Any Small (or Big) Successes Today?

[FindingMyself88]

I just needed to post something positive as last night was a bad night for me. I got triggered and this time of year (now to about February) is hard for me, lots of anniversaries and holidays.

Anyways I had promised my mom I would bake some cupcakes for her work and bake some for home today. Issue- I had to go to store to get ingredients. Mom is working, dad is asleep. Me and Bristol have went to stores by ourselves before, but normally only to train, not shop. So today we tackled a 20 minute trip to an extremely busy walmart! She did beautifully, walked patiently beside the buggy and alerted me to my heart rate rising. Someone hit her with their buggy and she didn't flinch. Then the lady felt bad and came to love on her. Normally she gets very excited, but she remained calm and kept her focus on me while accepting the petting. Then I had a panic attack, thankfully while in a less crowded section as it had been building. I got down on my knees and she applied deep pressure therapy for me until I calmed down.

Without her the trip wouldn't have been possible. So thats my success for the day.. Anyone else have any?

 

[Deleted member 10686]

I spent all yesterday crying my butt off, I spent the night at my teachers to calm down from my situation and I woke up today feeling better and haven't cried at all today, which I feel is a success

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I had so much to do today and decided to take it easy because I am so exhausted from the ordeal of selling my house. I managed to run a couple of errands and am going to take a nap and rest up for the evening.

 

[FindingMyself88]

Sometimes giving ourselves a break is a healthy step :) @gizmo

@forwardmotion462 I am sorry yesterday was bad for your too. I probably should've cried, but that is still something I am learning to do. I am glad today has been better for you!

 

[KwanYingirl]

I survived dealing with the bank that will give me my mortgage. In April dealing with her put me in a negative feedback loop for a week. I'm just so happy that I get to live at the beach, the stress of the process isn't getting to me. Selling my house and downsizing is going to make life a whole lot easier for me.

Annie is getting better about sensing my anxiety. Do you think there's a way to teach her how to alert me before the anxiety gets out of hand? I don't think I'm allowed to take her into food stores

 

[FindingMyself88]

@KwanYingirl good for you with the bank! Hoping the process continues smoothly from here on! Rooting for you, jealous of the beach house :)

As for Annie, if she becomes task trained, then she goes from an ESA to an SD in training. It is best to get a doctor's note, though not required. If she mitigates your disability, she is allowed as an SD. Bristol naturally alerts to my anxiety, but for it to be a task it has to be trained/shaped. So I thought of and asked people around me for things that I do when I am starting to get nervous. For me it is:

biting nails
scratching/picking skin
fidgeting with rubber band on wrist
pulling hair
rubbing thighs

I first trained Bristol how I wanted her to alert. We have "stages". First she is to nudge me with her nose on my arm or leg. If that doesn't get my attention, she is to paw my leg. If this doesn't work, she is to jump on me. I trained all these with verbal cues "alert" "target"(paw) "jump". Then once she had this down I began adding the physical cue (biting nails, scratching, etc). I would start the action then say "alert". Eventually as she got it, I started fading the verbal cue. So now if I do one of those things which are indicators of my anxiety rising, she alerts me. This also stops some of these harmful behaviors. I am wanting to train her to stop me from cutting too, but I am afraid she will accidentally hit the knife and cut herself..

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

Today marked the end of the first week back teaching for this school year. I made it through every day and only had two small panic attacks the whole week (at school).

 

[Seasounds]

Today, I finished working with my psychiatrist's "covering" psychiatrist-whom I liked better, and who is getting ready to retire, so she is not accepting new clients.:arghh; The good news is that I managed to walk through the grief "ok"-better than usual.;)

Additionally, when at my acupuncturist-born and trained in China, who has a rather stern bedside manner, I received a compliment. With my current Ptsd crisis she said. "Your awareness of your mindbody needs is accurate and impressive." (And yes, I've thought to find an acupuncturist with a softer bedside manner.):cool:

Thanks for your post! It is a good day to focus on the positive with you all!:hug:

 

[seedling]

I'm ready to take a vacation with my husband for a week. The thought of traveling and seeing new things is exciting and fun now.
We've gotten everything packed and ready so smoothly, no big stress.
I've come a long way in the last three years.

 

[FindingMyself88]

loving everyone's successes!

 

[Bookoffee]

Last night I was watching a TV show and I wanted to cry because I felt the same pain and loss of the person in the show, my wife looked at me and said that it was OK to feel so I sobbed.

 

[Seasounds]

@Bookoffee, very dear, to be held, and to be safe, to have such a spontaneous and deep relief. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful moment, that warms my heart.