Tag Archives: Job

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! It’s been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. I know, I have said, this before, I want to blog more regularly. I enjoy blogging.

Enough about me talking about blogging and on to my weekly check-in. Let’s start with earlier this week. I was struggling with fleeting suicidal thoughts with no plans. It’s also commonly known in the mental health field as “passive suicide ideation.” Before I continue, I want to make myself clear, I am NOT currently suicidal and I did NOT harm myself in any way. I was able to use my good ole Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills as well as using my support system. It is always nice to have people to depend on especially since that wasn’t always the case for me. It is a wee bit concerning both my support system and myself that I had fleeting suicidal thoughts however everyone agrees that I am not letting it get me down because I am choosing to pick myself up and dusting myself off.  I’ve been able to do this for the fact of being in a relatively decent place. I owe being in a decent place to me working fulltime.

Speaking of work, lets talk about my high light of the week. Yesterday (Friday, 8/26/2016), was our recovery celebration for clients at work. Seeing clients facial expressions as they received their certificates and hearing the speeches of those who chose to speak was not only rewarding but humbling. Witnessing the progress of the clients I am able to serve has been an absolute honor for me to watch.

As, I finish  the post, I want to sum up the week with its been recovery focused. As always, thank you for reading. Its much appreciated from my end. Peace out, everyone!!

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World. I have decided to start doing my weekly check-ins once again and for a multitude of reasons. One of which to keep you the reader up to date on what is going  in the my life and two, to get back in the swing of things of blogging. I have found that if I blog on the regular basis, it keeps my regular readers to want to check-out my blog more often. I have many other reasons why I am stating my weekly check-ins however I am not going to bore you with those reasons.

A great deal has happened this past week so lets just start on Monday since nothing really notable happened Sunday. Monday, I saw my therapist, Diana. Overall, my session with her went well. It went much better than the last session I had with which was back in June. In fact Diana stated that I made “progress” in our session. If I look back on our session I did make some progress. It was an emotionally difficult session with Diana am grateful that I made progress. We discussed some difficult topics that I usually quickly change the subject on and this time I didn’t change the topic which is one of the successes I had in my session.

The success I had in my session with Diana is a major deal but the success I was able to show someone else on Tuesday and Wednesday validated all the work I have done in my recovery. I attended a two day conference on focusing on peers specialist and supportive employment and how the two can interact with each other. So, I ran into another professional at this conference who knew me at my worst. A person who didn’t think I was capable of ever working due to the “severity” of my symptoms at the time.  This person was “shocked as hell” that I was in attendance as well as working as a peer specialist. It felt good being able to prove to someone that I am capable of doing something that they thought I was unable to do. The interaction I had with this person helped me realize that I am a success and how much I am proud of myself for accomplishing.

On the topic accomplishments I have been following the Summer Olympics. Now, the individuals participating in the Olympics have had major accomplishments in their lives to just be able to make it to the Olympics. Yes, many of the Olympians have had difficulties in their lives and you can compare to just about any thing in life. The one thing I am highly disappointed in is that a soccer play on the U.S.A’s woman soccer team was a sore looser and unsportsmanlike. This soccer player made her country (which is my country) look like they are sore losers. Just know we as Americans don’t approve of such unsportsmanlike behavior. The Olympics are suppose to bring the world together and hope that it continue to do so.

The correlation I can see between the Olympics and mental health recovery is hope. And that’s what I want to end this post today with a message hope.  We all need hope! Peace Out!!

Why Can’t I Just Find The Time?

Posted on by Gertie

Long time no write. I don’t know why I am going weeks without blogging especially when I have stated very clearly my plans to blog. I love blogging. It is something I enjoy doing. Actually, it is something I love doing and brings me a sense of joy and accomplishment even when I am having difficulties with my mental health symptoms acting up.

Since I got on the topic of my mental health, let me up date you on it before getting back on the topic of blogging. Overall, my mental health has been doing well. My anxiety has been high and I will be talking to Diana, my therapist about it the next time I see her. In fact I think my job is helping a great deal with the symptoms of my mental illness despite not being able to see my therapist as often as I would like to or need to. I will be discussing the topic of being able to ask for time off to Diana the next time I see her because my recovery depends on it. In fact my job depends on me being in recovery.

