Tag Archives: Reading

Plans For The Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! I didn’t get much sleep last night for various reasons. One of those reasons was due to PTSD. When I woke up this morning I realized my Depression symptoms are worse which I contribute to the lack of sleep.

Due to my symptoms acting up because of the lack of sleep, I realize that I need to make plans for the day. Plans the will keep me safe as well as busy and being a homebody. Being a homebody every once in a while is a good thing just as long as I make sure it doesn’t lead into isolation.

One of the things I do when I am being a homebody for the day is stay in my pajamas. Thankfully, I’m in the pajamas I don’t give a shit if I get paint on. I say this because I am planning on doing some art. One of the forms of art I plan on doing is painting. I am also planning on doing some collaging and coloring. All three art forms are helpful for me to decrease my symptoms of both Depression and PTSD.

Another thing that is helpful for me to decrease my symptoms is reading. I’m planning on reading Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. So far I’m enjoying the book and am on chapter 8. Another thing I plan on reading are comic books. Specifically, Wonder Woman comic books.

Speaking of books I am planning on doing my workbook. I am learning quite a bit about myself, sexual orientation, gender ideation and most importantly resiliency. It’s also quite challenging for me as well. If a workbook isn’t challenging for me then I don’t find them as helpful as for me as ones that are challenging. It being challenging for me is why I am liking the workbook. It means its going to be helpful.

Another thing that is going to be helpful for me is something that is going to happen this evening.  That something is that I am having two of my closest friends come over to watch some movies. We are going to be watching movies and eating a bunch of junk food. My friends and I are all responsible for some of the food.

Speaking of food, I need to get going to buy what I need for this evening. I hope everyone has a peaceful and restful Sunday. Peace Out, World!!!

Sleepless In Seattle

Posted on by Gertie

It is two o’clock in the morning and I am unable to sleep. I’m blaming the no sleep on PTSD and insomnia. To help me through right now besides blogging is a multitude of things.

Music is one of them. I’ve been listening to some form of music most of the night even when I was trying to fall asleep. In fact everything I have done tonight included music.

As I listened to music, I started out doing some form of art. I did multiple collages. Some of which were poetry related. I also finished a painting that I have been working on. I am thinking about giving it to a friend but I’m not sure because I really like it and want to hang it up in my apartment. I also did some coloring.

Another thing I did as I listened to music was read Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. I’m really liking the book. I realized that I’m really getting into the book and had to put it down or else I most likely would be up all night reading. When I realized this I decided to pick up my comic books to read. I, of course, read about four Wonder Woman comics before realizing I could spend all night reading comics all night.

That’s when I decided to start a Wonder Woman puzzle I received as a gift for Christmas from my brother Jay. All I have done right now of the puzzle is the sorting of end pieces from all the other pieces. I do have some of the end pieces put together. I think I would have stuck with it if the stupid fire alarm didn’t go off. In fact I might go back to my puzzle after I’m done blogging.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have a good night all. Peace Out, World!!!

A Long Yet Productive Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It’s been a long yet productive day. I started off the day with blogging my weekly check-in before heading to the Women’s March. I, of course got to the start of the march early. So, I read.

I am reading the Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. In fact Ms. Hobb is from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and still lives in the Washington State. So far I am enjoying the book. I’m only on chapter six but so far so good. I hope to be able to do a book review on Ship of Magic however I can’t promise I will because I might forget to do so.

The march went well. As far as I know there weren’t any issues here in Seattle. I saw many people I know including extended family I hadn’t seen in years. I marched with my dad’s cousin, his friends as well as a number of my friends, and former colleagues. It felt good marching with people from all aspects of my life.

After the march I went and volunteered at the Warm Line. I was the only one on tonight and was “encouraged” to go home early by one of the supervisors of the Crisis Line so I did. It felt good being able to help others even though I was by myself. Being to help others always makes me feel happy and good about myself.

Everything I did today was helpful to my recovery and mental health symptoms despite it being a long ass day. I don’t regret doing anything I did today. In fact when it comes to regrets my the quote I live by is: “When I look back on life, I rather regret the things I did than the things I didn’t do.” I’m not sure who said that but I try to live by it.

