Posted by zenhussy on September 20, 2008, at 10:10:51
In reply to TEN OR ELEVEN, posted by fayeroe on September 14, 2008, at 14:03:16
++fresh garden salsa made from a friend's abundant garden
++fresh citrus and stone fruit -- same friend's yard
++state quarters and the ppl who seek out the missing ones for our collection
++satellite tv and the baseball games available on it.........nice diversion while it lasts
++extraordinarily kind and understanding pdoc who listens, takes good notes, and gently reminds us of huge progress when we sit tearily in their office spilling out all that isn't working in life, meds, and therapy
++nice pharmacy staff who doesn't make us feel like some number or poor person on the dole.
++access to many dogs and much open space. good walks, lotsa running, and pack play. tired dogs are happy dogs are good dogs. = ) friends even keep kiddie pool in their yard for our dog to use. now pups have learned goofy pool play.....they look like 80 lb otters!
++community pool facility and swimming buddy who is equally wussy in rebuilding one's swim chops. actually desiring the structure of masters swim....goal for this fall to get back into that.
++being able to tell ppl when anxiety is awful and not feel (too) apologetic or guilty about it. learning that isolation isn't the answer that it *feels* like it is. being out and about is dreadfully difficult yet way better than hidey hole of past.
++therapist sharing professional texts to help better explain some things and WOW that sure helped. amazing what the right words at the right time can do to help shift very stuck beliefs and ways of being. it ain't instant but it is happening ever so slowly.
++generous friends who donate their gently used clothing to help build a wardrobe for this schleppy coastal bum. fun, fall, flirty skirty and enough dresses to handle just about every function from now until the new year.
and how do all the above tie into self esteem? would not have been able to manage a list like this in the depths and darkness of major depressive episodes. being able to create such a list and seeing what comes up as important or just spills from the fingertips is a good marker in time of where one is at and where one has come from.
reaching out to others, allowing others in to some of the previously privately held pain, and being aware of the changes that have happened and the changes that CAN happen have helped boost our sense of self esteem and what beliefs we now hold.
eating well, resting and relaxing (truly allowing one self to hang out and watch a baseball game instead of the million other things that seem more pressing at that moment), taking the time to do things that nourish the body and spirit, working w/ the team instead of hiding fearfully from the team of professional help, and so on. these are all things learned the hard way over the years but thank goodness those lessons presented themselves............and keep presenting themselves.
to all of us finding more moments of *smile* along our healing journeys.
poster:zenhussy
thread:851967
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/esteem/20080816/msgs/853066.html