Posted by BeardedLady on September 12, 2002, at 7:08:18
In reply to Re: Hello- new member, posted by Mal on September 11, 2002, at 21:15:27
I think we're a lot alike, though I'm probably a few years your senior!
> Coping skills... Well, I don't know what I "do" to manage
> I guess I keep counting my blessings, as cheesy as that
> sounds.Not at all! That's called a reality check, and it's important. I tell folks all the time that Jerry Springer saved my life. When I was so low I couldn't even concentrate on a television show for five minutes, I would watch Jerry Springer. After a week of afternoon episodes, I said to myself, "You have all your teeth, and you're not sleeping with your brother's homosexual lover. How bad could it be?" (Note: this only works for insomnia and depression, not for folks who have truly had a bad life from which their depression stems.)
> I have a pretty therapeutic hobby (sewing/quilting) that
> keeps me going (although I do a fair amount of cursing as
> I work). When I am working on something, I feel like I am
> building something and not wasting my life.Me too. I do mosaics, so it's two times the therapy. I not only get to build stuff, but I get to break it first! I should have known when I was a teen that's what I'd get into, as one of my favorite songs was David Bowie's "Breaking Glass." (Was that the title? "Lately I've been breaking glass in my room again. Listen.")
> Sometimes my "episodes" are precipitated by my making
> a stupid mistake of some sort, and I can't seem to give
> myself a break. I might be an overachiever. I expect a lot
> of myself.Me too, me too, me too!
> But right now I feel pretty good. I have recently made a
> goofy mistake, and I didn't hate myself for more than 1
> day. I'm keeping my house reasonably clean, and I am
> working on a quilt.I had a panic attack the other night before bed, and I didn't let it escalate. I took a bath, got back in bed, and went to sleep. And I haven't dwelled. And I have a mosaic project going, too.
> Anyhow, enough about me. Maybe I can be of some help
> to someone sometime.Never enough. Take care.
beardy
poster:BeardedLady
thread:30148
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020908/msgs/30181.html