Now that we have gotten even more off topic of talking about my mental health and recovery and how it ties into my job lets talk about my job. I love my job more and more everyday. The Department of Health finally made my Agency Affiliated Counselor Registration active which is something my boss has been getting on me about even though I had done everything I needed to do on my end. Now, I am working on my drivers license for work. I had failed my first drivers test this past Thursday. I just need more practice driving and will retake it again. I know when I inform my supervisor of failing the drivers test he wont be very happy but at least I am attempting to get my license. Like I said, I love my job. My job gives me a purpose in life.

A purpose in life just like blogging does. I am thinking that I need to set some time aside to blog. A benefit to blogging, I didn’t realize was going to happen was that it is a form of therapy for me. It’s therapeutic for me and its an added bonus for me because, it wasn’t my intention for my blog to do that for me. I really think if I go back to doing the weekly writing prompts I told you about as well as the weekly check-ins, it will help me get back in the swing of things when it comes to blogging. I am hoping that you all will hold me accountable to this. I’m also thinking about maybe signing up for a Blogging U. course that WordPress puts on even if its one that I have already taken and completed. The Blogging U. thing is just an idea at the moment. I just don’t want to put too much on my plate at the moment especially with blogging. I’m hoping I will come up with schedule with my blog and will inform you of it when I do.

It was nice to be able to blog about how things are going, well sort of. I hope to update you more on how my life is going in all aspect of my life. I hope everyone has an awesome evening and Peace Out all!!

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning!!! It is that time of week to do my weekly check-in. It has been quite a week.

My week started out with me needing to go to the Emergency Room (ER) because I had flu like symptoms. I vomited and had diarrhea multiple times within a two hour time period. Since I am prone to dehydration I went to the E.R. The doctors told me that it wasn’t a food born illness nor the flu but “flu-like illness.” Whatever the hell “flu-like illness” means.  I unfortunately, had to miss work on Monday.

My work week went about as “normal” as it can be working in the mental health field. We did have a flood at work due to a broken pipe which was kind of funny for a multitude of reasons. I wish I could tell you more about the flood and why it was so funny but I cannot because it would violate HIPPA laws and I want to protect my clients privacy.

I took a planned day off on yesterday (Friday) so I could be able to see my therapist. My session with Diana didn’t go to well. I pretty much yelled at her most of the time due to the fact of the lack of communication on her part and how I wasn’t feeling supported by her. I know yelling at your therapist isn’t the wisest of choices. I guess, I was and am frustrated that my therapist isn’t doing what I think she should be doing to help me. Plus, I felt like she wasn’t picking up on the fact that I was wanting to discuss my grief and loss with the miscarriages. I also know that it doesn’t help that she works part time and I work full time. Which is why I wish she would try to check-in with me a little be more. It is something I have emailed her about and am hoping she follows through. Diana has helped me a great deal. If it wasn’t for her help over that last seven and a half years, I wouldn’t be working as a Peer Specialist. So, I do owe Diana a lot since she has helped me a lot.

Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Peace Out!!!

Happy Memorial Day

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Memorial Day!!! I hope everyone had a nice three day weekend. I didn’t exactly have a three day weekend because I worked today but it felt like I had one.

It felt like I had one because the office was closed which means the drop-in was closed and I didn’t have to see clients. I love my clients but am glad that I was to organize my office and catch up on paper work. My office needed a great deal of organizing and was able to have the time to do it and not to have to worry about getting interrupted by clients or meeting or some sort of other event.

Well, the day was interrupted by an event but it was a planned event. Those of us that went into work today had planned to have potluck bar-be-queue. It was nice to not be rushed through lunch. In fact it was a nice relaxing day at work and I got a great deal done. I got my office organized and started decorating it. I also got caught up on my all so lovely paper work.

I do owe much gratitude to those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom. If it wasn’t for them and all the women and men who fought for my freedom, I wouldn’t have been able to have the holiday to catch up on things at work.   Thank you to all you veterans, and the friends and family who lost loved ones in the wars. I am much grateful for all of you.

Now I am off to another Memorial Day celebration. Have a wonder full Memorial Day. Happy Memorial Day!! Peace out!!

Happy Friday

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Friday!!! It’s the start of a three day weekend here in the United States of America (USA). Monday is Memorial Day.  Memorial Day is were we as Americans celebrate and remember those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom.

