How to stay moderately less crazy....

[annwfyn]

So, recently I wrote a piece on social media for #timetotalk2017, in which I talked about my mental health, and mostly ended up talking about recovery. A couple of people were terribly nice and said they were impressed by the extent to which I seemed in control, and how far I’d come

Comments

[lilitufire]

I don't really have a how about you? much, apart from lightbox, D3 and ionizer in the winter, but I can relate to needing a clear space

[annwfyn]

I love recipes. I am overwhelmingly not a proper cook - I have zero ability to look at a bunch of food and say "I'll make something...spicy with a bouquet of violet" and cook. I definitely require precise instructions, which I think is a part of the whole beautiful structured ordered process.

I love measuring things out and setting timers and making lists. And goodness, yes, that website looks awesome and very helpful! Definitely good for the Sally.

[lilitufire]

You should definitely take a look at eatyourbooks, then. I just checked the online only recipe section and there's 240,000 recipes there :D

[sienf]

Thank you for sharing this. Some sound like they'd work for me and others don't, but this is exactly what I meant when I said I was impressed by the amount of work you put into your wellbeing.

I'm sure to you, most of this stuff is now second nature and what you do notice is when it slips or falls through. But look at this list (!): this is a lot of non-trivial things. You make a concerted effort, all the time, to manage your health and wellbeing. I think you've managed pretty amazing results, but regardless of that... you've managed an amazing amount of effort. And it's not effort that is often recognised or acknowledged, but... is very hard to maintain. So go you.

[annwfyn]

Yeah, I guess this is a fairly long list, and it's all stuff I didn't start out doing, and worked out over time as a good way of managing stuff. I didn't do it all at once though

[sienf]

I think the words part is actually a relatively uncommon, but incredibly good strategy. Uncommon, rather than unusual, as I see a lot of advice to do with writing stuff down and putting it out of your head and so on...

I think it's very easy to think you know exactly what you mean in your head, but not finding the actual words until you put them out (that might be me, as I find a lot of other people think directly in words?) or, more importantly, being able to ignore just how unreasonable some of The Crazy is while it's still in your head.

I should write more, even if it's never saved anywhere; it's a good method to slow down and think and process. Thank you for reminding me.

[annwfyn]

The words strategy is staggeringly helpful for me, most of all because it really helps me pin down and understand what is really upsetting me. And, in general, if I hunt through the hugely irrational emotions (stage one of the words strategy normally involves me realizing that I am overreacting) I normally find there is a root cause that is real and can be addressed. I mean, sometimes that root cause might be something I don’t have a totally objectively justified reason to be feeling wobbly about, but at least I can recognise it

[eniel]

Thank you for sharing. Many of these definitely ring a bell with me.
Lost my work to-do list that had all my tasks laid out for the week last Tuesday and spent the whole day in a mild state of panic thinking there might be something I'd forgotten to do... didn't really feel better until I gave up trying to find it and made a new one.
Again, what an impressive amount of work you have done to figure all this out!