Weekly Prompt #27: How are you feeling today?
Welcome back, group! I hope you are all being easy on yourself this week.
Last week we discussed: Think about a metaphor that represents your experience with depression in 2023. Thank you to all who participated and shared their thoughts and questions for discussion. They were thought-provoking questions and thoughts. I hope you all did too. If you didn't share yours, please share them here and I look forward to reading and discussing them with you
This week's prompt: How are you feeling today? Take a moment to reflect on your emotions and permit yourself to experience them fully.
Please know all thoughts and experiences are valid so no matter how small or big it seems, do share with us and we will discuss our thoughts on it together.
To be honest? I have been so bad. I've been angry and hurt and lost and hopeless. I just feel surrounded by darkness. Unsafe.
@SleepyPersonForever
I'm sorry to hear about how you feeling today. I hope things get better soon and these dark night be overpowered by the beautiful sunny mornings.
Thank you ❤️
@SleepyPersonForever gives sleepy a giant tiny hug ❤ I love you ❤
Thank you ❤️ Hugs you back, I definately needed the hug
@SleepyPersonForever poor sleepy. Wraps you up in a cosy blanket and cuddles you up ❤❤ hey if you need to cheer up, look at a photo of your smilling child ❤❤ your little angel, and reason to not give up ❤ and I'll just keep hugging you ❤
Thank you for that reminder Tiny. And thank you for being you. Your words mean a lot
@SleepyPersonForever I understand this is a difficult time filled with many heavy emotions. Feeling angry, hurt, lost and hopeless surrounded by darkness can make anyone feel unsafe. What matters most that you made it through another day. What thoughts you have found comfort in during this challenging period?
I've found comfort in the presence my Friend are. Just knowing I'm not alone. They help me see some light when I can't myself.
@SleepyPersonForever It is heartwarming to have people who care about our well-being and lift us up during challenging times. Their caring sounds like a true blessing.
Yes, I am very grateful for them.
@ASilentObserver ok I'm not great at understanding my feelings/emotions but I am very worried and I think anxious. My baby bunny gizmo, has become very aggressive and teritorial. He's 7 months old and now a teenager, so today he's gone to get neutered. It's a simple operation apparently, but I'm still worried about him. I want him to be home already, but the vet said she will ring my carer to pick him up in 3 or 4 hours. I love that cute little aggressive fluff ball😁❤
oh also the most terrible thing ever has happened 😱😱 yep! I've lost my voice 😲 I am now officially a tiny whisper 😥
I hope they'll call you soon, I'm sure he will be okay. Try to distract yourself untill they call maybe. That always helps me in moments where you just have to wait. And youll get to pet the cute fluffball again soon. <3
Lets hope you'll get your voice back soon too.
@SleepyPersonForever im sure he'll be fine, yep just distracting myself in here for a little while ❤ thanks sleepy ❤
@ASilentObserver Not good. Feel ztrezzed and very tired and upzet, but im managing. I plan to juzt get through the day zo i can go home and nap.
@Twigo7 It sounds like you are feeling quite stressed and tired today. Reflecting on how drained yet determined you feel to get through the day. You have strength in your plan to rest afterwards - taking good care of yourself during challenging times is so important. What aspects have you feeling most worn down or what's weighing on you most heavily right now?
@ASilentObserver Im currently in a pzychotic epizode which iz making thiongz very hard but im getting help form my bf to help regulate me and my headmatez az all
Feeling better than past days, thank you for asking. I hope everyone who is struggling finds the answer they are looking for. It's not an easy task for most of people, but there is a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel, follow your heart with everything that you do in your life. You will make mistakes along the way, but no matter how bad that mistake may be just know that the rest of us around you are not perfect. If you ever feel as though you are alone in this battle just know that I am rooting for you to win.
@DanDrisco Thank you for sharing your kind words of encouragement. It is wonderful that you find the light at the end of the tunnel and follow your heart. You are right that none of us are perfect, and having support from others makes facing life's difficulties feel less lonely. What helps you continue moving forward during challenging times?
Well, after almost 4 years of self reflection, instead of being angry towards the outside world I decided to instead point the finger at myself. I was angry at bad habits I seen others partaking in, a prime example would be Philadelphia and their growing drug problems. I never touched the hard drugs but I did dabble in marijuana, which I picked up after quitting being an alcoholic. I felt it was the distraction that I needed to fill that demon I ran from all this time, only to find out in the long run that I was only replacing one with the other. So I decided one day to buy a book that I truly felt I was meant to read.
Along the way of searching everywhere on this earth for happiness or greed for happiness I discovered some truths that destroyed me from the inside out but in my opinion it is necessary in order to fully transform myself into who I was destined to be. The change for all of us is not easy and anyone that tells you otherwise is lying or will never understand because they never experienced any sort of mishap.
The outside of your world is not trying to be harsh on you. They are merely warnings or some sort of encouragement for you to step back and REALLY look at the big picture.