Freedom that I am grateful for. If it wasn’t for those who lost their lives as well as all the Veteran’s, I wouldn’t be able to have the choice to be in recovery with my mental illness. I would most likely be institutionalized and treated like shit. Because of the men and woman who fought for my freedom and paid the ultimate price I have a choice how my personal recovery looks like.

For me if my own personal recovery is why I am working as a Peer Specialist. In fact I am working on Monday even though I don’t have to. The reason why I am working is because they recently finished a remodel before I started my position and there is a great deal of stuff left in boxes that wasn’t unpacked by the person I replaced as well as by the person the recently left the job. So, I am cleaning up my office as well as catching up on notes. Technically, the office is closed so a lot of clinicians go into work to catch up paper work when there are no clients coming in. If we take the day off, the agency automatically takes out PTO hours which sucks but its a good day to catch up on things like paper work and organizing. The good thing about working on a holiday is I get to sleep in.

Memorial Day isn’t about sleeping in even though its a plus. It’s about remembering those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom. My freedom to be in recovery and to be able to work.

As I end this blog entry, I ask that each one of you take moment of silence to remember those who fought for our freedom. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Memorial Day. Peace Out all!!

Getting the Groove of Things

Posted on by Gertie

As I sit here at my laptop, I realize how much I love to blog. I haven’t blogged as much as have liked in recent months for various reasons.

One of those reasons is that I now work fulltime as a peer specialist. It’s a job I love and am slowly getting in the groove of things especially since we have been short staffed. The colleague I told you about two or three entries ago decided to quit and quit in a way that left everyone in shock. He left a text with my bossing he quit. Ultimately, this colleague was let go (or fired) for job abandonment for not quitting in an appropriate way that my employer would be okay with. So, with one colleague no longer with the agency has left me and my other colleague short handed. Short handed in a way that is not very fun for anyone especially someone who is learning the ropes. So, I am ultimately trying to get the groove of things at work as well as my personal life with now working fulltime which I am loving.

At this point in time, I am slowly re-learning time management skill with working fulltime and good self-care with my personal life. A lot of the things I have been doing outside of work happens to be work related. I am starting to learn how to drive or will be in a week and a half. I was reading the drivers book to get a drivers permit. I need a drivers license for work. I’ve never needed one because I’ve always lived in a major city with public transpiration. I have also been working on getting my agency affiliated counselor licensure. So as you can tell I am needing to do good self-care.

Part of the good self-care thing for me is blogging. I am needing to find time to blog for a multitude of reasons besides it being good for my own self-care and recovery.  I am wanting to continue with the education part of my blog. The education part is a two part deal. The first part is education piece of my blog is to continue to share my story and show to those who don’t struggle with a mental illness that people who do struggle with one can recover and recover in their own way. The second piece of the education part of my blog is to post facts about mental illness and various diagnosis and treatments. I’ve been failing majorly on the fact part of the educational piece of my blog. As many of you already know if you read my blog regularly, I started my blog to not only educate others but to help others who struggle with a mental health diagnosis that recovery is possible and show that there is hope. Hope  that recovery is possible. Another thing that I have come to realize in the almost  two years of blogging is that it is helping me with my own recovery.

Another part of my recovery is that I like to write poems and short stories. Yesterday, while at the mall I went into a book store and bought some magazines. A couple of the magazines that I bought are geared toward writers and/or poets. One of the magazines has 52 writing prompts to do starting in June. One a week for a year and it reminded me of what WordPress does with it’s daily prompts. So, it is my hope that starting in June I will do the weekly writing prompts for a year. I think it would be fun to do and it is something I could also schedule to post so if I start to struggle again or if work gets busy that you my reader wont wonder where I am at. I love to write and hope that it wont only be fun for me but fun for you the reader. Plus, it would be a given weekly entry. Again, all this will start the first Monday in June. I think most if not all of the weekly prompts are suppose to be fiction and I will attempt to keep them fiction if the topic allows.

It seems to me that I am getting long winded again and I think I need end this particular post for now. I just wanted to update you on things as well inform you on what I am planning on doing with my blog. I love my  recovery and what I am able to do with my blog in regards to my recovery. I just hope I can be able to educate people to lessen the stigma that goes with having a mental illness and show people that recovery is possible. Recovery isn’t easy but is it possible and a lot more fun. Well, have good evening and I hope everyone has a good week. Peace out!!

Thrown to the Wolves but Not Eaten by Them

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening!! It’s been a month today since I started my new position as a peer specialist at work and I am still loving it. It’s been quite a month for a number of reasons.

