[OT] Tips for Coping

On 2004-12-04, Seanette Blaylock penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" had some very interesting things
to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

Hey, it's all about the options. Forcing women to go for a career is no
better than forcing them into traditional roles. I'll admit that I don't
understand the lure of maintaining hearth and home

I'm the domestic type myself.

Just as long as you don't fall down laughing when you see me try to cook, or
fold laundry, or, well, do just about anything around the house.

--
monique, caretaker of Oscar

On 2004-12-04, Marina penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
I definitely think that physical health and fitness are strongly tied to
emotional and mental well-being.

That seems to be what healthy people think in general. A number of health
care professionals have pretty much told me I *have* to be depressed, what
with all my health problems, and have tried to force me to get therapy. I
don't know how to make them understand that my illnesses do not depress me.
I'd have to take myself and life much more seriously to let them get me
down.

Well, I can only judge based on my own experiences. For me, consistent,
strenuous workouts have huge benefits psychologically. If I fall out of that
routine, I always become more irritable, less confident, and more prone to
brooding than I was when I was working out. That, inevitably, leads to me
being less inclined to work out, and so it goes in a vicious cycle.

I'll admit that I've never had an ongoing health issue that prevented me from
working out. I imagine it would be really hard for me to cope; it's wonderful
that you have such a great attitude.

--
monique, caretaker of Oscar

Hey, it's all about the options. Forcing women to go for a career is no
better than forcing them into traditional roles. I'll admit that I don't
understand the lure of maintaining hearth and home

I'm the domestic type myse

Oh, I am too. Since I quit work, it's my "job" and I like to think I do it
well. I even enjoy canning vegetables, sewing, cooking, errands and whatever I
can do to make DH's time off free so that we can just play when he's off and
he's not encumbered with household stuff.... I still don't iron though. :-)
Sherry

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

If I know my dad, though, I think it has more to do with just not
understanding the idea that one might need professional help to get one's
brain unmuddled. On a gut level, he doesn't understand the idea of
depression. I know that in college one time, I told him that I felt really
awful sometimes with no direct cause, etc., and he got an uncomfortable look
on his face and told me that I'd have to talk to my mother about that sort of
stuff.

Another angle: some people think abstractly, and others don't. I have
some friends who are great at giving support if I have a concrete problem,
say, if I had an argument with someone, or I'm worried about my health,
or I just lost my job, that sort of thing - specific problems that come
up in life. These people can be great listeners, they're thoughtful and
smart about it, they take my side, they're sympathetic, maybe they give
advice if I want it, etc.

But if I try to explain something more abstract, such as what you said,
"feeling bad without knowing why", or just talking about what's going on
inside of me, without it being a response to an outside event, some
people just can't relate to that. Maybe they're just more outwardly-
directed.

Lucky for me, some people can get into the more abstract type of
self-analysis, so those are the people I go to for deeper navel-gazing
conversations.

Sounds like your dad might be the former type.

Joyce

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:

- Feelings of lethargy, not wanting to put forth the effort to do
anything. - Changing your normal routine without apparent cause.
- Feeling alone or isolated from the rest of the world.
- Loss of appetite (or, for some, eating much more than you normally
do). - Sudden weight loss or weight gain.
- Wanting to sleep, not wanting to get out of bed or, adversely,
insomnia. - Sudden bursts of weeping for no apparent reason.
- Memories of bad things that happened to you that seem to stick in
your head.
- Dwelling on the loss of someone or something important in your life.
- Wanting to hear sad songs over and over again.
- Feeling annoyed when someone around you is acting happy, bubbly,
excited, etc.
- Feeling angry about something that wouldn't ordinarily make you
angry. - Feeling "clingy" with partners or pets or, adversely, not
wanting to be touched.
- Shutting yourself off from others by going to another room to be
alone, or going driving alone.

Have you been watching me?
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

Yowie wrote in message
...
"Sherry " wrote in message
...
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.

IRONS UNDERWEAR? Underwear???? Whoooaaaa.
I iron tableclothes and napkins. Once a year, at Thanksgiving. :-)

In some places around hte world, it is necessary to iron absolutley
everything because of some skin-burrowing creature that lurks in the water
they use to wash clothes. The heat from the iron kills the beastie.

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

I remember being told about this by a friend of mine who did voluntary work
in the Sudan. Ugh.

Jeanette

Cheryl Perkins wrote in message
...
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?

I know some people who do, they say they find it relaxing. I can kind of
see that, although I can't share it. Repetitive motions can be relaxing,
almost meditative. I was taught all the housewifely skills as a girl,
including ironing everything, even bras, underpants and towels. But a lot
of it didn't take; I only iron when I'm sewing or when I am getting ready
for work. It struck me years ago that it was silly to iron the laundry
before putting it away, and then iron it again (because most of my
clothing is cotton) before going to work. So I only do it before work.

Some people like giving children things the can use to pretend being
adults - miniature stoves, tools, musical instruments etc. I always wanted
the real thing.

I iron once or twice a week, and don't stop until everything is done. The
ironing board is set up in front of the TV, and I watch music TV or DVDs,
and appreciate all the good looking young men. It definitely sweetens the
pill. I iron my T shirts because I like them ironed, likewise bedding. I
also iron Ade's workshirts, but not his T's, because when I was ill earlier
in the year, and he was doing the ironing, he said airily that they didn't
need to be ironed, so I've taken him at his word.

Jeanette

Monique Y. Mudama wrote in message
...
On 2004-12-04, Marina penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
I definitely think that physical health and fitness are strongly tied
to
emotional and mental well-being.

That seems to be what healthy people think in general. A number of
health
care professionals have pretty much told me I *have* to be depressed,
what
with all my health problems, and have tried to force me to get therapy.
I
don't know how to make them understand that my illnesses do not depress
me.
I'd have to take myself and life much more seriously to let them get me
down.

Well, I can only judge based on my own experiences. For me, consistent,
strenuous workouts have huge benefits psychologically. If I fall out of
that
routine, I always become more irritable, less confident, and more prone to
brooding than I was when I was working out. That, inevitably, leads to me
being less inclined to work out, and so it goes in a vicious cycle.

I'll admit that I've never had an ongoing health issue that prevented me
from
working out. I imagine it would be really hard for me to cope; it's
wonderful
that you have such a great attitude.

I was exactly the opposite, my husband bought me a gym membership, and the
more often I went, the more depressed I got. I loathed the music in the
place, the inane TV channels that everyone was watching, and the incredibly
boring repetitive nature of the workouts. Every minute there was a minute I
could have spent more enjoyably or productively doing almost anything else
at all. Quitting the gym was one of the best things I ever did for my mental
health.

Jeanette

"Monique Y. Mudama" had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Tips for Coping:

Hey, it's all about the options. Forcing women to go for a career is no
better than forcing them into traditional roles. I'll admit that I don't
understand the lure of maintaining hearth and home
I'm the domestic type myself.
Just as long as you don't fall down laughing when you see me try to cook, or
fold laundry, or, well, do just about anything around the house.

I wouldn't [but might feel an urge to jump in and try to help :-)].

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

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

I was exactly the opposite, my husband bought me a gym membership, and the
more often I went, the more depressed I got. I loathed the music in the
place, the inane TV channels that everyone was watching, and the incredibly
boring repetitive nature of the workouts. Every minute there was a minute I
could have spent more enjoyably or productively doing almost anything else
at all. Quitting the gym was one of the best things I ever did for my mental
health.

Walking works well for me, and I can pick my own music. :-)

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL