Fare thee well, blog of sunshine

I now declare this blog to be Officially Closed.

All comments are closed.

This. Is. The. Last. Post.

From now on, I’ll be blogging over at coffeeslut.net which will eventually be home to all the posts I’ve written here. I’m having a few technical difficulties exporting them but exported they will be, even if I tear all my hair out in the process.

Thank you, bring me sunshine, you’ve been lovely.

Byeeeeeeee x

Pack your bags!

Well, I’ve done it.

I have my own website.

I’m still playing with design ideas but I shall shortly (I hope!!) be blogging at coffeeslut.net, which is hosted by the truly wonderful Fee.

I’ll keep you posted – oh, and if you notice any design flaws or problems, especially if you use the dread internet explorer, please say so!

I’d forgotten how much I love css and php – well, apart from the realisation that I’ve forgotten most of what I knew. Yipes!

Mutant Enemy

Stop the ride, I want to get off…

This is a fairly accurate depiction of my day, thus far:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to sit in the dark with my head in a bag.

Too much brain strain

As you know, I’ve been mulling over the idea of getting my own domain name and moving my blog to the self-hosted version of WordPress for at least a year.

Well, I’m going to do it.

I have decided.

It’s just that, well, I’m having a few problems picking a domain name.

All variations of bringmesunshine are, sadly, taken so I need something new.

Thus far, my ideas have ranged from mediocre to terrible – and my friends have been less than helpful 😆

One contender that I think was meant to be a piss take but I rather like is “shortarsedchocoholic”…

Has anyone got any better ideas?!

Getting out there

As I have bemoaned on previous occasions, I’ve had a lot of hit n misses with the mental health team in Somerset, but for once, the odds seem to be working in my favour.

I have a new support worker. Actually, she’s part of the Somerset NHS “Support, Time and Recovery” Team, whatever the hell that’s meant to mean, but I think that support worker sums her job up nicely. And her job is to help me find ways to manage the more practical side of my life, such building up my confidence to go into Taunton, as well as taking up opportunities to volunteer in the community – and build up a network for myself in the process.

I had an appointment to see her this afternoon and over a relaxing cup of coffee, we got to know one another and put together a plan to achieve the above.

I admit, when Sparky suggested I hook up with J, I was sceptical and cautious, but I think I can safely say that I like J. She listens to me and seems to have done quite a good job of assessing me. She even understood when I explained how I like to learn (tell me, show me, let me try it for myself) and has decided to take that approach with me.

Next week, she’s coming to pick me up and we’ll spend the afternoon in Taunton, parking at Evil Tesco’s and wandering around town to help me familiarise myself with the main shopping streets and where different car parks are located.

The following week, if all goes well, I’ll drive myself into Taunton and with up meet her, and we’ll do a bit more exploring, probably taking in locations I need to attend on a regular basis, such as Foundation House, where she, Sparky and my new psychiatrist are based, etc.

She’s also going to get me details of local voluntary groups, such as one which meets fortnightly to do catch-all “conservation work”, from clearing shopping trolleys out of rivers to mending gates and stiles on footpaths, and another which meets weekly to do light gardening for the elderly and disabled.

It all sounds good. Terrifying (I had me a little panic attack after she left) but good.

I wish I didn’t need this kind of help to live my life but the fact is, if I don’t ask for it and don’t take it up when it’s offered, I’m going to end up stuck here, never going out, a hermit (apart from the internet!). So I’m going to ignore my pride and go with it. There isn’t a price that’s too high to pay for freedom and independence.

And on that note, here endeth the lesson…

Meh

Despite my best efforts, including sausage and eggs for lunch, today is not turning out to be a particularly cheery day so here’s a cute photo of Midge in lieu of any words of wisdom from this end.

Midge - 1 April 2010

“Normal” business will resume as and when.

Hope you’re enjoying your Bank Holiday.

Living in a hamster wheel

I have been trying to work out if I would feel the way I do about myself if I were suffering from a physical ailment, rather than simply being a bit batshit.

