Foundations of functioning

[Teasel]

I'm thinking if the kinds of things, that if you do them, they really pay you back well in terms of promoting functioning for you. And things which if you don't, you maybe start to slide.

Like I think one of them for me is food. If I have meal planned or at least have some fairly healthy food in which is easy enough to grab at meal times then I tend to do better with other stuff too.

Wondered if you all have any thoughts on these kinds of self care / habits or whatever, things that really set you up to do better?

 

[arfie]

food and hydration are huge on my own list, too. i tend to treat coffee like its own food group when i get psychotic.

however, i believe my most important tool for staying functional is my daily inventory. awareness that i am a few fries short of a happy meal on any given day helps me function with whatever resources are available and curb the collateral damage of unrealistic expectations. it's okay to be a few fries short of a happy meal, as long as the clerk doesn't forget the toy.

being gentle with myself and patient with the process helps tremendously.

 

[Sideways]

Wondered if you all have any thoughts on these kinds of self care / habits or whatever, things that really set you up to do better?

Mine revolve around self-care. If I want to maximise the chance of an upswing, or prevent further slide, the easiest things to control are daily self care habits that protect my physical well-being. Cognition stuff is too slippery for me personally to micro-manage, although I know it works well for some folks.

Physical self care habits also tend to be the ones that go when I'm really unwell, which means I can monitor them and have a reasonably accurate picture of whether I'm going backwards or forwards (I've written about my Function Meter several times I think - super useful tool!).

Things that make my personal list: eating 3 meals (nutrition meal shake counts, because it's the nutrition I'm after, and I never really pull of "cooking" regularly for more than a few days), showering, fresh clothes, 20 mins exercise, 20 mins relaxation, etc. Nice and super simple. Measurable. Achievable. Very Relevant. Time limited.

 

[StruggleStan]

I'm thinking if the kinds of things, that if you do them, they really pay you back well in terms of promoting functioning for you. And things which if you don't, you maybe start to slide.

Like I think one of them for me is food. If I have meal planned or at least have some fairly healthy food in which is easy enough to grab at meal times then I tend to do better with other stuff too.

Wondered if you all have any thoughts on these kinds of self care / habits or whatever, things that really set you up to do better?

Tidying. Not cleaning, as that can be daunting sometimes. But tidying at least makes things appear better, and they encourage you to clean afterward. That works for me, at least

 

[caroline_13]

Exercise.

Cleaning.

Meditation.

Work.

 

[Freddyt]

Making breakfast - because I eat, and its a way to assess where I am for the day and where my Suds level is. Sort of a what CAN I do today and stay functioning....

Quiet time - time to stop the squirrels, stop ruminating, get whats real straight, get my stress down. Just whenever - 2 to 5 min. I find breaking up rumination is something I need to do because I get in the spin cycle of rumination and because its so normal - just don't realize I'm doing it.

i tend to treat coffee like its own food group when i get psychotic.

Coffee is it's own food group.....

 

[user27357]

Creating a list of Gotta Do's. It's a list of the things I have to do, on a screen, when they need to be done, and how to do them.
I have always approached work outside my home in this way, it stems from being the maintenance guy for a restaurant that was owned by a fisherman that was in Alaska during the seasons, most of the year. He had what he called an SOP book (standard operating procedures) for his boats and he set one up in the same format for whoever was keeping his restaurant afloat (me). It had pictures of the locations for inspections, when to do them, what to do if it needed attention and even dates of previous repairs and phone numbers of the parts houses and their internal part numbers if that was part of the repair.
An example: Wondering if it is time to check the air in my spare tires is just a niggling little bug that pops up in the back of my mind once in awhile, not enough to get me out of bed and crawling in the dark with a pressure gage and a flashlight by any means. But if that bug has been popping up periodically and I find myself on the side of the road with a flat spare, it is all my own fault, I should have done it at least one of those times it came up, I failed, I am suffering for my own shortcomings and as long as we have some spare time waiting for the tow truck, lets look at the list of shortcomings, shall we? Ready go......
Okay, check spare tires and trailer lug nuts for tightness at the same time just went on my "add to book" page, and when I do it (sooner than later) I will add it to the SOP pages with lug wrench size, torque setting spec and air pressure recommendations. Maybe I won't get to it until I am preparing to haul a heavy load again, maybe I will decide it needs to be done monthly (probably not) or on the next seasonal change (maybe) or as part of an oil change (likely) and move it to the SOP then.
At least I am trying to. It helps me feel better going forward, i hate feeling like I missed something and it bit me later on. Been down that road a few times just recently and it suuuuucks, bad!

 

[anthony]

Exercise and healthy eating.

 

[Friday]

Money is my biggest one.

It didn’t used to be, but I was also young/fit/healthy and had access to Monopoly money whenever I surfaced from a hard jag. Today? Old, broke, broken? It’s what I cared least for, once upon a time. With money not upon my own life, but others lives. And striding out, into the world. Once again.

 

[Movingforward10]

Getting enough sleep
Exercise
Tidying/having an organised home.

 

[Teasel]

Another one for me is sleep hygiene. No caffeine after noon. Not much carbs or chocolate or sugar later in the day. Some exercise, even better if it's outside in the fresh air. Not watching or reading anything too exciting before bed. And settling down for bed at a reasonable time. Letting my body get cold before bed too.

 

[barefoot]

Getting enough sleep.

Having a tidy-ish living environment (not show home level. Just a sense of order and being clean and tidy-ish)

Getting into a routine doing diaphragmatic breathing exercises in the morning and before bed was also great, but I’ve fallen off the wagon with that.

Journaling - though I’ve fallen off the wagon with that too.