How is everyone doing? Having a good weekend?

X

Hello Elril

How nice to hear from you. I am doing OK, this morning I got up at 5.30 am., because I am helping in a Night Shelter run by the local churches, it was amazing when the alarm went on I just jumped from the bed and I got to the shower and ready to go. I am enjoying helping other people but I am also helping myself being useful. I have answered some mails today, one of them from my daughter who is travelling with her boyfriend around South America.

Last week I had a meeting in a day centre runs by the Mental Health NHS to see if I could benefit from group counselling sessions. I also went to the site that you suggest www.time-to-change.org.uk and I thing it is very good also, I read about the publicity about discrimination against people who suffer from mental illness, I think it is great to be able to read from other people experiencing similar problems and then you realise that you are not just being difficult and you are suffering from a invisible disease, I also learned about Psychodynamic Therapy by one of the people who posted in that forum site.
I hope you are keeping well and all the best to everyone, Cristal

Hi Elril

Mixed bag for me - it still blows my mind that when ‘it’ comes to get you it can still be so vicious and traumatizing. I managed a few positive things this week, mainly through the help of some really good mates that drag me along and encourage me.

Not sure what to do tomorrow yet but I really hope it’s an enjoyable family day - I have wasted so many recently.

Seeing England get beaten this afternoon by Wales was very uplifting but all credit to them for their incredible self belief. 

How about you - what sort of weekend are you having?

Steve

Hello Cristal,

I was very impressed to hear that you are helping others while you are suffering yourself. If that is what helps then it is great, and such an unselfish way to help yourself. Sometimes I think that being more part of a kind of community and helping others gives us more a feeling of self-worth etc. I sometimes wonder whether the fact that local communities seem to be a thing of the past and that people seem to concentrate more on just themselves now-a-days is going to end up bringing more people down. Look how when it snows and things get a bit tougher how we then sometimes help each other, like help someone dig their car out of the snow, and how good that make both the helper and helpee feel. We are basically a kind of pack animal, who have worked together in the past to achieve a mutual goal (like catching animals for food), but now everything is so easy and convenient (in comparison to thousands/millions of years ago) we have started to focus more on ourselves and have inadvertantly isolated ourselves. I’m waffling too much, but it’s a thought I’ve often had.

Anyway, Cristal, I’m impressed, we need more like you, so please keep it up.

Steve, I just posted a reply to your email, or at least I thought I did, but it doesn’t seem to be anywhere. Me and computers really don’t get on though, so there is a fair chance I did something wrong. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it seems you are trying to be positive, which is nice to see. Did you manage to have that nice day with your family? I hope so, cos afterall, when it comes down to it, I think that kind of things is what really matters.

As for the Rugby game, I’ll keep a dignified silence on that!

Hello Bren

Thank you for taking the time to encourge me in keep doing things for others. This is a way for me to get to mix with other people and as I am not working at the moment I hope it will help me getting back to the community, I have to say that I find easier helping others than helping myself and it is quite an extrange feeling, most probably something to do with self steem but I am working on that too.

You are quite right about isolating ourselves from the rest and just thinking in our own needs or our family needs only. I think this site is great for expresing yourself to others, many regards from Cristal. 

Cristal,

I think it is much easier to help others than help yourself, just the same as it is easier to give advice rather than take it (particularly your own advice!). However, if helping others also helps you in some way, then everybody’s a winner!

Well, have a nice evening!