Tag Archives: Self Care

In Desperate Need of a Shower

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I am in desperate need of a shower as I haven’t showered since last Wednesday. I have a couple of ideas of why I haven’t showered and one of them is that my depression is starting to creep back in. The other idea is more or less me being in “fuck it mode” due to something I rather not discuss at the moment. I know taking shower will be extremely helpful in regards to feeling somewhat better.

Not only have I not been showering, I have been in isolation mode. I have been managing to not isolate by hanging out with neighbors as well as going for walks. I do need to start reaching out to friends who don’t live in my apartment building because if I don’t my depression will get worse and I will end up isolating from everyone including my neighbors.

The one thing I was going to do ended up being cancelled because the person is on vacation and failed to inform us last week. I was suppose to attended art group today and it sadly was cancelled the last minute due to a communication failure of the group leader. I was really looking forward to attending art group as I know it would have helped me not isolate as well as to motivate me to take a shower.

On a good note, I have taken my morning walks which I think is my saving grace at the moment. I think my morning walks are great form of self care for me and a good way to start my day. I even do an evening walk to clear my head from whatever type of day I may have had. Taking the two walks a day have been quite beneficial for me and my mental health.

Doing good self care, no matter how small, is something that I benefit from. Sometimes it is difficult for me to do self care due to depression. In fact doing good self care is something I make an effort to do as I want to be an example of what recovery looks like.

I don’t have much more to write about in this post except that I will end up taking a shower at some point today. I also want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things. Have a good Monday everyone. Peace Out, World!!!

Slept the Day Away

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! If you read my last post you already know that I did not sleep at all last night. I did end up sleeping today. In fact I pretty much slept the day away. I haven’t done much today as I have only been up for almost two hours. I am not sure if I will get sleep tonight but I sure in the hell hope I get some. Having insomnia sucks.

Anyway, since I have been up, worked on my workbook, The Artist Way. It is extremely challenging. Part of the workbook activities is to journal three pages daily. Doesn’t have to be about anything specific just as long as it is everyday. The other suggested things the work has me doing is challenging as well. Once I am done with the first chapter, I will hopefully remember to inform you on what I learn. I hope to do this which chapter.

The journaling part of the work books a good thing for me as it has me getting into a good practice of self care. I feel like journaling is good self care. Self care is extremely important for everyone especially for those who struggle with a mental health challenge.

As fun self care act I do for myself almost everyday is some form of art. Usually, it is painting, coloring or collaging. Sometimes I even mix the genre of collaging and painting together. Now that is fun or at least it is for me. Art is a great form of self care for me.

I am thinking that I now need to fix me some food as I haven’t really eaten all day. Unless you count having a banana and Pepsi this morning. I need to fix me an actual meal. I am not sure what I am going fix myself for dinner but I need some food in my hungry tummy.

I do not have much more to say. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Have a great evening everyone. Peace Out, World!!!

Let’s Go Seahawks

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I realize I posted not to long ago but I just wanted to let you know that I have gotten most of my packing done which is a good thing. I also cleaned my bathroom which always makes me feel much better for some odd reason.

Now I am sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate watching the Seattle Seahawks play against the Kansas City Chiefs here in Seattle. I, of course am rooting for the Seahawks. There is nothing like being in my pajama’s drinking hot chocolate watching some football.

Yes, I know it is barely the first quarter of the game and I just recently posted my last post but blogging is good self care for me as is watching some football. Of course it helps being at home comfortable in pajama’s with hot chocolate and a cuddling cat. I am grateful that most of my packing is done and that my bathroom is clean.

I am going to go and watch the Seahawk game. As of right now the score is Kansas City Chiefs: 0 and Seattle Seahawks: 7 and is barely the first quarter. Let’s go Seahawks!!! I hope everyone has a good holiday and enjoys the rest of their Sunday. Peace Out, World!!!

A Woe Is Me Moment

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Right now I am not doing so well. I am dealing with a ton a grief and increased symptoms of depression. I realize that as Christmas gets closer that the grief will increase due to my grandmas death and I know that the symptoms of the PTSD will increase due to childhood trauma that happened around this time of year. So, the next few days will be quite difficult for me and I hope that when I am staying at my moms that I will have access to WiFi so I can keep you up to date on how things are going.

At this moment in time I am trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. I know I have to pack to get ready to be gone for a few days. Don’t worry Lil Gertie will be staying at my grandpa’s when I am at my mom’s. At least the one thing I don’t have to figure out for the rest of the day is buying gifts and wrapping them as I am already done with doing that chore.