For example, the proverbial pint of milk.

Some days, I can drive to the local fruit and veg shop on the outskirts of the nearest village and can shop there without any problems. Some days, I even manage to go into the village itself, find somewhere to park (old village, narrow streets, far too many cars…) and do normal things like go to the Co-Op or the doctor’s.

But on others, if I can’t find anywhere to park, I panic. One evening, I ended up driving straight through the village and out across the hills in floods of tears and was horrendously lost by the time I talked myself into pulling over.

And on bad days, just the thought of going anywhere is enough to reduce me to a quivering wreck.

Now, when I’m feeling quite rational, I understand that my panic reactions are nothing more than the PTSD at work – I can’t control the situation so my hindbrain overreacts and tells me I’m in danger – and my gut reaction to the “danger” is to flee.

However, just as I end up with a conflict between my rational self and my emotions on my bad days, so I spend my good days in an equally destructive conflict.

Meaning? Well, as I said above, my rational self understands what’s going on and tries to deal with “that” me with empathy and kindness. But something else in me (pride?) is appalled at what I see, views it all as a sign of weakness and failure and is, quite frankly, embarrassed and humiliated by the whole thing.

Would I be like this if I was recovering from an illness or an accident?

Well … probably.

Do I feel like this about other people who are in my situation?

Hell, no!

I would ask why I feel like that about me, but I already know the answer. Indirectly, it’s a by-product of my upbringing. But it’s also directly related to why I’m in this state to begin with. And if that makes no sense to you, don’t worry, I know what I mean.

And that is, I think, at the heart of why I am where I am. Maybe if circumstances were different, I’d have a better relationship with myself. But there’s only so much shit you can swallow before you end up blaming yourself for being in that position in the first place.

I suspect (well, know, since so many friends have told me so) that the first step to my recovery will be to accept what has happened and – more importantly – that none of it is my fault.

I don’t see it like that, however. And therein lies the problem – and the answer to my question.

Anyone else feel like they’re trapped in a hamster’s wheel?!

Doggy emergency

Earlier this afternoon, I had to perform an emergency operation on Snipe and removed a thorn from her pad.

We were walking in the top paddock when I noticed that she was limping. Much against her will, since she knew what was coming, I persuaded her sit down and had barely begun to examine her foot when she started whining and whimpering in her classic I’m-not-a-wimp-but-it-would-hurt-less-if-you-just-cut-off-leg style that she saves for occasions such as this.

Eventually, it all became too much for her and she lost the use of all four legs, rolling over onto her back, telling me that I had her permission to do what I must, she wasn’t going to survive anyway…

I quickly plucked the offending thorn from her pad and the relief on her face was almost human.

She celebrated by going completely insane and raced back and forth in the way that only Labradors who have been plucked from the jaws of death are able to.

In fact, a bit like this video I took of the two dogs last May:

Everyday, I hope that Snipe will do something to refute her image as the world’s most idiotic dog.

Still, I guess tomorrow’s another day…

It doesn’t interest me…

I really couldn’t be bothered this morning and lay in bed until gone midday. I read some of the time, but mostly just curled up in a ball and thought different thoughts.

In doing so, my mind wandered back to the “armchair Yoga” class I went to yesterday morning in a nearby town, organised by West Somerset Mind. It was a rather odd experience, and since it was my first time, I didn’t exactly find it relaxing, but it was nice to get out and about and meet new people.

Anyway, at the end of the class, the instructor (for want of a better word) read out a poem that I found thought-provoking so I looked it up online:

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer,
Canadian Teacher and Author

Incidentally, I wish I’d got in contact with Mind a hell of a lot sooner and urge anyone who is in a similar position to get in touch with them. Not only do they understand what you’re going through and that isolation, no matter what form in takes, breeds even more depression and dark moods, they also do advocacy and help with things like benefits and so on, which would have taken a lot of pressure off my friends.

www.mind.org.uk