going to spend most of the weekend reading. I am hoping to finish my book this weekend. No promises on finishing it but I am getting closer to finishing it. I love reading.

I don’t think I have anything else to ramble on about. Peace Out, World!!!

Yucky Weather + Depression = Reading

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Right now I am dealing with some increase of depression symptoms. Which is not a good thing because the weather is just yucky outside. Yucky weather doesn’t help with the increase of symptoms.

Since the increase of depressive symptoms and yucky weather I am going to read. Hell, it is perfect weather to be curled up in bed with a good book. A book to help me forget about my symptoms even though I know it is temporary.

In fact it was my therapist that suggested that I read. He works odd hours and I am okay with that as it appears that it fits what I need at the moment. He works five days a week and two of those days his hours are 9am to 5pm while the other three days are 12noon to 8pm. Today is one of those days he is in the office till 8pm. That is why I was able to talk to him this late.

I think I am going to take the suggestion to go and read. Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend and Peace Out, World!!!

Nothing Much Exciting To Read

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! So far today has been an uneventful day. A day full of boredom that thankfully didn’t lead to isolation. As I mentioned in my last post isolation is not a good thing for me. I am grateful that I went to day treatment as I interacted with folks. I went because I have been isolating and Junior is working today.

With all that being said, I am glad I went. I helped make lunch for the folks at treatment and enjoyed cooking. We had chicken stir fry. People appeared to like the food.

I also ended up working on one of my workbooks. The workbook I am working on is my Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook. It is helping me a great deal with how I view myself as a non-binary, gender fluid, gender queer individual.

I was just finishing up a chapter in my workbook when it was time to do my fifteen minute Friday check-in with my therapist. It ended up being a 45 minute check in as we discussed a little bit about my workbook. We also discussed my med change yesterday and how I felt about it. We also discussed what I was going to do this weekend. We came up with me hanging out with a friend at the stupid mall.

After seeing my therapist, I came home. Now, that I am home I am relaxing before I clean my apartment. I feel like it is getting cluttered again. So I am going to be purging some things. Nobody really like to clean but it is a necessary part of living a life worth living or at least being and an adult.

Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated al the from drizzly Seattle. Happy Friday and Peace Out, World!!!

Boredom Strikes, Again

Posted on by Gertie

Hello, World!!! I am at my mental health center bored half out of my mind. I, technically didn’t have to come in today but decided to do so, so I wouldn’t be isolating. Isolating is not a good thing for me when I am dealing with depression.

As I am sitting here in the computer room of day treatment, blogging I am waiting for my therapist as we have fifteen minute check in’s on Friday. The check in’s can be in person or over the phone. My therapist appears to be invested in my recovery which is good thing. But I don’t know how much he is invested at the moment as our therapeutic relationship just started.

Since I am so bored, I think I am going to schedule some things in to do for next week. Having a regular schedule tends to help me out a great deal. The structure is what I need for my recovery or at least part of my recovery.

Another thing I might do is one of the workbooks I carry around with me. I carry two workbooks with me so when I get bored or am waiting for an appointment, I have something to do.

I better get going and socialize with others as I am here to not isolate. Have are great day and Peace Out, World!!!

A Way To Earn Some Money

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! As you may have noticed, there are now advertisements (aka ads) on my blog. This is a way for me to earn some extra money. I don’t know how it exactly works as this is my first month do it and I get paid through PayPal. I’m still trying figure out if it is even worth it for both you my reader(s) and myself. I know for me when I read something online I hate ads because they are annoying as hell yet I understand that people need to make extra cash. What do you my reader think about the ads? How do you feel about the ads? Your input will help me make a decision to keep them or not keep them. The other part of my decision in this is about how much I earn as well.

I figure if earning money and getting it through PayPal will help me out with my online purchases. I say this as I am not a big fan of online shopping but there art supplies as well as other stuff that I can only get online. The online shopping experience seems a bit impersonal for me and sometime what you get isn’t always what you were expecting when it comes to what it looks like online.

I am also thinking about selling some of my art as a way to earn some extra money. My art isn’t all that great but I am sure someone would want it at some point. Not sure if I would sell my art online.

I’m thinking that depending on how much money I make blogging and the possibility of selling my art in starting a small business. Again this is just an idea and most likely wont happen. I am just trying to figure out ways to make money.

Thank you for reading. Happy Friday the 13th. Peace Out, World!!!

 

A Woe-Is-Me Moment

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I am having a woe is me moment. I have been on Facebook a lot lately and well it feels like that everyone else have some major accomplishments in their lives. I know realistically that I have accomplishments in my life. It just  feels like I have nothing to show for my life.

The above woe is me moment is due to seeing other peoples successes and accomplishments on Facebook. This can be quite dangerous for me. I tend to compare myself to others which means I become really hard on myself. Being really hard on myself is not a good thing.

I need to be me and no one else. Thank you for reading my woe is me moment. Peace Out, World!!!

An Accomplished Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! I sit here today feeling accomplished. Well, not exactly accomplished in a way others may few accomplished.

I started out the day with having an appointment with my new psychiatric nurse practitioner. She appears to be nice and recovery focused. She took me off of my Seroquel as she believes I don’t need to be on it as I am also on Abilify.

Next thing I did was file my taxes. I am not getting as much back this year as previous year because I didn’t work most of last year. I am okay with that as I am happy with what I am getting back.

The last thing I did was spend about an hour cleaning my apartment. It is nice having a clean place. Having my apartment clean helps my depression.

I wish this feeling of accomplishment was the same sense of accomplishment after a hard days work but I’m okay with it.  Thank you for reading. Peace Out, World!!!