One good thing

[RunningKnitter]

That's great uni.

[AJ]

Our house backs on to a nature reserve. Bella & I go exploring there almost every day. It is so peaceful and certainly helps to get grounded.

[uni]

Great to hear from you AJ. It sounds like you and Bella have a good thing going with the nature reserve!

There's an urban walking trail just a block away from me. It runs along a drainage ditch I call "Cattail Creek" and I walk there often. Currently there's at least one pair of ducks making their home among the cattails. And a couple of actual cats are frequent visitors.

One good thing in the last 24 hours: I spent nearly an hour walking on the trail, making a bigger loop than usual. My body and mind thanked me.

[AJ]

Sorry for the delay Uni. Life's been rather unsettled lately.

Your description of the place you walk sounds so peaceful. The benefit you get from doing so is definitely a good thing!

[uni]

Hi AJ. It's always good to hear from you, whether delayed or not

I haven't been on the forum much lately. Too many irons in other fires, some of which have involved learning DBT skills, and some of which have involved practical things needing attention, and other things where life has been giving me a few lemons, plus the odd glass of lemonade.

I hope things are a bit more settled for you these days. I wish you all the best with whatever's happening in your world. Take care, you are precious.

[AJ]

Thanks Uni! Sorry for my late reply. I haven't been on the forums for a long time. We could start our own lemonade stand. I am slowly finding my way thru the muck of things.

You've always had a great set of tools in your toolbox. I hope life's challenges have been less difficult for you since your last post.

[uni]

Today's good thing is I made it onto this forum to post!

My days seem to alternate between quite busy and quite tired. I like being busy, but not tired. However, I've managed -- with help from others, and using some trusted skills and tricks, plus a few new ones -- to stay more or less sane, and for that I am really grateful.

There is a lot more I could say, but one of the things keeping me busy is that I'm writing a lot. By doing that elsewhere I'm less likely to do it here. In any case, I'm glad to see the forum still available. It has been one of the things that has helped keep me afloat many times in the past, and I don't forget that, or the people here

[uni]

One good thing today is I was able to reach my psychiatrist's nurse by telephone and speak with her directly. I am now in line to get an appointment sooner than I would have otherwise.

My mood has been rather low lately, and I'm having trouble getting myself out of bed in the mornings. I'd like to adjust my medication but am reluctant to do so without the doctor's input, and am not slated to see him until May. At my last appointment, which was in the fall, I met his new nurse and she made a point of giving me the phone number that connects directly to their office. This way I don't have to go through the whole song and dance of dealing with the public intake phone line. So that is, for me, one less hassle, and definitely a good thing.

I suppose in all of this is the message that once in a while something goes your way when you least expect it, and for that I am grateful. I want to be clear that I'm not in crisis or even doing terribly badly, it's more a case of this icky low mood hanging on a bit too long for comfort. It will either lift soon without intervention, as often happens, or I'll get an appointment before long.

Meanwhile, I believe it never hurts to share this stuff on the forum. I know this isn't exactly an uplifting post given the "good thing" topic, but truly to me this whole direct line to the psychiatrist's nurse rather than dealing with a complicated intake system is something to celebrate

[uni]

Today's good thing is there's a new mental health related in-person support group trying to get going in my city. It's purely peer run. Given the lack of group supports from the health region, I'm hoping this will fill part of the gap. Time will tell.

[Paul57]

uni, best of luck…

[uni]

Thanks Paul57. The group is still trying to find its feet but is running twice a month and I attend when I can.

Today's good thing is I have a working air conditioner, because we are in a heat wave