How Things Are

hi Guys

Thank you so much

Torrent wrote:Cracked, sorry i won't be of much help. but i'm thinking of you and praying for you.

umm..i don't know have you tried yoga? but i heard its really relaxing, good for mental and physical, it will reset your mind back to its natural state. calm n focus. and it can decrease the stress you're having.

or, you can get a massage since you've been very tired of tidying.

anyway i believe it will pass. good luck for you.

Thank you so much Torrent - that is really helpful. I have a poster of yoga positions in my living room which I used to do a little, perhaps I should go back to it- not done it for years. Thank you very much for your good wishes <3

invicta wrote:Glad I could help!

I think I'll try the colouring books myself, sounds like something I'd enjoy. Thanks!

I'm sure you'll do just fine! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

The colouring in books are super fun Going to dig them out in a bit - I keep finding Things To Do.

karmatib wrote:Could i suggest mindfulness meditation without sounding like a crunchy hippy? I have had great success with it and it is as simple as sitting for a half an hour a day in a quiet comfortable spot and focusing on your breath as it comes in and out through your nose. when a thought comes up, just make note that you noticed it (non-judgementally, its okay that you lost focus on the breath. that's how the mind works)then return to focusing on the breath. It takes some practice and it wont happen over night but you will start to learn to catch yourself before you go full mania. its almost like it primes your brain to focus on the actuality of things instead of letting your mind take control. A great book on the subject is called "mindfulness in plain english"
Also look into a person named Jon Kabat-Zinn. He was one of the forerunners in proving the science behind mindfullness meditation and has a center for stress reduction at the university of Massachusetts. heres a video of him speaking to an audience at Google. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc

Also through MRI's it has been shown that meditation physically changes the brain. im not a doctor but here is a good article explaining what happens.
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2 ... ter-brain/

Can you tell im trying to separate myself from the woo-woo spiritual mumbo-jumbo that is usually thought of when someone says meditation?
Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for your advice and the information. I am a little familiar with mindfulness from some elf help stuff I have done with DBT in the past but not very. I used to meditate when doing my A levels but have not for many many years. I think I will seriously look into this as I have found it helpful in the past - it is just the focus that I think will be tough atm but I will give it a go. Now the house is tidier I think that it will be easier to find a good place to do this as well. Thank you.

Oliveira wrote:Actually... I'd suggest tidying/cleaning but you're already doing it So I guess other suggestions have to do.

Also, hugs.

Hehe - I am the QUEEN of cleaning Thank you honey. And hugs to you too <3

I have had to start some meds for my asthma which tend to elevate my mood on top of everything else (just back from Dr) so I need to seriously try to keep an eye on things

Huge hugs to you all

Cracked

my pleasure Cracked. keep us updated on any news hugs.

Hi Cracked,

I'm sorry to hear the stress is sending your mood upwards... It's definitely understandable though, as moving is up there amongst the most stressful life events. I can relate to being over-stressed and busy tipping you into mania though- in fact my last manic episode was triggered by a stressful job abroad.

You've already had some really good advice of how to try to bring your mood back in line. I have a couple of suggestions to add:

-Talking to someone about your worries might help with the stress you're feeling. If you can, you could equally talk to a close friend or relative as well as a therapist.

-You say you've not been sleeping a lot... As well as this being a symptom of the (hypo)mania, I'm sure you're aware it can be a vicious circle. Often I've been too manic to sleep at all, but even forcing myself to close my eyes and rest can bring me down temporarily.

-As Invicta suggested, exercise can be very cathartic, I think (especially cardio which is a rhythmic action, like brisk walking or swimming).

-Last time I was manic I did lots of writing and painting. As well as it being a sign of the mania itself, it helped me release some of that energy.

-karmatib made a good suggestion with the mindfulness meditation. I personally use guided meditations on CD or ones I find free online on youtube, and having the voice to guide helps me focus and switch off a bit.

I hope you're feeling more stable again soon, through whatever means, and that these suggestions help a bit. I know you don't want to resort to meds right now, but I've found prevention is better than cure, so don't be afraid to step in with a medication change if needed. Take care of yourself.

Hi Cracked.

I don't have anything of substance to add to all the great advice already given. Just wanted to say we're thinking of you and be well.

Hi, Cracked! I was thinking about you earlier and noticed you were quiet. Glad to know you are still grounded for the most part. It sounds like you have a ton of stuff going on right now. I agree with invicta (I think it was invicta...?) about the weight lifting thing - it does wonders for mood! I love throwing heavy weights when I am angry/happy/sad/whatever. You really should try that at some point. However...