As always, I appreciate all of you reading my blog. I hope everyone has a great evening. Peace Out, World!!!

Therapy, Education, Books, Religion & Recovery

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I saw my temporary therapist today. We discussed a melt down I had earlier today in day treatment at my request. My therapist and I talked about what I could have done differently. We came up with some wonderful ideas collectively and I am happy with what we came up with.

My therapist and I also discussed me going back to school and how it could affect my disability checks. To find out it wont affect it all. He will help me fill out the proper paper work to get money such as grants and/or scholarships. I’ll start out taking one class at a time to see how things go. I plan to go to a local community college that offers both two and four year degrees. I plan on getting an Associates of Applied Science degree in Social and Human Services and then transfer to their (the community college) Bachelor’s of Applied Science degree in Applied Behavior Science. My therapist likes the idea on how I am setting small goals with my education to ultimately reach my bigger educational goals. I am hoping that one day to get my Masters in Social Work from either the University of Washington (UW) or Smith College.

Another topic my therapist and discussed was my blog and blogging. We talked about giving him pseudo name. My therapist “doesn’t care” if I use his real name however out of respect for his former, current (counting me) and future clients I am choosing to give him a pseudo name. He “respects” my choice in giving him a pseudo name. I am going to give him the pseudo name of Gilbert. The name Gilbert in the name of one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite books; Anne of Green Gables. Yes, Gilbert is being named after the character, Gilbert Blythe of Anne of Green Gables. So, when the name Gilbert comes up in any of my post, I am talking about my temporary therapist.

Changing the topic drastically, I am switching it to religion. Earlier this evening I met with the Mormon missionaries. In fact the missionaries I met with were female which is unusual but not all that uncommon especially in a major metropolitan area. We discussed Joseph Smith and all that jazz regarding the Mormon faith. I was upfront with two young ladies that I most likely wont join their church but might visit it on occasion. They were “thrilled” that I was “being honest” with them about that.

Now switching back to the topic of recovery. It appears that my recovery is starting get back on track. I am saying this because I finally have hope back and I am being future oriented. Both are very good signs in recovery.

Speaking of recovery part of mine is making sure I eat on the regular basis and I am realizing I haven’t had dinner yet. That means I’m going to end this post and get some food. Thank you for reading. It’s very much appreciated. Peace Out, World!!!

2018; People Have Been Waiting For You

Posted on by Gertie

Happy New Year, World!!! 2018; You’re finally here and people have been waiting for you. 2018, people have been waiting for you because 2017 wasn’t the best of years for many of us; myself included.

As many of you know, 2017 wasn’t the best of years for me. It was a year of trials for me. I am attempting to look back at 2017 to look at any successes or triumphs I may have had and unable to find any. As much as I wish I had some sort of success or triumph in 2017, I realize that 2018 is a New Year.

A New Year to focus on what I need to do to continue on my road to recovery as well as to have the success and accomplishments I so desire to have. That’s why my goals for 2018 are simple or at least simple sounding. My goals sound simple in theory but in reality not so simple to do.

My goals for 2018 are as follows:

-Do a meditation or mindfulness exercise daily. (Preferably in the morning.)

-Do guided journaling daily. (This is on top of the free write journaling I do. The guided journaling is to help me focus on what is challenging me at the moment.)

-Do self-help workbooks. (This is to help me with my recovery and not take the place of what my mental health treatment teams helps me with.)

-Read books that are related to the mental health field. (This is to help me keep up to date on the field I choose to work in. I of course will still read books for fun.)

I do have other goals for 2018 but the above goals are the ones that I feel like that will help me the most to have a more successful and accomplished year than last year. I will have the help of my mental health treatment team as well as my friends with my 2018 goals.

Thank you for reading. As we begin 2018 I hope that this is a year that we are able to have a year of improvement and accomplishments we all can be proud of. I hope you continue to read and follow my blog. Happy New Years. Peace Out, World!!!

