mental health

Health, Work, Getting Back to Joy

by CZeitler

If you are just here for the crafting content then skip down to ******************.

My mental health and work are both fine for now. I took the bull by the horns and spoke to my big boss and she assured me that she has seen a difference in my behavior, she appreciates that I have taken steps, and at present I do not feel like my job is immediate risk. I still need to do work to get the trust back, however, this medication is helping me a great deal so I feel that it is in achievable task. My physical health is much better, I am still taking it easy this week and I have taken time off in a couple of weeks, I already had it planned, so that I can have some fun. My primary doctor is moving, however I am not very happy with her anyway so I am not considering that a loss. She ignored my requests instead of simply explaining to me that the Diabetes medicine I wanted will not count against my deductible. So now I am almost out of medication and have not heard from the pharmacy yet, so I have to call them on Monday so they can bug my doctor. Yay.

Yesterday I had my MRI, I do not recommend having a wrist MRI if you can avoid it. The technician was amazing, and I did treat myself to Barnes and Noble afterwards and a lovely Chinese Buffet.

I am doing everything that I can to take plenty of time for myself, reminding myself that I am not an extrovert so judging my activity level against extroverts is not fair to me. I need to protect at least one day a week for me to completely decompress. I enjoy Asian foods that I can just throw into the steamer, if I have to go to Buffalo or Erie for that once a month then that might be what I have to do.

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As I am typing this, though I will not post this until Sunday, I am listening to a wonderful presentation through Lesson Face, provided by MAFA, about weaving chenille for chenille rugs. I am loving this presentation and hope to use up some of the scraps I was gifted with and haven’t known what to do with them.

I am making progress on the Christmas Presents (Yes I know it’s almost March but with a messed up wrist and understanding that I was experiencing depression I think I’m doing alright). I am also working on another secret project, I was sent a kit that I am testing out for a company. If I can post about this in the future I will. I was given a bare two weeks deadline so I hope to make progress on that this weekend.

Oh, I do have a Block of the Month project that I have received all of the kits for and I haven’t even cut one apart yet. I finally pulled them all out of their mailers and I am going to start to cut the pieces that I need for the first set pretty soon.

I still do not have the heddles threaded on my 16 shaft loom, it has been a rotten month so far. March will look up.

The Winter project for Jamestown Weaver’s Guild was to weave a plaid. I did a chart on the website given and warped up for some bookmarks. My first plain weave plaid bookmark is almost finished, then I plan on making some fringe spacing before I start working on a straight twill bookmark. After I have the two samples made I might mess around with an undulating twill.

Okay, health is improving, work is not a panic, I’m regaining interest in projects, I am letting myself find joy in projects again. I have three things going on, only one that I can share pictures of, oops. In March I will be teaching a class on how to make Scissor Fob’s at the Quilt Guild, which should be a fun learning experience for everyone. Then during the summer I will be teaching the Scissor Fobs as well as Needle Tatting to the Jamestown Weaver’s Guild. My other Weaving guild knows what I am capable of, so I do not know what they would like me to teach this year. I am, honestly, hoping for some pay so that I can put it back for future learning opportunities.

Until next time remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

February Stinks – No Crafting Content, Mental Health Content

by CZeitler

Honestly, I have had a really rotten three weeks. A single phrase in an e-mail that I did not recognize as aggressive led to a meeting. That meeting led to me feeling cornered, feeling cornered led to me snapping at the big boss. Whoops. I had an emergency meeting with my psychiatrist, who told me he saw this coming, which resulted in my being put on a mild anti-depressant. I feel as though I am on a more even keel because the anti-depressant actually helped a lot with the anxiety I knew I was feeling, I was unaware of how much anxiety I was feeling however. This week is 2 weeks after the precipitating event, I am not sure if the big boss is satisfied with my progress. Of course, now at two weeks out I have come down with a cold that I am trying to stop developing into an upper respiratory infection, as colds tend to do.

Things that I have learned:

Anti-Depressants = Anti-Anxiety medications. If you are anxious then stressful situations make that worse which means that your reactions tend to be out of proportion.

Taking a day where I don’t worry about being productive, doing the dishes, or anything really is my form of self care. So is crafting, but I need to be in a better place to feel up to crafting.

I am sure that there are more lessons in there, probably one about taking Dayquil when you know that it doesn’t react well with Diabetes and High Blood Pressure, but I’m willfully ignoring that one until I get through work. (I’m taking less than half of a regular dose and will not take any for the next two days. If my symptoms are manageable by time I need to get back to work I’ll stop altogether.)

Until next time, do a craft for me, and Live Life a Little More Abstract.