Journaling for Health

I started journaling a few days ago. I did not really know exactly what I was going to write in my journal except that it had to be about me. Journaling is sort of an odd idea to me, and I have resisted doing it even though I had read it is helpful with depression. I guess I have not wanted to write to myself, to face what's going on inside, and finally let go. 

Yet contrary to my thoughts about it, I have been enjoying writing to myself and want to continue. :) I think it can really help me to look more clearly at myself.  The other day I started writing about feeling like I am not being listened to, but by the end of the time I was writing, I saw that I was really upset about not being listened to by myself. 

It came through in the writing that I am really not upset at others for not listening to me; what was really pissing me off was that I do not listen to me.

Example:  I say I want to diet to lose weight, yet then I go and eat what ever I feel like. Well, there are many reasons that I want to be at a lower weight, like fitting back into many of my clothes, feeling sexier, feeling confident and strong. The writing helped me to see something important to me fighting depression. Because every time I decide to not listen to my own desires to be at a lower weight and eat, I do not like myself thus furthering, or feeding, my depression. 

This is making me want to look for other aspects of my life that are feeding the depression. so I will put in the effort to journal. I do want to beat depression and this could help.:)

Do you journal? What has it done for you?

Getting to Why I Started This

     

    So when I started this blog, I had intended to use it to help me get to living, instead of constantly running around just trying to keep up with life. But I have not wanted to see and deal with why I am constantly running. I have been suffering from depression since I was 8 and still do.  I have been so resistant to accepting this because I have felt this way for so long that it just seems normal, like it's just me. That, I have learned, is called dysthymia; one who suffers from chronic low levels of depression for so long that they think it is actually an aspect of their personality.

      But the issue has been and still continues to be a difficult aspect of this. I have acted this way for almost as long as I can remember and  now, I get very angry and defensive about aspects of depression that I think are "just me," such as liking to sleep a lot.

     It is hard for me to see myself as chronically depressed because I have a full time job where I am fairly successful and am a leader. Each day, I accomplish many things. In other words, I don't sit around all day unable to function, which is how I have always viewed depressed people.

      Yet if I look at a list of signs of depression, I exhibit all of them to some degree or another.  My husband has let me know our whole relationship that there has always been something below the surface, an unhappiness and unwillingness to want to go out and experience new things.

   Honestly, I am terrified of this diagnosis. I do not like the term "mental illness" and would rather run away from it all. But I am going to loose everything soon if I don't deal with it.

My Sporadic Habits

Well I think that if you come to my blog to read what is going on, you might notice that I am very sporadic in my posting and a little bit manic, too. Sometimes I have posted many things in a row and then other times, I post nothing. Aaaahhh the story of my life. I really lack a passion for living and the things I choose to do in my life. Yes, I do stuff like paint, sew, garden, read, etc, but none with a passion. I do not even treat my relationship with my husband with passion. I mean I do love him, but I am not really obviously passionate towards him. I love to paint but ask when I painted last and I could not tell you. It seems as though I am really trying to get through each day best I can but without any real attention to long term goals or plans. Once again, this way of living is showing it is a threat to my marriage.

Do you look around sometimes and think, "What the hell happened here? How is it I find myself with this life?"  Yeah well once again, here I am, not being able/willing to see the reality that is my life.  I find it weird that I am an intelligent person with a good career but acting in ways that are counter productive to what I think are my end goals, i.e. happily married, and personally fulfilled by successfully obtaining my own needs.

This internal angst has plagued me since 8 and yet I am unwilling to free myself from it. Oh, I will do it damn it!!! I have not come this far to fail at my life. Fuck that!!! (Pardon the f-bomb)

Hope you all are doing well out there. Remember, you have to meet your needs before you can even think of meeting anyone else's. (No, I have not succeeded in this yet, but it is good advice given to me by someone I love and trust. )

Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No I Did Not Fall Off the Planet ... Helloooo!

Well, it has been quite a while since I have written a post so I thought it was about time I got to it. I hope everyone is doing well, and thank you for coming back to check in with me.

The last 2 months have been full of physical therapy and getting back to work. My leg is progressing slowly but surely, and I am now walking with either one crutch or my four prong cane. I can even walk a bit without any aid; not too far, but some and that rocks!!

