[OT] Tips for Coping

"Yowie" wrote in message
...
"Cheryl Perkins" wrote in message
...
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
snip
Saying that you don't like exercise because you don't like gyms is
like
... um
... saying you don't care for food because you don't like
microwave
meals. To
me, anyway. Gyms are a pale shadow of the real deal.

I actually rather like doing stuff at the gym, which I started going
to
about six months ago. I usually make myself do something on a bike
for
20-30 minutes, because it's good for the heart, and then use however
many
machines I feel inclined to or have time for. I tend to emphasize
the
machines that work the arms, because I walk a lot and what with that
and
the stationary bike, I figure my legs are OK.

I used to hate exercise because I associated it with team sports
which I
hate because I don't really care which side wins, and I also don't
have
very good eye-hand coordination and tend to duck if I see a ball
heading
towards me, instead of catching or hitting it. Then I got back into
swimming (I'd learned the basics as a child), aerobics, tai chi and
yoga
(not all at the same time!) which I liked. The gym is more flexible
(no
set class times or lengths!) and my employer pays a good bit of the
cost
of membership at one practically next door to my workplace. So I
decided
to give it a try.

I'd like to try Yoga or Tai Chi, but like almost anythign that seems
to be
"women's interest" stuff, the classes around here are all during the
day.
Then again, by the time I get home from work, I'm already exhausted,
and by
the time dinner is organised and Cary is in bed, all I can do is flop
in
front of a TV or Monitor for an hour or so before I fall into bed. I
don't
know when I'm supposed to find the time to excercise!

Yowie

Or the energy.

Joy

CatNipped wrote:

Baha's recent post inspired this. For those of you who don't want to talk
in person (and that is one of the symptoms of depression - we don't have the
energy to make the effort to get help), I'm putting down here some of the
things to watch for as the early signs of depression (the earlier you catch
it, the easier it is to overcome - and as strange as it may seem, we don't
always recognize it when we begin to feel depressed), and some tips on what
you can do to help yourself get through.

Signs to watch for:


Thanks, Catnipped - I had a friend who suffered from
clinical depression. Although he talked of finding a
"support group", I don't think he ever did. As to finding
everything "too much trouble": Although he'd generally be
ready to attend a concert or whatever (even initiating the
invitation), when he died (of natural causes) his family who
came out here to attend to things discovered that he'd been
living for some time with no hot water, and half the
plumbing disconnected! He'd mentioned to me, one weekend in
August, that his hot water heater was out, and asked if he
could shower at my place, since he didn't want to pay a
plumber at overtime rates on a weekend. I told him "sure",
but when he made the same request a few days later, it
wasn't convenient for me, and I asked him what the plumber
had to say. I forget what he replied, but apparently he
never called one! (Not a matter of not having the money -
he was managing fairly well, financially). I don't know
what bathing arrangements he made, after that - I saw him
several times, he seemed perfectly normal, and certainly
didn't seem to have any grooming issues. However, when he
died November 1st of that year (the night of his 69th
birthday), he had apparently been living in his house since
August, with no attempt to fix a comparatively minor
plumbing problem!

I'm enough aware of his symptom to watch myself. I think my
lack of energy is mostly age-related - I haven't yet found
myself avoiding any activities I'd normally WANT to do, or
putting off necessary appointments, etc. (If I'm tired much
of the time, it's largely because I can't make myself get to
bed at a reasonable hour.) But, with my friend's example
before me, I DO examine my "motives" from time to time. As
you say, one isn't necessarily AWARE of actually being
"depressed", but may still be suffering from "depression"
(in the clinical sense).

Jo Firey wrote:

You cannot know how timely this is for me. I'm going thru a bad spell. A
lot of losses I can't seem to get my head around, poor health, a little help
from some nasty medication and the season have all ganged up on me at once.

I must say I am grateful for and thankful for being older and having been
here before. It was so much harder when I was young and didn't really know
there was light on the other side.

Too true! That's why the incidence of teen-age suicide is
higher than that of older adults - They haven't learned yet
that "all things pass", so things that an older person
accepts and lives through seem major tragedies to them.
(And too many tragedies all at the same time will upset
ANYONE'S sense of balance - it's just that as we grow older
we develop more of a sense of proportion.)

I'll be OK.

Of course you will! Just hang in there, and know that you
have a great many "virtual" friends, here, who will send
purrs and prayers your way.

jmcquown wrote:

Wisecracks or no, you'd be surprised. A friend of mine lives in Spain and
guess what she does every Thursday? Irons sheets. Yes, she irons
bedsheets. Not only is it expected of her, she feels it must be done. She
also irons table cloths, napkins, underwear, t-shirts and jeans.

I'm saying to myself... shake out the jeans and hang them. Fold the
t-shirts. What table cloths and napkins? LOL

Well, that depends - like you, once polyester and "no iron"
fabrics came into being, I threw away my iron! (Had to buy
another when I started sewing, but that's a different story.)

My SIL, on the other hand, actually ENJOYS ironing - she
claims it relaxes her! When she and my brother had a couple
of fast food restaurants (they sold them and retired), she
would launder the employees' uniforms herself, rather than
pay a laundry to destroy them. (The restaurants were doing
well - that was back before "fast food" places felt they had
to compete with "full service" menus - but she enjoyed doing
it, and felt she did a much better job than the commercial
laundry.)

