So far it has been a typical day for me. It is only nine o’clock in the morning here in Seattle so I can only say that so far it has been a typical day. I do my mindfulness meditation practice this morning. I also did my morning walk. Thankfully it was not raining but it sure was cold. I then came home to shower and eat breakfast. I then cuddled with my cat, Billie like I always do. Now, I am blogging and afterwards I will go see my psychiatric nurse practitioner and then go get my meds. So, yes so far it has been a typical day.
Tag Archives: Mindfulness
Making the Best of a Sleepless Night in Seattle
Good Morning, World!!! I am having trouble sleeping due to insomnia. Since I am unable to sleep I have been keeping myself busy. I have done a handful of mindfulness meditation practices through the Calm App. I have even attempted to fall asleep to two of the sleep stories the Calm App. has. I am usually able to fall asleep after a sleep story but sadly that did not happen but I am okay with that.
I am okay with it because I am learning two new languages through the Duolingo app. I started learning Spanish a couple of weeks ago. Part of the reason why I am learning Spanish is because I spent the first 16 years of my life in California and have wanted to learn it for the longest time as many people I grew up with speak Spanish. Another reason why I want to learn Spanish is because both my partner and best friend speak Spanish. Plus one of my uncles on my dads side was a Spanish teacher. So, I have many people to help me with learning Spanish. I also decided to learn German yesterday evening when I found out my new next door neighbor knows German and I am able to practice with her. I also have a good friend who knows German as she spoke both English and German in her home growing. So I can practice with my friend and new neighbor. Part of the reason why I want to learn German is because I have some German in my heritage. I am hoping that once I get comfortable speaking fluently in either Spanish or German then I can start learning another language. I am not sure if I will learn another language that is a part of my heritage like German is or another common “foreign” language that is frequently spoken in the United States especially here in the Seattle area which could be one of the many Asian languages.
Besides learning German and Spanish tonight, I have been doing some art. Specifically the art I am doing is diamond painting. While doing diamond painting I have been listening to a philosophy podcast called Philosphize This which is a really good podcast. I really like how Stephen West does his podcast and gears to the average person because that is how I think he learned. So I am doing some art as I learn about philosophy.
I have also been cuddling with my cat, Billie through most of what I have been doing tonight to keep busy. Billie loves being cuddled and gives me some weird facial expressions when I try to speak Spanish to him. Hell, when I practiced German words on my cat, Billie he gave me some grumpy looks. I love how my cat, Billie puts up with me and cuddles even when I am doing art and attempting to speak to him two different languages.
With the weather they way it is right now in Seattle which is yucky and stormy it was the perfect night to do the stuff I did since I am unable to sleep. I am hoping to fall asleep soon as the wind and rain is soothing to me. With that being said, I want to thank you, the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog because if you were not reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
A Proud Accomplishment
Good Evening, World!!! I accomplished something that is no easy feat today. Today, I accomplished 250 straight days of meditation through the Calm App. I have found that meditation has been quite helpful for me especially since I start everyday by meditating. I also use the Calm App meditations when I have some challenging moments which helps quiet my mind a good portion of the time. I am grateful that I have meditation to lean on to help me and that it is a useful skill to have.
I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post except I hope it doesn’t sound like I am bragging about my meditation accomplishment. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
Depression Sucks
Good Afternoon, World!!! I am struggling with some things that I really don’t want to write about right now. I guess it is something that I sort of process in my own time in my own way. I am not even sure if discussing it with my mental health team as well as my natural support system would be helpful at this point in time as I think you could be more challenging to deal with if I did.
I just really don’t like struggling with depression and sadly I have been isolating which is not a good thing. I am making an effort to not isolate by reaching out to my natural support system. I am also spending time with my cat who is helping with my depression symptoms. Another thing that is helping is taking my daily walks in the morning and adding a second walk in the afternoon or evening. I also have been doing multiple mindfulness meditation practices on the daily basis. I know I need to do more but it is challenging to do when you are having morning sickness due to being pregnant.
I do not have much more to discuss in this particular blog post except I will do my best to blog on the more regular basis. I do want to thank you, the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write on my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
Managing Through a Tough Day
Hello, World!!! It has been a rough day so far and it is not even twelve noon yet, here in Seattle. I think part of the reason why it has been a rough day is partly due to PTSD symptoms as well as depression symptoms. Both depression and PTSD symptoms suck but I think a factor of the depression symptoms is due to the current weather here in Seattle. It is currently cloudy with a great deal of rain. On that note at least it is not cold enough to snow as I am not a big fan of snow.
Since it hasn’t been the greatest weather outside, I have been doing some things to help myself through this tough day. I have been doing some mindfulness meditation practices as well as doing workbooks to focus on different aspects of my recovery. I have found that both the mindfulness meditation practices and doing workbooks have been quite helpful. Of course my cat, Billie, has been a major help.
Speaking of cats, I go back to volunteering at PAWS Cat City later today after taking some time off. I will be doing some sub shifts and hopefully, will be back on a regular shift soon. Volunteering with cats is awesome and I enjoy it immensely.