"What you see is what you get"
"Be the change in the world that you want to see"
" when man cannot find meaning, he distracts himself with pleasure"
We must not get distracted.❤️
@DanDrisco Thank you for sharing your personal journey of self-reflection and growth. It takes courage to look deeply within and make changes that transform us into our best selves. You mentioned discovering truths that were difficult but necessary. I am glad to hear you found meaning through overcoming distractions. Continuing to learn from life's lessons with compassion for self and others seems to serve you well.
I'm feeling meh... im Bipolar 2 and in a depressive state it's just so hard sometimes to keep positive and to keep going..literally one foot in front of thr other
How are you feeling today?
It's been an okay day. I had a group meeting this morning in which we read a chapter in a book on panic attacks and anxiety. I don't have panic attacks, but some of the other people there do have them.
Take a moment to reflect on your emotions and permit yourself to experience them fully.
@WharfRat It sounds like today's group meeting brought up various emotions as you learned about panic attacks and anxiety. Reflecting on our feelings can help us gain insight. What aspects of the discussion especially stood out for you?
@ASilentObserver
We had read through that chapter at least once before, so I remembered it. There were some specific examples of people with phobias who were able to overcome their fears. One woman had a fear of riding the bus. Another women had a fear of driving. A man had a fear of flying. They all now do the things that they had been unable to do for years.
@ASilentObserver Here it's pretty good. I have had my blood drawn today, and I have been at the meeting place to meet with the staff and the other people coming there, so that was nice. My Servicedog in training is becoming better and better at tackling stuff like that, and he has become a very good boy though his training hasn't been finished and he isn't certified yet.
He has been having some trouble with barking (nobody really knows why he has been doing it, but after I had him chemically neuted he became a more barking dog, and my trainer's "guess" is that he became nervous and had lost his confidence from not having testosterone in his body anymore), but that seems to have become a lot better over just the last week!
I am really looking forward to the effect of the chemical neutering to completely disappear, so my servicedog is "back to normal" and ready to become a certified servicedog.
@TheMadHatterWasHere
I am glad to hear you are feeling pretty good today and that your service dog in training is making progress. It sounds like meeting with the staff and others was a positive experience. His improving behavior at tackling new situations shows how his training is benefiting you both. His barking must have been concerning, but it is good to hear it's lessening now. His neutering may have caused some temporary changes, and it is understandable to hope the effects fully disappear soon.
@ASilentObserver
thank you for your questions. I started school and academy this week. I am a bit stress out especially because I am traveling this week for work. I can’t wait to get home and be in my little comfort zone again.
I had a weird mental health day today, I think in part because I dropped a depression medication, with the okay from my doctor but I am about to get back on it, I was of the mindset it wasn't doing much good for me, and my doc agreed so we decided to first try one more med, but that was giving me headaches and dizzyness, so a few days ago i talked to the nurse who said it was fine to get off of. Bringing me to today.
I was busy today, and masking my stress levels, I was on my normal anxiety meds, but the back and forth driving I did today from one store to my house, to another store and back to my house to back to the grocery store, really pushed me over the edge I think, well it must have. I normally do not make more than two trips away from home a day. I was not organized today and the one trip that messed me up was going to the hardware store. But what broke me was my last trip to the grocery store.
I saw an elderly woman whos' hair style looked just like my moms, who passed last year, so that triggered me, then my mood and thoughts quickly shifted to anger and paranoia, i started thinking about a what if situation, and it was just nonsensical , like what would I do if I had a break down again and started daring the police to taze me, and this is while I was shopping, I could feel my hands clinch, and face start to clinch in anger, and had to rush out the store, while the thoughts/ story in my head kept playing, till i managed to tune it all out and put on the radio. But soon as I got home, i just broke down in tears, and i felt so so manic, and I wanted so bad for someone to come take me away, and i kept telling myself nope cant call anyone, i gotta ride it out. better to be home and suffer than locked up in a hospital for two nights and be uncomfortable on top of manic from just being locked up again on top of trying to come down off of whatever triggered me.
I took my emergency back up anxiety medication as prescribed, and that did trick, plus a swig of booze for good measure which i shouldn't of done but whatever.
20 min later the booze and the medication did their trick and i crashed in bed for an hour.
feeling very relaxed when i got up, until I realized i am still at home in the same mess, that I just fought off a bad episode for a little while longer and hopefully it wont hit again any time soon.
now that I am finishing this, I realize I have to go back to my doctor tomorrow and just throw the dice at getting seen, at most i can be seen by the nurse.
I just have to remember to stay calm, and not bust into tears, and use grounding techniques etc if I go.
@TheBestScreenName I am sorry to hear you've had such a difficult day. It sounds like all the running around really took its toll on you both physically and emotionally. Reflecting on how your thoughts shifted so quickly and the intense emotions you experienced must have been frightening. Your strength in recognizing when you needed emergency medication and finding ways to calm yourself like putting on the radio shows incredible courage during such a difficult time. I am glad you're planning to see your doctor tomorrow to get further support. You have got this. Please remember to be gentle with yourself as you move forward.
