Stress and Mental Health Issues

So sorry after all the posts from the last few days but I seem to have run out of steam this evening and am absolutely shattered. 

OH has not been too well with his Bipolar condition (formerly called manic depression) and it was work related issues which spun him off course.  Consequently a lot of  my attention has been geared towards him for the past fortnight trying to be supportive and drag him out of the depths of depression.  He is starting to come out of it but it is leaving me more than a little shattered from all the emotional support and input I have been having to do as well as work and try and keep things ticking over at home. He was in a right state initially and I was seriously concerned at the way he was presenting. Hopefully he will get resolution all the way round next week when he goes back to work.  His HR Section are well aware of the issues involved and of the person who caused the issues in the first place. He has been off work for a fortnight under a Doctors certificate during that time as well.  Fortunately we have a very sympathetic GP who OH can talk to.

It will be good when OH can go fishing again and chill a little bit however the weather is still a little too chilly for him.  I believe that he would go fishing Easter weekend if the weather forecast was better than it is at the present.  The Beast from the East part 3 has been threatened so whilst that is lurking I do not think he will go despite the fact that I feel he needs it more for the peace and quiet than anything else to calm him down.  So we will see how things go.

I had planned on doing things tonight but I just do not have the energy.  I have not even cooked and we have ended up having a Chinese for tea for a change. It will not be long before I am in bed. 

I have a new book called Citadel by Kate Moss which I started last night.  I have read her other books Labryinth  and Sepulchre which were brilliant.  I love her style of writing and the plot is often based on real life events or historical events.  I really enjoy her books as she weaves some marvellous stories so much so that you could believe that they were real.  The mark of a master storyteller  Reading as always, that will help me chill a little bit.

The other evening I managed to start working some of the background to the Briar Rose needlepoint as the cream Tapisserie wool arrived.  I was always taught that the wool that is used to cover the blank spaces was always known as grounding wool i.e. the main background colour.  It is quite fine work more like petit point but it seems to be working up well.  I am going to try and do a little each night to hopefully bring it on quicker and get it completed and into the stash ready for making up into cushion covers which is the plan for these panels of needlepoint and at the end of each day you have to play a little bit as otherwise it is just work work work.  I get a lot of pleasure with needlepoint as the stitching is rhythmic and soothing and I am producing something at the end of all the effort which is individual to my home.

I really am feeling the need to get out and get the garden sorted.  I am hoping that the weather is reasonable this weekend so that I can get out and do a bit of sorting.  Just being in the fresh air makes all the difference.  We did not get to the tip last week but we really need to go this week so that I can get the front garden tidied up.  I have not set any seeds yet and probably will do if we do not get a return of the Beast from the East and plant up in my mini greenhouses and get things underway for the new season.  I still have to source some paint for the mini greenhouses as the ones I have are a few years old and starting to fade and look past their best and then there is the one from my mum's so they could all so with a lick of paint to tidy things up.

I bought some new tubs (black ones x 4) yesterday oval ones for £2.99 each which are quite deep from B & M.  I have in mind to grow some veggies in them at the moment maybe two for salad and two for Strawberries or I may go and get a few more so that I can set a few more veggies for eating through the summer months which will be a lot healthier and less wasteful than buying in salad and then not using it up.  This way round will be the freshest and I will just be able to pick what I need.  I also want to get a lot of hanging baskets up with strawberries in and also tumbling tomatoes, nasturtiums etc.  Lots of plans - I have said before that I am aiming for a potager style garden in an effort to grow what I can.  So a lot of work as usual in the offing.  I don't really get chance to get bored as there is always something that can be done.  However sometimes you just need to sit and be still and that can be just as beneficial.  I have found that doing a little gardening or growing some seeds of the spring and summer month evenings is very therapeutic especially after being in an office all day.  So I am itching to get started in the garden!

Right am off to get settled and do some reading and then its an early night.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x

Comments

  1. I don't know that I have commented here before, but feel compelled to do so tonight. You are always such a positive person. I enjoy reading about all your interests and projects. I love to garden and collect items to enhance my home. I hope that you take good care of yourself, as you are important to a lot of people.

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    1. Thank you Kathie for your kind words. I try to be positive and I always have hope that things will get better when not so good but equally am grateful for what I have when things are running well. I will not be defined by my medical conditions at the end of the day - even during difficult times. We all have the propensity to develop these different conditions and a lot of it is predetermined by our genes. My crafting, cooking etc. keeps me engaged and not feeling sorry for myself but allows me to produce something positive and useful in the process. What I call a win win situation. Being allowed to "play" with the cooking, my crafting and gardening etc. gives me a chance to re-charge and to put things in perspective. In the greater scheme of things I am very blessed but I do like to try and share things around a bit. Thank you for reaching out. It has meant a lot. Tricia xx

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  2. Sorry to hear you and your husband have been having a stressful time of things. I hope it's not long before he can get back to his fishing to unwind. Does walking help him at all?

    Glad to hear that you have been stitching - it's so therapeutic, and the big background areas soon fill up when you haven't got to keep changing colours all the time. I look forward to seeing the finished piece.

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    1. Hi BB, told you before its just the depth that varies. He has just been having a difficult time and I just try to keep him going as best as I can. I have been stitching and reading and sleeping. Sometimes I like to work some of the background up to make the colours clearer - my eyesight is not as good as it was and I also need a new crafting light and a new sit up and beg chair/stool. My other one fell top pieces recently but when I am embroidering at my frame it keeps my back inline and I find it comfy to work for sometime like this. I will show the completed panel when it is finished. Hope you are okay. Just take it really steady catch you soon. Tricia xx

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  3. I think you manage amazingly well despite the serious health issues that you both have. Your positive attitude and your many interests - particularly your clever creativity - obviously help you to cope. Give yourself enough time to rest though as you do so much. Keep strong

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    1. Hi Blossom

      Thank you for your kind words. I try and be positive and make as much of the good and the bad as it happens. Sometimes with the "bad" its a lesson to be learned on how not to do things other times a more subtle message is being expressed. The crafting really keeps me sane and because the sort of work I do is very high key I need something of a similar level to bring me right back down to basics. I cannot just sit have to be doing something. Take care and thanks for popping by it is much appreciated. Kind regards. Tricia xx

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