I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
Weekly Plans
Sunday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Workbooks
- Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
- Dinner with friends
- Read
Monday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Go to Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
- Workbooks
- Dinner with friends
- Read
Tuesday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Go to Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
- Workbooks
- Read
- Dinner with friends
Wednesday
- Mindfulness Mediation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Virtual Group
- Workbooks
- Read
- Online 12 Step Meeting
Thursday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Virtual Group
- Workbooks
- Read
- Attend a college women’s basketball game at the University of Washington with friends
Friday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- Go to Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
- Therapy (virtual session)
- Workbooks
- Read
- Dinner with friends
Saturday
- Mindfulness Meditation practice through the Calm App
- Morning Walk
- University District Farmers Market
- Lunch with friends
- Workbooks
- Read
- Clean apartment
An Early Morning Post Due to Waking up Too Early
Good Morning, World!!! At the start of writing this particular blog post it is 4:14 in the morning here in Seattle. I haven’t been getting much sleep due to the fact I most likely will be losing my job and having some insomnia over it. Some of the reasons I agree with while other reasons I don’t agree with due to the fact that I have not been able to use my reasonable accommodation request. I own up to the stuff that I haven’t need reasonable accommodation stuff but I just want to prove to my employer that I can do much better at my job if they allow me my reasonable accommodations.
Enough about work as I am trying to ge my mind off of work. by doing a number of things. First and foremost, I have been spending my time with my beloved cat, Billie. Having Billie by my side has been quite helpful. He is such an awesome and loving kitty. I am in awe of his unconditional love.
Besides my time with Billie, I have been doing my normal skill set to help myself through the challenging stuff the world throws at me such as artwork by coloring as well as reading. Let us not forrget about doing some mindfulness meditation practices. In fact I started to do log problems or logic puzzles. I find them quite fascinating Some are extremely challenging to .do but the satisfaction that comes with completing one is priceless. Plus I have a sense of pride when I am done with a logic problem or puzzle.
I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog post. It is greatly appreciated that you are the reader for reading my blog post. If it was not for you reading my blog post I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!!
Mid-Week Update
Good Evening, World!!! It is Wednesday which means it is time for my mid-week update. It will be mainly about me discussing work and how my corrective action plan (CAP) meeting went at work this past Monday. In fact let’s discuss it now. My CAP meeting went better than I expected and a lot was discussed including accommodations that have not been happening despite informing both of the supervisors as well H.R. H.R is not happy about it being brought up by my CAP meeting in front of two union representatives. My union representatives were “livid” that despite all the emails to the supervisors and H.R nothing did nothing regarding making sure I was able to use my accommodations. So, now they have to completely redo my CAP and I will have another CAP meeting. If it is not done within two weeks I will not be receiving a CAP.
On that note I have been doing a great deal of mindfulness meditation practices through the Calm App. I feel like it has been helping a great deal with me dealing with stressful situations as well as everyday life. It helps me with both my anxiety and ADHD a great deal.
I have also been reading a great deal especially when going to and from work as I take public transportation. I also have been reading a lot due to the days getting shorter as well as the weather. The best part of reading at home is that I have my beloved cat, Billie, curled in my lap as I read. The book I am reading is Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I am really enjoying the book thus far. I really encourage you all to read it.
I do not have much more to update you on in this mid-week update blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
A Relaxing Saturday
Good Evening, World!!! It has been a nice and relaxing Saturday for me. A Saturday that was surprisingly relaxing and I hope that it can happen again soon. I think one of the reasons why it was so relaxing is because I had therapy yesterday and needed to recharge my batteries today.
One of the things that I did today was go to the farmers market in my neighborhood. It is the same farmers market I go to every Saturday and enjoy going. As per usual I bought myself a yummy breakfast sandwich. I ran into an elderly couple who remembered me from a couple of weeks ago. We talked for a while and had a good conversation.
When I arrived back home from the farmers market I decided to attend an online twelve step meeting. A meeting which I was thrilled to attend. I enjoy attending this particular twelve step program as it focuses on what I can do and how I can help myself versus focusing on the person with the addiction.
Another thing I did was color. I am coloring a gigantic poster I bought from Stuff2Color.com. In fact Stuff2Color.com is located in the Pacific Northwest which is partly why I buy coloring stuff from them. Even though they are located in Oregon I consider them local. I attempt to buy local especially when it comes to being creative as well as food.
I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
Tired in Seattle
Good Morning, World!!! It is officially Saturday morning here in Seattle and I sadly did not sleep well once again. I did not sleep well last night due to the fact that my building fire alarm system decided to malfunction once again. Needless to say I am not the only one who is pissed off about this.
Since I was not able to sleep very well last night, I did what I could to control my emotions regarding the fire alarm malfunctioning. One of the things I did to help myself was do a couple of mindfulness meditation practices. Mindfulness meditation practice helps me realize what I need to do.
One of the things I did last night in between evacuating my apartment building multiple times was read. I am reading Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. So far I am enjoying the book and I think it is worth reading so I recommend reading it.
Another thing I did last night was some arts and crafts. The type of art I did was color a gigantic poster I got from Stuff2Color.com. I really enjoy coloring. I also did some crafting by doing some cross stitching. I am hoping to finish a cross stitching project in time to give my mom a pillowcase for Christmas.
I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!
Gertie's Journey 
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