When my supervisor informed me that he was throwing me to the wolves he thought it was only for my first week and not for my first month and beyond. A colleague  went on an  unexpected leave. A leave my supervisor was shocked as hell about and went to bat for him so he would be able to return to work. Thankfully, this colleague came back yesterday (Wednesday) and felt bad for leaving myself and my other colleague out of loop and out for so long. We may not know exactly why he was out but we understand more than others because of being Peer Specialist.

I am loving  my new position. It is quite challenging at times. Then there are times where it is fun and full of laughter. For instance today, I was called a butt loud names by client who is not doing so well and on the other end of the spectrum, I was able to joke and laugh with another client. I am learning to take things in stride as they come my way, weather is insults or laughter.

My new position can be stressful at times which leads me to the training I was able to attend called Mindfulness as Self-Care which was held by the crisis clinic. I was able to attend because of being a Warm Line call taker and the Warm Line is under the umbrella of the Crisis Clinic.

The training obviously was on Mindfulness as Self-Care. It was geared toward those of us who work in the mental health  field. It focused on mindfulness skills. Part of the training also gave some back history as well. Some of the history included the focus of how various religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism focus on mindfulness and how it is a major skill taught in Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT).  The training gave me some new ways to be mindful and more tools to add to my toolbox.

I am looking forward till tomorrow. Tomorrow in my three year anniversary with Junior. It’s difficult to wrap my mind around that Junior and I have been together for three years.  After I get off work tomorrow, we are going to go on a romantic get away for the weekend. It is a much needed get away for the both of us.

Well, I need to get going. I hope to blog again at some point this weekend. I am tired and think it is time for me to go to bed. Have a good night and don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Long Time No Blog

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening!!! It’s been a while since I last blogged. I have been busy getting adjusted to working full time as a Peer Specialist. I am loving my new position as a Peer Specialist. Despite being short staff for various reasons, I am slowly but surely getting adjusted to the new job.

Adjustment to anything new takes some time. For me the biggest adjustment is getting use to working full time especially since I was working part time for the previous eleven years. Another thing I am getting adjusted to is making time for myself.

I am realizing that I am needing to make time for myself. Taking time for myself has never been an easy thing for me to do but it is something I am learning how to do. Thankfully, I have people who are willing to help me learn to take time for myself.

I need to be going. I need to start dinner for Junior and myself. I hope to blog later this week. Have a wonderful week and Peace Out!!

Fulfilling Day

Posted on by Gertie

Despite being full of anxiety with the upcoming start of a promotion, I’m sitting here at my laptop looking back on my day. A day that was fulfilling in many different ways.

I started off my day with doing some errands which nobody really like to do. Unfortunately, I was unable to do laundry due to the lack of time. So, instead of doing laundry, I decided to blog as I was waiting for time to pass for the next event in the day.

As I finished my last post, Junior came over and we went out to eat. We chitchatted as we ate. After eating we walked around a local lake which helped a great deal with my anxiety. It helped because I was near water as well as the physical activity of walking.

After spending time with Junior, I went a got my hair cut. I got it cut really short. It’s kind of professional punk style cut if there is such a style. An easy to take care of punk style cut. I’m not sure what to think about it yet but I know I like the fact that it is out of my face and easier to take care of.

When I was done getting my hair cut, I hung out with a friend of mine. A friend that I met through my volunteer job at the Warm Line. We hung out for about two hours before we went and volunteered at the Warm Line.

Little did I know when I went to volunteer on the Warm Line tonight that the people I volunteer with decided to throw me a party for getting a promotion at work. Being acknowledged like may not be something I think I deserve but I know without a shadow of a doubt that it helped with my anxiety. Of course once five o’clock came around we started taking calls. During the “quiet moments” we still celebrated my promotion. (Just so you know there was no alcohol involved with the celebration of my promotion.) When the shift ended the friend who I hung out with earlier brought me to Juniors place.

I thanked my friend for the ride and went inside where Junior was waiting for me with a Sunflower and a balloon with the word “Congratulations” on it. I gave Junior a hug which end with having some adult fun if you get what I am saying.

Now, I am at my laptop blogging once again. Blogging is fulfilling in itself. In fact it is also therapeutic for me to do. I don’t have much else to say at the moment. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and peace out!!!