In all honesty I am not sure what to do with the rest of my evening. I know I have to pack and really don’t want to do that. Some of the things I have to pack are going to be last minute stuff like Lil Gertie’s food and water dishes as well as her food. Packing shouldn’t really be a problem as I will be spending most of tomorrow at my grandpas and then tomorrow evening I will be going to my moms and coming home the day after Christmas. I guess, I’ll pack what I can and then watch movies.

When I pack I have to make sure I have all my coping skills I can bring with me as my mom can get on my last nerve especially since this year I am not staying a hotel but at her place. I am taking plenty of books, comic books as well as coloring stuff. I am also taking my computer with plenty of movies and hopefully I can get on someone’s WiFi as my mom does not have WiFi.My mom doesn’t have cable either so at least if I can’t get any WiFi from someone else I will still have my laptop for movies that I will bring.

Thank you for reading my blog. I don’t have much else to say. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Peace Out, World!!!!

Another Brief Check In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I had a nice time at a Yule celebration with some friends. We started out our celebration by going to Red Robin to eat. We then went to a friends house where we exchanged gifts and played some games. I love Yule celebrations because it is a celebration where I am not judged like I am at Christmas celebrations.

Before attending the Yule celebration with friends my therapist called me to check in with me to make sure I have a good self care plan in place for the next four days. He will be out of the office on Christmas Eve and well the office is closed on Christmas. I informed him of what my self care plan was he thought it was a “great plan.” I am beyond grateful that I have a therapist that cares about me and check up on me when needed.

As many of you know today is the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere which means it is the shortest day of the year. As much as I dislike the shorter days at least I know starting tomorrow (Saturday the 22nd) the days will slowly start getting longer.

I don’t have much to say. I just want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated especially this time of year. I hope to blog some time tomorrow. Again, thank you for reading my blog. Have a great evening everyone. Happy Solstice and Yule. Peace Out, World!!!

Wednesday Evening Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Today, overall has been a good day. Yes, I have had some down moments however it has mostly been a good day. I spent most of the day with my grandpa. He picked me up and I went over to his place and did two loads of laundry.

As my second load of laundry was in the washer and first load was in the dryer, my grandpa and I finished up our Christmas shopping which means we are the only two on my dads side to be done with shopping. As my second load of laundry was in the dryer I wrapped all my gifts which is relief as I don’t have to worry about last minute shit. I even put all the stockings together.

So, even before all what I did today, I emailed my therapist inviting him to the day treatment’s holiday party. He emailed me back later in the day saying that he would make an appearance which make me happy because it shows he is interested in my recovery and me making new traditions for myself. He also said he wanted to do a brief check in with me tomorrow since I will already be there. I emailed him back and said that would be great to do a check in since I won’t have an appointment with him till the 28th of December.

When I got home from day with my grandpa, I of course checked my email and found out my therapist would be going to the holiday party tomorrow. After replying to his email, I then did some chores. I put away the laundry I did at my grandpa’s. I did the dishes and deep clean the litter box. After that I did some good self care and took an hour long shower. I usually only take a fifteen to twenty minute shower and occasionally a half an hour shower so a one hour shower for me is very rare but today I felt like it was needed. Now I am waiting for my hair to dry so I can attempt to go to bed by eleven even though it is not even nine thirty in my neck of the woods yet.

Well, I do not have much else to say. So, I am going to end this post for now. I hope everyone has a good rest of their evening and/or night. Peace Out, World!!!

Some Midnight Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is officially twelve midnight in my corner of the world. I am having trouble sleeping at the moment and am a little goofy at the moment due to my sleep medicine. I know my last two post was about my mental health appointments and I have a feeling that is where this post is going to go but I will attempt for it to not be one hundred percent about my mental health appointments.

I am just extremely please that my recovery is progressing well and in the direction that is positive. I am also grateful that my therapist and I came up with some great coping skills as well as some great self care strategies. Most have to deal with art. I love doing art.

Speaking of art, I have been doing some art since I am unable to sleep. I started of my coloring and then realized I wanted to do something a little be more creative. I then started to do a painting which is including some collaging. I am make this particular art work for my neighbor who lives across the hall from me. He has become a good friend to me. We both look out for each other and no it is not a romantic relationship.

I am really grateful for my therapist and how much he has helped me the last eight or so months. He has helped me practice some of my coping skills and has taught me some new coping skills. He has be one of the best therapist I have had.

I think I need to do some good self care by attempting to go back to bed so I can sleep. I hope everyone has a good night sleep. I would like to thank you once again for reading my blog as it is greatly appreciated. Have a goodnight everyone. Peace Out, World!!!

More About My Therapy Session Today

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! As I mentioned in my last post, I said I would try to post more about my therapy session I had today (Tuesday). So, here it goes. We discussed a great deal during our session and how I will cope with the Christmas holiday.

