Tag: personal

Trust

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

As far as relationships with those around us is concerned, trust can be one of the difficult and fragile things to try and manage. When I was young, trust was something that came easy. You’d share everything with that girl in your class, that gave you a sweetie at playtime or lent you her sharpener during class. It was very easy to feel a connection with someone. At that age, it felt like everyone was the same, just wanting to have fun and play with their friends. 

As you got older, you were told to watch people you didn’t know. Which was strange, as I know that I never thought that anyone had any bad intentions when I was a kid. When all you experience is school, friends and cartoons, it is hard to see the bad side of anything that young. I understand that I probably left a slightly closed off life, where I really would have trusted anyone. No matter what my parents and teachers said about strangers. 

That niavety doesn’t last very long. As I got older, I became more aware that the world wasn’t as friendly as I had believed. Learning more about the world around me, through lessons in school and general interest, made me aware that there were a lot of issues in the world. And then, I went through a phase of a few years where I was bullied, which ruined my positive outlook. I gradually picked up the thinking that rather than be my friend, everyone was out to get me. It became very hard to trust anyone, and that came with me into adulthood. 

I am at a stage right now, where I am nice to everyone, it is only manners, right? But I only tell what is really happening in my life to people i genuinely trust. That is people who I know won’t gossip. I have a handful of people who I trust, who I can talk to, they will just listen and offer advice. And, I offer the same to them. It is something that is essential, everyone needs someone who they need to help weather the storm of life.  

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‘Trust’ is a prompt posted on here. 

Try Hard

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

The last post I made here, I was in a bad place. I was feeling lonely, and a bit lost. Which is becoming normal, unforunately. My moods have become more like a see-saw. Just ups and downs, over and over again. 

I have worked hard to try and deal with the ‘downs’, almost like having a cushion on my imaginary see-saw to help the downs not feel so bad. There are times the ‘cushion’ doesn’t work, and i feel like I am back at square one. But that is something that will change in time. I mean, the difference in my own head this year, just by changing how I deal with the crap, is crazy. I am trying to help myself more, rather than just wallowing. I say trying, because sometimes things do get the better of me. 

And it is times where I do feel my lowest, that I am grateful for things like work. Whilst I may complain about my job, the routine, and the feeling I can make a difference does help. It helps me find purpose. Doing a single task, can help take my mind away from whatever mental roller coaster my brain is taking me on. 

It does take a lot of effort, a lot of work and hell of a lot of trying, to get to this stage. I do still get days, where I don’t want to deal with anything at all, so lie in bed most of the day, which is sometimes helpful. But having something that I can’t get out of, like work, does motivate me. And, yes, i do have to think that I can’t get out of it, because if I don’t, it becomes way too easy to phone in sick. 

But, that has taken time to learn. That whilst having a day off may seem to help, it doesn’t actually solve anything. I still feel crap, and the thoughts, that caused me to pull a sickie, are still in my head. The quickest way to deal with them, is to just muddle through. Try and do something. Try and make yourself feel better. By trying to do that, it has helped me understand more about myself and my mental well-being. 

Which can only be a good thing.

Head Full Of Fluff And Stuff

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am feeling all angsty, right now. Something, that I had assumed would have left by now. It hasn’t and I just don’t really know what to do about it. Maybe having sleepless nights over the trivial things in life, is a sign that I need to do more. That I am emotionally unsatisfied with what I have done in my 32 years on this planet.

Well, I am unsatisfied. I found an old diary which had me writing down my High School study schedule, to try and make my last year or so a success. It didn’t happen, I did nothing and got nowhere. The college course I went to when I left school, was dependant on the grades I got when I was 16, not the ones I got when I actually left school, at 18. I wasted 2 years, because I didn’t feel I was ready, and that has been a theme of my life. I may get round to some things, but its more of an eventual accident, rather than doing something when I actually give a shit about it.

And living in such a way has left me feeling very shit about my life. And I don’t know who to speak to about it. I have friends, but they have their own lives. And whilst I feel comfortable listening to their issues, I don’t want to bog them down with whatever crap is in my head. It isn’t fair to bring someone else down to my level, when they are working through stuff so much worse than mine. I try to write, to draw, to find outlets for my building anxiety, but sometimes it doesn’t work. You need someone to say that things are going to be alright. I try to do it for other people, but nothing in return. Comments telling me to ‘grow up’ or that ‘I am a lovely person’ are not really required. I just want someone to listen.