I went back to work in the beginning of January and am doing pretty well. It has been tiring but worth it!! It is great to be around people and be able to talk to people all day long. It is amazing how much being alone showed me that I like being around people, even with all their quirks and problems. :)

My last x-ray taken at the end of December (below) actually shows some change. It is the first one taken since I broke my leg (Sept. 1) that I could actually see a difference, which has been encouraging. I go this week to have another x-ray taken and am really excited to see how things are progressing.

Through out this experience, I find that I am still challenged by my fixed mindset and setting limitations upon myself. There has been some areas where I have been able to push my self and some areas where I am not. Yet after practicing a certain way of thinking and acting for so long, I do not always see what others can and am thankful I have my husband on my side to point out what I have chosen to be blind to. My goal is to, at some point, be able (or willing) to self-reflect well enough to not need his help. I will get there!!

Alrighty then people, hope you are taking care of yourself and enjoying life!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG HUGS!!!!

A New Leg Update 11-22-13

Hello people. :) I wanted to give you an update on how things are going with my leg. I am so happy to report that I was given the okay to start physical therapy about three weeks ago. I have been 6 times and although it is no walk in the park, I love it! I also do the therapy work 2x's a day at home. Last week, I started walking with my crutches. That felt so weird after not walking for so long. It almost felt wrong, but after practicing, it fells right again. My leg is weak and felt like a bambi leg when I started but that too is getting stronger.  Yesterday, my surgeon told me I could get a cane. Woohoooo!!

In the last post, I showed you an x-ray from before I got surgery. The following are more x-rays of the progress that my leg has been making.

 October 14

 October 14

 October 31

October 31

It hard for me to see much difference from Oct. 14 to Oct. 31., but the surgeon saw enough of a difference to let me start therapy so woohoo!!  Now I am working on getting my leg strong enough to use only the cane. I get another x-ray in three weeks, and I am excited to see what that will show. :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. I hope you are all well and in good spirits. 

Giant Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I Am Alive :)

Hello everyone! Thank you to all of you who have been checking back with my blog even though I haven't posted in so long. :) It is about time I let you all know what has been happening. I thought pictures would help me to update you.

 So here I am at the hospital the night I fell. My leg doesn't look that bed, huh? I swear I thought I had dislocated my knee. But no, I shattered my tibia at the top of the bone right under my knee. If you look at the x-ray closely, you can see I broke the tibia is about 4 or 5 places.

After having x-rays, the doctor said I needed surgery and after a bit, he set me up to stay the night in the hospital and have surgery the next morning. I was so happy he helped me to get the hospital room and surgeon so quickly, especially because the next day was Labor Day. He wrapped me up and set me to bed. 

The next day I had surgery in the morning, which was the first surgery I had ever had and I was scared. I hadn't cried at all before the surgery but right before, I was really scared and was crying. But after a couple of hours in surgery, I came out fixed and just fine. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days on a bunch of morphine (my first time I have ever had that) and then went home. Luckily, my insurance provided me a hospital bed, crutches, and a wheelchair. So I came home and rested a lot the first couple of weeks. My whole leg and foot were really swollen and bruised for a while. 

I have been out of work for 2 months now and will have to be out for another 2 months and that is hard. I miss working and people. I has been quite a journey so far. For a while, I had a nurse coming to my house to check on me, my bandage was changed several time, I had my staples taken out (all 30 of them, yes 30), and am almost ready to start physical therapy.

Leg with staples

Leg after staples came out

My leg today

Alrighty so that's a short review of what's happened over the last 2 months. I will post more about all of this soon. Thanks to all of you for visiting again. I promise to not let so long go by between posts. This all has been a very emotional experience and I let all those feelings get in the way of sharing. I will share that aspect of this experience too. 

I hope you are all well and in good spirits!! Giant hugs!!!!

Left Turn From Life

Sunday I fell while out dove hunting and hurt myself pretty bad. I shattered the top section of my tibia and had surgery on Monday morning. I am 2 days into being home and have spent every moment healing and figuring out how to negotiate my house with a wheel chair and crutches.

I am still in pain and will be for quite awhile but I wanted to say hi and I am still here. If you want to read the whole story of what happened, go to the following post at my wife's website.

http://www.unordinarystyle.com/2013/09/can-i-get-some-worldwide-support-for-my.html?m=0

Hugs to All!!!