Middle of the Night Ramblings

Posted on by Gertie

It’s the middle of the night and I am unable to sleep. Having insomnia sucks shit. The symptoms of my PTSD are not helping the insomnia. As I sit here writing this post I can’t help but realize this going to be a post about nothing or what I like to say; “ramblings.” More or less, this post is going to be one of them post that is helping me through a rough moment or two when dealing with the symptoms of PTSD and depression.

As I write this post, I realize I can wake up my partner, Junior, to help me through the symptoms of my mental health conditions however, he has to get up in about three hours to go to work. He is a firefighter and his shifts are typically 24-hours. I know if things get too bad with my symptoms, I’ll wake him up.

This is where using my DBT skills are quite helpful to me. For one thing, blogging is a quite helpful for me and an extremely useful tool. Reading is also considered a skill for me. I love reading and enjoy it. Unfortunately, right now reading is difficult for me. Mainly due to the voices I hear when I am extremely depressed. I experience psychosis when my depression hits me hard and it sucks. I wish I didn’t experience psychosis however I feel like it ultimately makes me a stronger person when it goes a way as my depression subsides.

I think I’m going to at least attempt at getting some sleep. I hope everyone is sleeping well and/or is having a good day when they read this particular post. Peace Out, World!!!

 

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It’s been a few weeks since I last did a weekly check-in. As many of you know, I’ve been struggling lately. Despite my recent struggles, I’ve decided to make an effort to do some things this week.

One thing I did do this week was go to my appointments. Attending my appointments is what helped me NOT isolate as much as I would have done. When I saw my case manager I informed her of what was going regarding the isolation as well as the voices I’m hearing. We discussed going to a group specifically about hearing voices. At this point in time I am putting that on hold for various reason that I might tell you at a later time. We also discussed me isolating. My case manager and I talked about ways on how I can not isolate. Most of which I am willing to do yet have difficulty doing so.

Another thing I did this week was today. I went and visited my grandparents. My dad was there as he is staying over at their place for the weekend. It was nice to my dad a grandparents. My grandparents helped my dad raise me. I love my dad and grandparents so much. I feel lucky (and blessed) that I still have a set of grandparents at the age of 38. Not many folks my age have one grandparent still alive much let a set.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been isolating a great deal. That usually means, I do introverted types of things. One of those things I tend to do when I am isolating is play one of my musical instruments. My instrument of choice is my flute as I’ve been playing it for 25 years however it needs some major repairing so I go to the two I’m teaching myself to play. I’ve been practicing my recorder a great deal the last few weeks. Still not very good but its helping a great deal.

Another thing I tend to do a lot when I isolate is art. I’ve been doing some coloring, collaging and water colors. One of these days, I’m going to need to take some picture to show you all. With all the art work I have been doing lately, I’ve realized that I can give the art as holiday gifts especially if I frame it.

The other thing that I do when I isolate is read. I usually read comic books when I am in isolation mode as my concentration is usually low however this time around I am actually able to read a regular book. I am reading Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. In fact I met her at the Emerald City Comicon this year. She signed a four books for me. She is from the Pacific Northwest. I’m on 30 pages into the book but so far so good.

Thanks for reading and I hope to give a book review on Ship of Magic when I am finish with it. I hope everyone has a good rest of your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

A Relaxing Hump Day (Wednesday)

Posted on by Gertie

Hello World!!! This morning I woke up with Junior kissing me on the cheek after coming home from work. I couldn’t think of a better way to wake than having my partner wake me up than the way Junior did this morning.

We decided to have a low key day which started off with breakfast. I fixed Junior an omelet with a side of fresh fruit and chocolate milk. Like I suspected Junior was famished due working his regular 24 hour shift that was more challenging than usual.

A shift we ended up discussing. Junior needed to discuss what his shift about for a multitude of reasons. One of which was that he dealt with a child abuse case that included six children. Junior is a firefighter and if you ask any firefighter out there anything that includes a child is one of the most difficult calls they go on especially if it includes child abuse. As we discussed the child abuse call, Junior couldn’t help but tell me that once his crew was done with the call he thought about the “shit” I went through which helped him have that much more compassion and empathy for the children he helped. Junior also went on two separate calls that involved two separate women who were the victims of “brutal sexual assaults.” He and all firefighters have a difficult time dealing with calls that involve both children and/or victims of an assault of any kind especially sexual assault.