Not having someone to share issues with, is like a crushing weight. Something that you might be able to bear on good days, but on bad days it has you unable to even take one step. I’ll be honest, I am dealing with stuff better myself. I have been working very hard the last few months, trying to find ways to cope, small activities to try and lift my mood. But it doesn’t always work. Sometimes, things (2 friends changing plans on the same day), takes it’s toll. There is nothing to distract me from feeling that it is all my own fault. That I must be a really shitty person, that I get dropped at the first opportunity.

I try to optimistic on this blog. But sometimes, that just isn’t how it works. It’s hard to be optimistic, when you think you have reached a benchmark, made a break through, and then you go back to square one. And it is a lonely place. A horrible place. But time tells me, that carrying on makes me feel better. At some point. Might be a day, a week or a month away. And that is something to aim for. But, there is also a sense of dread, because I will feel like this again. I will be crying over nothing. Until things change, and I make things better.

But, what’s the point?

A Little Peace

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Trying to find things to keep me calm. The worst thing about suffering from anxiety, is that feeling of utter panic that can rise from just about anything. The thing that I find most difficult is trying to get other people to understand. I went through a bad phase where I would have a panic attack if I didn’t have the right change for the bus. And it made it worse that people behind would complain, despite the bus drivers always being lovely. I don’t know what started me feeling that way, but it is something that could spiral pretty quickly out of control.

The best thing that I did, that helped, was try and find things that would help avoid the situations which panicked me. Like, the bus thing, I’d make sure I always had plenty of change in my purse whenever there was a possibility of me having to catch the bus. It helped. I felt in control with it. The same when shopping, particularly food shopping. I have mentioned my issues with food on here before, and I would get the wrong thing, which would end up with me freaking out. A lot of the time, I would just go home empty handed. And I tried to get round that, by writing up a list, be in it a notebook or on my phone. Thinking about what I needed before being in the store, actually took a lot of the pressure off. I felt like I could just pick up what I had planned, and even had a sense of achievement that I made it out with a load of shopping.

The two examples that I have given are things that have happened most frequently. For the vast majority of the issues that I had with my anxiety happen at random. So, I have to just find ways to try and cool myself down. Force my breathing, the way you have probably heard of. In through the nose, and out through the mouth. By slowing things down, it can sometimes allow your brain to start thinking a little bit, and stop the irrationality that comes with having a panic attack. I always carry my ipod in my bag. On it, there is a playlist of all my favourite songs. From Spice Girls to Cradle of Filth. The music that makes me feel good, and that can make a huge difference. The music distracts me from whatever is going on in my head. And then, when my mind isn’t so ‘racing all over the place’, I can take out my notepad, or my ever reliable phone, and just write stuff. It could be words, complete sentences, or even a rambling post on Tumblr. It helps. It makes me feel like I have let the thing frustrating me, go.

The thing is, that what calms one person down, is different from another person. If anyone is having any problems with anxiety or panic attacks, is to try and think of solutions. Try to have what relaxes you, with you at all times. The biggest solution that I have found is planning. A good plan, can ease many fears that your mind may try to conjure up.

When I was looking for help I went to Mind, whose website has a lot of information about mental health. The page I have linked, deals specifically with advice on dealing with anxiety. Hopefully, it helps someone else, like it helped me.

Me Versus Food

~ Sue ~ 2 Comments

I am 31 years old, and spent most of my life invisible. Not getting into fights, not hurting anyone, not hating anything. Doing everything I have been able to do, to stop any attention on myself. But, I am kind of lying here. I do hate something, and that something always has been food.

When I was 13, I got my first job delivering a local newspaper. I was starting to have problems at school, with people calling me names and making me feel like shit. I had friends, but whilst I could have the best times with them, I never really felt I could confide in anyone. So to make me feel better I decided to use my new income to buy something to make me feel better. Because I was getting under £5 a week (was a really shitty paper round), I could afford a magazine and one other thing. That other thing was usually junk food. A multipack of Wotsits, just cause they were my favourites. I’d eat them through the week, when I ‘needed’ a boost. That was just the start of it.