First we discussed what type of self care I would do for myself when I am celebrating with my dad’s side of the family. We came of with various coping skills and self care strategies I can do when I am celebrating Christmas with my dad’s side and for me it was easy to come up with coping skills for my dad’s side.

Now on to my mom’s side, it was a little more difficult because I normally stay in a hotel when I go see my mom however this year I am unable to afford one this year. So that means I will be staying with my mom who is unfortunately in active addiction to heroin.  So, of course part of my good self care plan is to bring along some Naloxone (aka Narcan) as a precaution so if my mom does overdose on Heroin I can administrate it to her as I call 911. Some other coping skills and self care options I will be doing at my mom’s is of course taking my laptop, art supplies and reading material. I am not sure if I will have access to WiFi when I am at my moms but there might be chance I could find an open network or ask one of her neighbors if I can use theirs. My mom also has a bathtub so I will be taking a nice long bath as I don’t have a bathtub and only have a shower. If worse comes to worse I stay at my uncles place who lives next door to my mom. My therapist discussed taking some self soothing items with me and is going to help me through this week with check ins to see how I am doing with my coping plan especially when it comes to dealing with my mom.

I don’t have much more to say about my appointment with my therapist but if I do remember more stuff I will post it if need be. I really want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my perspective. I hope you all have great rest of your Tuesday. Peace Out, World!!!

A Brief Description of My Mental Health Appointments Today

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It has been a long and productive day. I saw my psychiatric nurse practitioner this morning and she has noticed the progress that I have been making in recent months and that she “has noticed all the progress.” We discussed how things have been going for me regarding my many diagnosis and she agrees with me that things appear to be going well with me that no med change is necessary and that once spring gets closer that we will discuss a decrease in meds. We also discussed how my sleep was at the moment and told her that I am getting more sleep but it is all broken up.  We also discussed that my voice are pretty much gone for the moment and that they still say stuff from time to time but it is only whispers and not all that often.

I also say my therapist today. We discussed a great deal about the progress that I have made and the type of coping skills I can continue to use to help me with the continued progress. We also discussed coping skills and a self care plan regarding the Christmas holiday quickly approaching as well as the grief I am dealing with as this is the first holiday without my grandma. I also discussed with him how my voices are mostly nonexistent at the moment. I told him that when I do hear the voices it is only whispers in times of stress.  I have so much more to say about my session with my therapist and would love to say more  but right now, I am really hungry and hope to post again later on this evening if not sometime tonight or tomorrow about it. I do know that he will check in on me on via phone on Friday the 21st, Monday the 24th and Wednesday the 26th before I see him for an appointment on Friday the 28th. I really like my therapist and he is checking in with me to be proactive and preventative. He wants to make sure I continue to make progress.

I really need to get going so I can get something to eat. I hope to post more about my session later on this evening. I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has great rest of your evening. Peace Out, World!!!

It Is Yet Another Monday

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is another Monday which is the start of another work week. The last full work week before Christmas. This is the time of year where many people are under stress due to the holidays. It is also the time of year where many others who have mental health challenges it because that much more stressful and anxiety provoking especially when family is involved. It is my hope for the next eight days that everyone can be able to do some good self care as the Christmas holiday is coming quickly upon us.

The one thing I was hoping to do today was attend art group but unfortunately I have a dental appointment today and it was the only one available before the New Year so I took it. It is for the the dentist to take moldings of my teeth and after that I make an appointment to get my teeth pulled as they all need to be taken out. I however will wait till the new year to get my teeth pulled. I am not looking forward to it but if it will help me eat better to get better nutrition and feel better about myself then I will do it. I just really wanted to go to art group today as art group won’t happen on the 24th or  31st due to the fact that the group facilitators will be out of town.

After my dental appointment this afternoon, I am going shopping for Christmas gifts. I highly dislike shopping especially this time of year because everyone is so rude or at least the other shoppers appear to be rude. Another reason why I highly dislike shopping for gifts is because it always appears that the gifts I give are always returned or re-gifted. Which is why I tend to give cash or gift cards then that way the person receiving the gift can get what they want or need. Plus, then my family can’t argue that I spent more on one person than the other cause they can check the cash or the gift card to see how much it is.

But before I go to the dentist or shopping, I will be going to go get my meds. Meds that I really don’t like taking but do. I take them because I know they ultimately help me with my recovery. They are the primary reason for my recovery but are part of what helps with my recovery. Taking meds sucks but if they are helpful to my recovery then I will take them.

Before I get my meds I need to do some very basic self care stuff. I need to eat breakfast. I also need to take a shower as I haven’t taken a shower in about four days which means my depression symptoms are starting to increase. So doing basic self care items like eating, showering and evening making my bed are quite helpful for me in battling the symptoms of my mental health challenges.

Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a great Monday and most importantly a great work week. Again, thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!