Mental

  Most of us are familiar with Murphy's Law.  It states, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."  I'd like to take a moment the talk about the opposite, Yhprum's Law.  This is the polar opposite. It states,  "Everything that can work, will work."  The following is my personal example of Yhprum's law in my life.     Sometimes God (Life/the Universe for the remainder of this writing I will use God as my choice of word for these things.) gives us a pass.  Most of the time we get a pass on little things that we aren't even aware of but sometimes it is a bigger thing that is causing us stress.  After all, was said and done, we find that we didn't actually need to carry all that stress.  But it's not the same as a free pass.  God rewards the effort you put in, in an unexpected way but relieving way.     This past week, we had our annual housing inspection. We had neglected our cleaning duties for a while....

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."     There have been a lot of changes in my life recently and in the lives of my family.  The biggest one was a long term medical issue that my dad had surgery for and I was there to help with the recovery and respite for my stepmother. She went back home overseas to be with her mother who then passed.  I paid off my car.  My nephew got married and he and his partner are expecting a baby.  And on top of this all, I have had a flood of carving orders, even one for a special auction.     Along with all these personal life changes,  I made the decision to stop attending DBT group.  It's not because I am depressed or that it isn't working for me.  It's a two-fold thing, I found myself in the role of almost co-facilitating the group and I wanted my roommate to be able to attend the group.  This means, to me, that I have grown past the cope of the group and am ready to work on other ar...

"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes,  Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same.  You realize what's changed is you."  F. Scott Fitzgerald         It's been since September that I've written.  Quite a bit has happened in my personal life and with mental health treatment.  My father was hospitalized after surgery and I've been ill for months now. I m working with Vocational Rehabilitation Services to find part-time work. On top of this, I have had yet another change of therapist.  (This is number 5 in less than a year.)  These changes are not by choice, the therapists keep leaving unexpectedly.     Along with these trials and changes has come the return of a deep debilitating depression.  So deep that I cannot even leave my bed.  Fortunately, there is a plan in place to investigate these worsening symptoms and combat them more effectively.  Unfortunately, I...

"Of all the things I've carved and whittled away at to create something special, meaningful, and unique, life hqas been the most precious.  The tools I've used are varied.  Education, imagination, doctors, faith, and inspiration.  The hues and stains; what seals, changes, and protects, are my family, friends, and community.  And from the rough form of my circumstances, my biology, my talents, this beautiful life was  formed." I am a woodworker.  I carve small items and artistic pieces from wood, stone, and bone.  I started carving and creating with my dad when I was young.  By age 6 or 7, I had my own pocket knife and was able to debark sticks and create points which I did frequently.  My dad taught me to use power tools and hand tools to plane, saw, shape, sand, and seal projects of various kinds.  As I got older I made gifts for friends and family and began etching into stones.  As an adult, this hobby and love for carving ...

"Pause.  Breathe.  Repair your universe. Proceed."     It has been a bit since my last post.  The reason for this is a pause.  After my DBT group ended, my therapist moved from the practice.  So far I have been assigned to two other therapists that have also left the practice.  While this could be a source of frustration or depression for me, it has been a practice in wise-mind, in the pause.     One of the major aspects of DBT (Dialectic Behavior Therapy) and mindfulness practice is being able to be comfortable in the pause.  Had someone told me even a year ago that I would be sitting here, calmly writing a blog post about embracing the times of pause, I would have laughed.  I am notorious for chattering, fidgeting, and becoming excessively nervous in any kind of pause.  I fill the pause.  If I don't, nervous energy builds up inside and I become even more socially awkward.  In that moment I feel all att...

"One of the simplest ways to Be Happy is letting go of the things that make you sad."     It's been a while since I last posted here.  Since my last posting, I have had a lot of changes in my personal life.  I stopped DBT group (for now), am driving less, becoming more active and social, I became engaged to my longtime friend, started seeing a new therapist and reduced the frequency of sessions.  The biggest change has been my happiness.       One of the things I have struggled with is holding on to the happy and letting go of the negative.  I have fought to do both over the years.  Sometimes I thought I was not capable of lasting happiness or that I would always live in the depths of depression.  Friends and family have often said, "You have so much going for you, why can't you just be happy?" This was never meant as a put-down but as an honest question to help them understand.  I couldn't a...