As I got older and as life got that bit harder, I guess I turned to food more and more. It became easier to eat a bag of Doritos than actually speak to someone about how I was feeling. And it has caused me a lot of problems. My health, is biggest problem. I have tried to deal with my weight, a lot, but as soon as I try to focus on succeeding, it is like my thoughts are diverted to think about failing instead. About being in a worse state than I am already. About being one of these people who dies in a room, that has to be lifted out their window by forklift, because they can longer fit through their own front door. Yes, my brain jumps to conclusions, but that is what it does. Makes me wonder what the point is of trying to make any change.

Just walking down the street makes change hard. In my local High Street area of less than 20 shops, there are 3 bakeries, 3 cafes, 2 chip shops, 1 pizza shop, 1 chinese takeaway and 1 Indian. And that is not including the 2 supermarkets and 2 paper shops, which also sell food. And most of the food is crap. Or they do sell salads, but it is hidden behind all the fizzy drinks and fatty snacks that I find so comforting. I want some healthy pasta, I must walk past cakes, pizzas, pastries, chocolate and just shit, which is usually cheaper than the healthy stuff. And I always crumble, because just walking past all that crap makes me feel so shit, that I crave that same shit to make me feel better. It’s some fucked up cycle of thoughts sponsored by sugar addiction and lack of care for myself.

And that is maybe the worst feeling. I know I am unhealthy. I know I am shortening my own life span. But, I can’t help it. I do try, but the accusations of not trying ‘hard enough’ just makes me give up. Not eating enough is classed as a mental health issue. Which is good. But us that over-eat, we are just fat, lazy and incompetent. Sometimes, I think that my life would be easier if food wasn’t a requirement for life.  Then it wouldn’t be featured on TV so much, in every newspaper, every website, just everywhere. Whenever I see food, I feel bad. It would be easy just to have block button, like you do on social media, where everything to do with food would disappear from my life. It would then make it easier to deal with.

I want to blame other people for feeling like this. But it is all my fault. They say silly jokes. Jokes that aren’t funny to me. Jokes that make me want to cry. But that isn’t anyone else’s fault. It’s not their fault I find it hard to talk. To people anyway. I just need to find a new way to deal with things, that isn’t me eating some greasy salty shit. Just don’t quite know how to do that.

Yet.

 

Risk It For A Biscuit?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I was asked why I never ‘put myself forward’ for different roles at work. It was awkward, because I couldn’t find an answer. But it was more, that I couldn’t work out how to say stuff, rather than there being no reasons.

I have spoken on here about having anxiety and depression before. It would be easier if those two things occurred together. But they don’t. Like now, I am very content at work, and I am enjoying what I do. And because I like helping people, I have been asked a few times about stepping up to a different role for the upcoming busy period. Which there is a chance I’d do okay, but my brain doesn’t seem to understand that.

The ‘fear of the Unknown’ is the problem, which seems daft. But it is one that I can’t get passed. I have encountered my fair share of failure in life, and the way I reacted to that has made my anxiety worse. Whenever something goes wrong, I square the blame fully on myself. Which is okay, only if you use the experience to learn from. I don’t seem to do that. I hate on myself for failing something, and I make myself so miserable that I don’t want to try anything else again. That developed to the stage where I had panic attacks when I would get the oppertunity to do something new. 

But things are a bit better. I still don’t put myself forward for things yet, although I do think about it. But I will try something new if it is put in front of me, and by focusing on whatever it is, I don’t panic. It is something I need to keep working on, so that one day, soon, I will be able to apply for new stuff, without the panic attacks.

Ball Of Sunshine

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am happy.

For the first time in a long time, I am enjoying a period where I am experiencing a few more ups than downs. It is great, and not something I am used to. I am singing and laughing every day, instead of moping and crying. It is rather freeing being upbeat, it is like I am bouncing around without a care in the world. Nothing is getting to me, and it is a strange feeling.

