• We are a multilingual website again. Read the notice about this.
  • Understand AI use at MyPTSD: all AI use is explained in our AI help page. AI use is by choice here. It exists if you want it, but does nothing unless you choose to use it.

My bipolar moods (with severity)

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm actually baking some pumpkin pudding right now. This is a unusual thing for me, as I usually don't bake or even cook. However, I really love pumpkin pudding, so I am making an exception. It is a winter thing for me. It is basically pumpkin pie filling without the crust. It is putting a wonderful aroma into my home. So I am cheerful at a 7 or so where 10 is good. I know, I keep forgetting to log my emotions. I'll try to remember.
 
Well, I made it out onto the Forums finally. I found a few threads I felt comfortable contributing to. I'm still kind of in my shell. I did want to say that my husband died in the beginning of November (2005). I got out of the H. on Halloween. His is the anniversary that is the toughest, that and holidays, unless I have an invitation of some sort to look forward to. None yet for Christmas except Rain's thread for it here. We shall see. Sometimes someone comes through at the last minute.

I am still not over something someone said to me here on the Forum. It was some criticism. I felt about it that it was unfounded, but it "sticks in my craw" and won't go away. Sometimes people can be so cruel. I did not come here to this Forum to endure criticism. I came here for support. That is why I have stuck to this diary mostly for quite some time. If it happens again, I might recede again. Sometimes being falsely accused of something is the hardest thing to deal with. There is no way to defend oneself. It was a matter of opinion in a way. That person's opinion was vastly different than mine, but the opinion was about me, my activities and what I had said. There was no way to clear it up either. There was negativity and it felt nasty. I almost left the Forums over it, but then I said to myself, I will not let this person take away from me what is rightfully mine, something that usually helps me. None the less, I did not feel like being out on the Forums at all because of it for quite some time. It would have been one thing if the person PCed me and said it privately. But publicly? It was really uncalled for.

I am cautiously hanging out on the forums again now, however. I just hope that no one else jumps upon me for something that I did not do! I surely do not need it. I unfollowed that thread when it happened. At least I did that much for my own sanity.
 
Well, I went to see my Pdoc today and she says I am doing really well. In fact she said she wished all her patients were doing as well as I am. That was encouraging.

We adjusted my meds a tiny bit, really I will be taking them more or less as I have been, except that one of them that I have been taking every other day, will now be taken in half its dose every day, if that makes any sense.

I showed the recent works of art to her and she was VERY impressed with them, as was her assistant. I explained the meanings behind each work of art also. She said that even though I have not been able to get into therapy yet, for various reasons, that I have started therapy anyway, by doing the works of art. It is true. I have. Going back to doing creative things is the best thing I could have done for myself. REALLY. I know I need to keep at it!
 
I am swimming in Hospital bills. UGH! One of them wants me to apply for some kind of credit in order to pay them. The other is sending me something called an Indigent Care Application. She says she thinks I would qualify, but I do not know what that exactly means. Like what exactly would I qualify for? Some kind of financial assistance I guess, I hope. Or maybe they cancel my bill altogether?? I didn't think to ask.

The blanket I am crocheting is getting nice and big. It is starting to look a bit like a blanket.
 
I finally got into my therapy today. YAY! It went good. She says we will not yet dive into my traumas, because I need to learn and develop some coping skills first. Emotions plague me a lot, in fact, that is the subject of much of my art. Doing a piece on FEAR today, as we discussed it in session and a concept of it and an image came to me on my way home. I am maybe going to be doing a series of these on this emotion, not sure yet. It is a strong emotion in my life, a recurring one. I often worry a lot about the distant future. Tomorrow is something I think I can handle, but 20 years from now. UGH!!! I know that worry is a useless waste of time. However, since my dear mother was often worried about things, it is a habit I cannot seem to totally lose. I hate worry! I wish I did not do it at all. However, it sneaks up on me and my mind races off with it, before I even realize what is happening. So we worked on that a bit. She taught me how to "stop a thought." There are several methods. One is to clap when you want to startle your mind away from that train of thought. Another is just to say to yourself in your mind, "Stop!" I had kind of thought that, "Stop, we're not going there." was one way to do this. We being "me, myself and I" a concept that my father gave to me, by way of example. He used to always use the pronoun "we" when discussing himself, so I wanted to clarify that, as someone might think I am plagued with multiple personalities, which I am not. The therapist agreed that I am not, have not been diagnosed with that. I explained why I use "we" meaning myself sometimes and she understood.

Anyway, when I was a child, my parents were always freaked out if food got wasted. This is because they grew up during the Great Depression (financial, not mental). So I always had to eat everything on my plate. To this day, I have to be really careful not to serve myself too much food, because if I do, I end up eating it, even when I do not need it. I am on a medication that causes weight gain, so this is very important for me to keep track of.

Case in point, I dished out too much food for lunch, and even though God told me to leave the last 2 bites, I could not. I just could not let it go to waste. It was some pecans and they are soooo... good, that I just could not let them be wasted away. Oh well. Next meal is another story, I hope. I shall try to be careful when I dish out my supper!
 
Second Falls  Art Therapy 6.webp


This is just something I did a few years ago, a memory from childhood. It is just a sketch, not really a good one, but it is about the place that I go to in my mind when my emotions get to me. We had to climb down a cliff holding onto grapevines, to get there. It was called 2nd Falls by everyone. This is me climbing down the cliff and believe me, the final scene is always worth it. It is a pond with a waterfalls above it. My old camera was still working when I shot this one. I am still waiting for a friend to shoot some of my recent art with her phone and email it to me. She is away for the holidays, but will return afterwards, so it might happen sometime. I hope!
 
Someone mentioned today that the nightmares or dreams never stop, they just change in volume. Yup. This is true. I stopped drinking coffee, because my new Pdoc told me that it interrupts REM sleep and causes it to be much more difficult for people who drink it to dream. She was right, of course. I had thought that I was not remembering my dreams, but once I stopped drinking coffee, I started dreaming. And one other thing is happening too. The dreams continue on into my waking hours sometimes. I even talk to them at times, when I am still waking up and not yet fully awake. Other times I startle awake and the nightmare continues. I see it, even though I am wide awake. I am not going back to the coffee though, I do not want to block my dreams. I know they are a needed part of my recovery, even if they are a pain in the brain.
 
I had a rough day today, but the highlight of my day was that I went to visit a neighbor lady and we chatted for a half hour or so and wished one another a Merry Christmas. Sometimes it is more important to think of some elderly person, who might be lonely, and go visit them, than to sit and stew over a lousy day. Just one of the many things that upset my day was trying to fill out an application for Financial Assistance for one of the Hospitals I stayed in. I hate paperwork! So thinking of someone else for awhile was pure joy.
 
one of the many things that upset my day was trying to fill out an application for Financial Assistance for one of the Hospitals I stayed in.

I had to fill out those forms last year because I got so sick with a very bad kidney infection and my bill was around five thousand dollars. The assistance helped me by paying the bill. I hope this helps you.
 
My therapist is out this week, so nothing much going on for awhile in terms of therapy.

My Christmas is getting better than I thought it would be. I got some nice gifts and made it known to my family that even though they will be out of town visiting my nephew, that I would love to hear from them on the holiday, so I don't feel so left out. I do hope they contact me. In a way, I could call, but I do not want to intrude. It is their gathering. They are a family unit. I am just the aunt/sister/sister-in-law. So, really, it is up to them if they would like to contact me or not.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Donation drives

2026 Donation Goal

Goal
$1,800.00
Earned
$990.00
This donation drive ends in
0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds
  55.0%

Trending content

Back
Top Bottom