As Junior and I discussed the difficult calls he was noon, the topic of sex came up. Junior brought up the fact that he finds it quite difficult to have sex and be intimate after shifts that include child abuse and/or sexual assault. As we discussed the difficulties he had with sex and intimacy after a shift like yesterdays, Junior stated he always seems have better understanding of how I must feel regarding my PTSD symptoms even though he will “never fully understand.” As we finished our discussion Junior realized how exhausted he was from his shift and went to bed to get a few hours of sleep.

As Junior slept, I decided to start reading a book I bought at Emerald City Comic-Con (ECCC) back in March of this year (2017). The book I started reading is Green Rider by Kristen Britain. I, in fact was able to get this book signed by the author after attending a panel she was on at ECCC. A panel I almost didn’t attend but happy I did. I’m in fact looking forward to attending ECCC in 2018 and hope that Kristen Britain is a guest as I will most likely will attend a panel if she speaks on one. The reason being is that when she signed my copy of Green Rider she took fifteen minutes of her time to talk with me even though she did not have to do so.

Looks like I got on the to topic of Emerald City Comic-Con when I was wanting to discuss the book I am reading. So, on that note let get back on back to the topic of Green Rider. So far I am really enjoying the book. I’m only on page 48 and starting the sixth chapter yet I’m finding myself having difficulties putting it down and wanting to get back to reading it. When I find myself having difficulties putting a book down and wanting to pick it back up as soon as possible then it must be a good book.

In fact after Junior woke up from his nap I told him about Green Rider and now he is wanting to read it. After telling Junior about the book we ate a lite lunch and then went rollerblading around a local lake at t local park. As we rollerbladed we discussed a great deal of stuff. Most of it was regarding plans for what we want to do the rest of the day as well as rest of the week before he goes back to work on Sunday for his regular shift as well as an overtime shift on Monday.

After rollerblading at a local park we decided to rent a couple of movies at a local mom and pop video store. Since we were already out and about we decided to pick up my meds from the pharmacy. When we arrived home we ended up watching one of the movies we picked up from the video store. We then fixed and ate dinner. After dinner we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. Now we are home watching the nine o’clock news.

As I near the end this post after telling you about my day, it turned out to be a relaxing hump day (Wednesday). Having a relaxing day is extremely helpful for my recovery as well as decreasing the symptoms of my mental health diagnoses. In fact everything I brought up in this post is quite helpful for me and my recovery.  As many of you know my recovery means the world to me and wouldn’t give up the path of recovery for all the money any in the world.

Something else that means the world to me is my time with Junior and with that being said, I want to spend time with him. That means this is the end of this particular blog post. I hope everyone has a good evening as well as good nights sleep. Peace out!!!

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon!!! This week hasn’t been all that eventful despite it being a busy week for me. Busy and uneventful is always a good thing when things haven’t been going all that well.

I saw my doctor on Monday to get blood work done. Blood work that would see if there is anything health wise that could be causing my depression to not improve. All the blood test came back “normal” except my Vitamin D levels. I’m now going to be on a prescription strength dose of Vitamin D instead of the over the counter supplement. I’m hoping this does the trick with at least improving the depression enough to where using my Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills will be slightly more easier to use than they currently are.

Now that we are on the topic of DBT, I received a call on Wednesday from one of the clinicians from the agency I am a consumer (client) at, that my name finally came up to be able to attend one of the DBT groups there.  It’s only taken way too long but hey I’m glad I’m going to be able to attend. I do have to go through a screening process which I am pretty sure is not all that difficult to do since I went through the screening process at another agency to get into their two year intensive outpatient DBT program which I graduated from. The DBT group at the agency I am a consumer of is not as challenging as the one I graduated from but I’m okay with that since I am in need of a refresher. Yes, I would like it to be challenging and from my understanding it is slightly more challenging that it was the last time I took it. Just as long as being in DBT helps me get back to doing well, I don’t care how challenging it is.