The issue is. When you build your whole ‘internet life’ on helping you de-stress, what do you do when you don’t need to? I don’t feel the need to rant about things that have went wrong, because for some reason it doesn’t seem to be bothering me. Talking about it, may end up jinxing it all, but I feel that I should try to talk about it. No matter how much of a struggle it is, just because I want this blog to show an honest portrayal of me, and I need to show that people with depression and anxiety do have periods of happiness. It may not happen often, but it does happen.

So where did this feeling of happiness come from?

Recently I have been doing a job that I enjoy at work. I feel like I have a purpose. I feel like I can share my experience of the last few years in the business helping those less experienced. I am also taking an engineering course through a collaboration between my work and a local college, which is interesting. And then I have signed up for a Creative Coding class, through FutureLearn, which also looks exciting. It is the most ‘forward thinking’ I have been in a long time, and the way I am feeling shows that. Nothing may come of all that is going on, but my mental health is glad for the break. So forgive me, as I revel in being genuinely happy.

Make The Best

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am always one to complain when I am feeling down. When my motivation has gone elsewhere, and all I want to do is sit and mope. When nothing gets done, and I feel useless. It is not a very nice feeling, and it is one that I seem to get a lot. It is hard to do anything past the essentials when you feel like that.

However, when you feel inspired and full of energy, it is important to utilise that. I am trying to do that today, although the issue is that I am inspired, but have no focus. So everything that I am doing really has no point. Which is okay sometimes. I think. Not everything has to be precise and tackling something in particular to mean something personally. Using the energy that I have today, is important. It means that my week has gotten off to a productive start, and that motivates me for the rest of the week.

That is the problem with a lot of bloggers, they do it to make money. I have never had that need, and always blogged as another way to express myself, as expression has helped me through mental health that I have experienced. As a result, I find that I do write quite a bit of nonsense. But that is okay with me. I enjoy reading other people’s nonsense and seeing how their minds work. I think what comes out when you don’t plan anything is more honest, and that is good for both the writer and reader.

Some may disagree with me, but hey, if I am inspired I will do something creative. And so should everyone.

Up With The Birds

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Sunday is usually my lazy day, where the most strenuous thing that I do is get the bus into Town for a coffee. There is nothing wrong with this, but things played out a little different today. I was up early to do housework, eat (of course) and dye my hair. I have even got round to writing up a list of blog ideas. It’s made me realise that I need to do this more often with my days off. Like, actually get up and make the most of the day.

The best thing about having a day off, should be being able to do what you want, rather than having to have the restrictions that work can bring. It is freeing knowing that you can do what you want, and get something productive from a day off. Unfortunately, I often am very lazy and can easily spend half a day in bed. But what happens there is that because you don’t use much energy, you don’t tend to have much energy to get moving at all. I think it is one of those things where you have more drive, the more that you actually do.

Now, I am not saying that you can’t have a ‘lie in’ every now and then, because nothing is better than not having to get up for an alarm. But, if you have things to do, getting up reasonably early is a great way to get the motivation to achieve your goals for the day.

Where To Lean?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Everyone has their own problems in life, and as much as we try to keep things to ourselves, we have to rely on other people every now and then. We need support of those around us to help us keep going in times of hardship. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, to look around us in times of hardship, for reassurance and guidance.

But what do you do when you look around you, and can’t find that moral support that you need?

We live in a world where we can easily become surrounded in gadgets and gizmos rather than people, and we don’t realise how alienating it can be. I only noticed that recently when a person around has decided to make a change, and got all the support she needed. But when had previously turned to them for help, I was kind of ignored. I kind of felt rejected. And then my anxiety decides to have it’s say. I mean, maybe I can’t find the support because everything I have tried before, I have failed at. When I start thinking like that. I don’t want to ever try anything new again. And it’s upsetting.

When I first started having problems with anxiety and depression, I really couldn’t feel like I could turn to anyone around me. That’s where the internet has come in use. I found a place where I could rant and rave, and I felt like I wasn’t imposing my issues on anyone else. I feel that I have a lot of stuff to deal with, and sometimes it would be nice to have someone to turn to. A person to share stuff with, but everyone else has their own lives and issues, I don’t want to weigh them down with my drama.