*purrs as well, knowing what that moment feels like when you pick to live or die*

Glad you stayed here, it's nice to meet you.

--Fil

wrote in message
...
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Oh, I don't disagree at all. Gyms suck. Treadmills suck.

I don't like gyms, either, for all the reasons Jeanette listed
(horrible
music, blaring TVs with stupid shows on), but I do like the
treadmill a
lot. I have one in my office at home. It gives me a really good
workout,
and I can control the speed and incline so that it's exactly what I
need
on a given day. I have a small TV and VCR set up in front of the
treadmill,
and I watch movies or taped TV shows while I work out (and
fast-forward
through the commercials).

I think that exercise is highly individual in people's preferences.
As someone who used to be highly sedentary and then lost 35 lbs and
got into exercise, I can honestly say that at this point I can't live
without it anymore. I need to work up a sweat and I need to pick up
heavy objects and put them down again. If I go for 3 or more days
without a workout, I feel terrible, physically and emotionally.

I have an elliptical trainer in front of my TV and I go for 45 min
every other day. It's great for me because I can watch some TV show
that I like and that distracts me. I wear a heart rate monitor to
make sure I keep working hard enough.

I also lift weights. I have my own weight room set up in the spare
bedroom. I like lifting weights at home because I don't have to deal
with other people and can pick my own music. Sometimes I think it
would be nice to go to the gym for a change of scenery but really it
isn't worth it enough over all the benefits I get from having my own
equipment. I lift weights every other day when I'm not on the
elliptical. I love weights sooo much! I can see and feel my muscles
growing and my strength increasing. I can deadlift over 150 lbs and
that makes me feel good. I'm working towards squatting my body
weight.

Getting stronger makes me feel empowered, increases my energy levels
and vitality. Increasing my muscle mass increases my metabolism and
enables me to eat more without gaining weight. It will prevent me
from getting osteoporosis when I'm older.

I can't even begin to fathom my life without weights at this point.
But I am eagerly awaiting the day we move to Australia from Thailand,
where it won't be so absolutely hot and humid 365 days a year. I want
to have the option of going outside for a hike or bike ride or roller
blading. There are so many things I love to do and I feel as though
here I am kind of limited to staying in the house due to the heat.
The more I exercise the more stuff I want to do:-)
--
Britta
Sandpaper kisses, a cuddle and a purr. I have an alarm clock that's
covered in fur!
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2004-12-04, CatNipped penned:

LOL this thread reminds me of an incident that happened at my daughter's 6th
birthday. My best friend and her two girls were in attendance as well as a
number of neighborhood girls, and my mom was there. Someone gave my
daughter a toy iron and ironing board. My daughter looked at it in
puzzlement and asked, "What is this?" Not a single girl child there knew
the answer to her question and I got a dirty look from my mom! ; Ah the
joys of being born into a "permanent press" world!!!

Hugs,

CatNipped


I'm puzzled about why it would occur to someone to give a toy iron for a
present. It's like giving a kid a toy litter box and scoop to play with. I
mean, does anyone find ironing remotely enjoyable? Am I missing something?

Obviously you're all of a younger generation than I! When I
was a child, little girls wanted to be "just like Mommie"
(when most of us had stay-at-home, full-time mothers,
because families could manage nicely just on Daddy's
paycheck). There were all sorts of miniature
non-functional) versions of kitchen appliances (some of them
quite expensive) so little girls could "pretend" to be grown
up. (I seem to remember a toy iron and ironing board, BTW -
and "using" them with doll-clothes.)

The world has changed a lot, during my lifetime! Now women
have genuine "careers" outside the home - they aren't just
stuck in low-paying jobs to bring in a little extra needed
cash. (And the same work pays a woman as much as a man -
almost.)

Seanette Blaylock wrote:

"Yowie" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:


Who doens't even know where her iron is or even if I still have one.


I know where mine is, but don't anticipate using it for anything
except finished needlework projects any time soon. :-)

Yeah, that's what prompted my to buy another one - even if
you never iron the finished garment, when you're making one
it helps to press the seams as you go along!

"Seanette Blaylock" wrote in
message ...
"Yowie" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

I find knitting & crochet very relaxing, too. Its just like fidgetting,
but
after a while you get something nifty, creative and unique for you
troubles.
Not that my jumpers ever fit, but thats beside the point...

Do you check your gauge before you start? I usually have to adjust
needle size to get the correct number of stitches and rows to the inch
[I knit/crochet rather tightly].

Now why would I want to do something as logical and sensible as that? That
would spoil the whole surprise of how the garment eventually turns out :-)

Yowie
(Who knits loosely, but not as loose as my mother. Dunno about crocheting,
haven't got further than making queen-sized bed granny squares, but the
giant granny square look nice and serve as a blanket in its own right)

Yoj wrote:

I don't even own an iron or an ironing board. At one point, my son had
a job where he had to wear ironed shirts, so I gave him my iron and
board. He doesn't iron any more, though.

When I got married, many men's shirts still required
ironing. One of my ex's few redeeming qualities was that
his mother had taught him to iron his own shirts - largely
because he'd always insist upon wearing one that she hadn't
yet ironed. (I saw no reason at all to change that
arrangement when I married him.) ;-)