My humble advice to you at the moment would simply be to find some "me time" every day for a little while. Even when you are busy and you have things to do, find some time when you can be alone and do, well, whatever it is that your heart desires. Read, color, do puzzles, listen to music you love, create something, etc. (just don't do everything at one time! lol) The point of this is so you can de-stress a little, de-compress your brain a little and just let go of all the thoughts swirling about for a bit. It helps maintain the calm. Once upon a time I would have thought this advice was inane but I have learned that it really does help.

Good luck with the selling and moving. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

And for goodness' sake, get finished and get your butt back to the forum! It's just not much fun wreaking havoc all alone.

Thank you all so much for all your support and advice - I truly appreciate it <3

Torrent wrote:my pleasure Cracked. keep us updated on any news hugs.

Thank you - i will do

l'ennui wrote:Hi Cracked,

I'm sorry to hear the stress is sending your mood upwards... It's definitely understandable though, as moving is up there amongst the most stressful life events. I can relate to being over-stressed and busy tipping you into mania though- in fact my last manic episode was triggered by a stressful job abroad.

You've already had some really good advice of how to try to bring your mood back in line. I have a couple of suggestions to add:

-Talking to someone about your worries might help with the stress you're feeling. If you can, you could equally talk to a close friend or relative as well as a therapist.

-You say you've not been sleeping a lot... As well as this being a symptom of the (hypo)mania, I'm sure you're aware it can be a vicious circle. Often I've been too manic to sleep at all, but even forcing myself to close my eyes and rest can bring me down temporarily.

-As Invicta suggested, exercise can be very cathartic, I think (especially cardio which is a rhythmic action, like brisk walking or swimming).

-Last time I was manic I did lots of writing and painting. As well as it being a sign of the mania itself, it helped me release some of that energy.

-karmatib made a good suggestion with the mindfulness meditation. I personally use guided meditations on CD or ones I find free online on youtube, and having the voice to guide helps me focus and switch off a bit.

I hope you're feeling more stable again soon, through whatever means, and that these suggestions help a bit. I know you don't want to resort to meds right now, but I've found prevention is better than cure, so don't be afraid to step in with a medication change if needed. Take care of yourself.

Thank you so much for all of the advice - those are great tips and really helpful. I will keep in mind a med change if needed - might be better to do that and get stable rather than not and get worse. Hopefully all the tips I have will help tho and things will settle. Thank you so much for your help, support and advice

Exiled. wrote:Hi Cracked.

I don't have anything of substance to add to all the great advice already given. Just wanted to say we're thinking of you and be well.

Thank you Exiled. I really appreciate it

hummingbird08 wrote:Hi, Cracked! I was thinking about you earlier and noticed you were quiet. Glad to know you are still grounded for the most part. It sounds like you have a ton of stuff going on right now. I agree with invicta (I think it was invicta...?) about the weight lifting thing - it does wonders for mood! I love throwing heavy weights when I am angry/happy/sad/whatever. You really should try that at some point. However...

My humble advice to you at the moment would simply be to find some "me time" every day for a little while. Even when you are busy and you have things to do, find some time when you can be alone and do, well, whatever it is that your heart desires. Read, color, do puzzles, listen to music you love, create something, etc. (just don't do everything at one time! lol) The point of this is so you can de-stress a little, de-compress your brain a little and just let go of all the thoughts swirling about for a bit. It helps maintain the calm. Once upon a time I would have thought this advice was inane but I have learned that it really does help.

Good luck with the selling and moving. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

And for goodness' sake, get finished and get your butt back to the forum! It's just not much fun wreaking havoc all alone.

I will give the weights a go then Thank you both for the suggestion ANd thank you for the advice re me time - that is a good idea if I can get time to do it - I will make time And I am back to help wreak havoc now

Thank you all so much

Huge hugs

Cracked

CrackedGirl wrote: And I am back to help wreak havoc now

Yayyy!! *Snoopy Dance!*

^^

Hugs

Cracked

I used to put my headphones on and listen to soothing music to sort of "rock me to sleep" It helped and I could sleep. I would even sleep with the headphones one or it would wake me up if I took them off. I was stressed out for the same reasons, moving and selling and buying a house. Wishing you well.

Classical music helps me - I love Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto in C minor as well as Hanson's Romantic Symphony.