A DBT skill that is challenging for me to do is the Self-Soothing skill and my new therapist is attempting to have me use this particular skill. When I saw her on Tuesday we discussed things that happened since the last time I saw her which led to an uncomfortable conversation for me. We talked about how I feel like I don’t deserve to self soothe. Self soothing is not exactly easy for me.

In fact I’ve been think great deal about self soothing since seeing my therapist and the many ways I actually do self soothe but don’t do enough. Music is the main way I self soothe and actually do this everyday by listening to it. Now playing my flute is extremely self soothing and don’t do enough of it. Hopefully I will make more of an effort to play my flute more.

Another self soothing skill that I tend to do and didn’t realize it was self soothing for me is art. The type of art I tend to do is color and/or collage with some drawing. I color and collage to self soothe and express myself. I tend to draw to express myself; usually when I am angry, scared or feeling like a scared child. I’m not very good a drawing but it sure helps when I’m not doing well. Now coloring and collaging I think I’m pretty good at and am grateful that is soothes me.

Talking about art brings me up to another thing I did this week and that was hanging out with my friend Susan from https://bravelybipolar.wordpress.com/ and her husband on Thursday. Susan does glass art. Actually, she does stained glass and I had her make me a piece which is quite lovely. We met up so I could get the stained glass piece she made me and we hung out for a couple of hours. We went to lunch and had some pretty awesome food.

Food always seems to be a major part of getting together with friends which brings me up to what I did yesterday. I hung out with two friends that I’ve known for the last two decades. We ate some pretty good food and the main topic of discussion was the books we are reading and/or just finished reading. During this get together with my two friends we realized that starting a book club with ourselves and a few other friends would be a good way to get together. In fact we thought it is the perfect excuse to get together. My two friends and I are thinking about asking two to three other individuals to join in this book club and hope to start it up sometime in mid to late September as many people go on vacation this time of year due to it being summer in my neck of the woods. September seems like the perfect time to start a book club as kids go back to school and people tend to have a more of a regular schedule.

Speaking of schedule’s, I need to get going. I need to go and eat. In fact my doctor wants me to eat on a more regular basis. As I end this post I hope all of you have a great weekend and enjoy the nice weather outside. Peace Out!!!

Self-Care Saturday

Posted on by Gertie

I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to do now that my laundry is done. I’m not even sure if I am up to going out and about because I’m a lil on edge due to PTSD symptoms. PTSD is quite difficult to deal with as the symptoms can pop up at any given point in time of day or night. It sucks a great deal.

As much as PTSD sucks, I cant let it get in the way of letting me live my life. But then again sometimes my PTSD symptoms acts up a little bit more when I am needing do take a day to do good self-care. I also have be a lil wary to make sure it is a sign to do good self-care because it can be symptoms of other diagnosis trying to sneak their way in.

As I decipher if I am needing to make an extra effort to do good self-care by laying low today, I need to go and do some light grocery shopping. In fact Junior and I are going to go grocery shopping together. We are thinking about staying in this weekend.

Yes, part of the reasoning of staying in is due to my PTSD symptoms. The other part is that we are wanting to spend some quality time together. Quality time together for us means talking about what’s going on in our lives, discussing current events as well as the books we are reading, watching movies and just plain ole enjoying each others company. If our quality time leads to making love then its a plus. A plus because of the severity of the PTSD symptoms I am having.

Despite the increase of my PTSD symptoms, I am grateful that things are slowly starting to improve. That means my concentration is improving and finally able focus on reading. I’m reading an awesome book called “High Price” by Carl Hart. I am hoping once I’m finished with the book, I will do a book review on it.

I think I need to end this post as Junior is wanting to go grocery shopping so he can make me “something special for dinner.”  Junior is an awesome cook and look forward to whatever he makes. As I end this post, I want to thank you for reading. Thanks!!! Peace out!!!