WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2016

Good Morning. I hope to stay motivated by trying this piece of myfitness pal. I just completed one whole week of using the food and exercise logs. an "attagirl" helps. I think I will enjoy reading the posts here

Beth, as I was sitting in my hot tub doing my workout this morning, I was thinking about you and your son. When you say the treatments don't work, I was wondering what your definition of a treatment working is. Medication does not alleviate ALL of the symptoms. It only lessens them to a manageable level. The person, like me, that has a severe mental illness, must do a lot of other things to manage life with a severe mental illness. Someone who has schizophrenia or mania has to learn how to ignore the voices/ sounds. They don't go away entirely, they just are diminished with medication. Someone who is having paranoid thoughts has to learn to use cognitive therapy (changing your thinking) or learn how to ignore/ manage the voices or even to check with others about if their reaction is out of line or not. At this point I am reminded of the man in northern Iowa who talked back to his voices, aloud, and kept getting picked up by the police and put in the hospital since it scared others. He managed the voices, not by stopping his talking back to them (arguing with them that they were wrong) but by holding a cell phone to his ear when he talked back to them so people thought he was just having an argument on the phone!

People with depression, like me, learn how important daily exercise, eating right, sunlight, cognitive therapy (changing our thinking), not isolating, and other things are to our well being. Medication does not "cure" depression. It just gives one the ability to use other tactics to manage life. That is why a wellness recovery plan is so important. There are things one has to do every single day to stay well. (Avoiding alcohol and street drugs is probably the most important.)

Peer support (people like me helping others, since I have been trained in listening, etc.) can be very helpful. The Depressive Bipolar Support Alliance is a good source of peer support through their support groups and literature.

Sometimes people have to make a major life change to minimize stress, which makes symptoms worse. That is why my oldest sister went from negotiating contracts for the aerospace industry (big bucks) to negotiating contracts for academia WITH the aerospace industry (much less money but also a more relaxed work environment since the focus was on learning, not making money for shareholders). Throughout my career, I intentionally did not seek out supervisory roles, or management roles, since there was more stress in those roles. So I worked in direct care where there was less stress, but also far less money. I changed my standards for housework and other things, giving myself permission to be less than perfectly tidy since that was additional stress I did not need. Others go to minimizing possessions to lessen the stress of housework.

I don't know your son's situation, and if any of this applies. It was just my thoughts as I was working out in my hot tub. The mental health system will NOT tell clients these things. They have to be learned from peers. The system makes more money if you stay sick. If you figure out how to take care of yourself, and get stable on meds, you can do what I do- get a primary care doc to prescribe my meds and avoid the mental health system completely. So they really are not invested in wellness, and even worse, many of the people working in the mental health system do not believe that anyone can actually get better. That belief is passed on to clients through subtle means, so that the clients do not get better. This paragraph sounds paranoid but there is research that substantiates what I say.

Lisa ~ Have fun on your trip. Your plans look great. Are you going to have any closets?

KJ ~ Glad you had a restful week. Your day care kids are lucky to have you.

Joyce ~ Prayers for your sister.

Lenora ~ I think my mom was probably the principal's secretary when you were in MPH. She didn't stay long because my dad opened his restaurant at High Falls and she was needed there.

Heather ~ You will enjoy your clean patio. I am waiting for the pollen to stop here so I can wash down my screened in porch. Everything on it is yellow and looks nasty. I just had it painted at the end of last summer and I think I may have to dab more paint on in places as the guy that did it tried to finish the whole thing after it turned night fall as he was going to another job the next day. The stain he put on the floor didn't cover well and needs to be redone.

Carol

Carol - the area across from the w/d will be hanging closet and dresser, and there's a chest-of-drawers in the bedroom. Neither Corey nor I are terribly interested in clothes, and our entire hanging set of clothes doesn't even take up six feet together.

I'm working on the Big Book o' Death this morning, getting all the information up to date on bills, where vital information can be found, etc. Some people prepare for a trip by packing... I update my emergency info. A little weird, I know. There is one good thing about the aforementioned clothing situation. A couple pair of jeans, double set of undies, a swimsuit, workout stuff, and t-shirts, and I'm pretty well packed. One suitcase, my gym bag and my computer, and I'll be on the road! Can't wait 'til Wednesday!

Lisa in sunny, beautiful West Texas

Oh, y'all. I binged again last night on Cascadian Farms Oats and Honey Crunch. 6 ounces, almost half a box. That's two nights in a row. I have a new plan for tonight. After dinner, I am going to our upstairs den and working on a storyboard. John is not going to like this, but I cannot just sit there and watch his 6 foot tall, 150 lb self eat all night. I love him dearly but this is just too much. Now I know how I gained 60 pounds in 10 years. Got it. Well, they say the first step is admitting you have a problem...thank you for reading this. I am grateful for your support.

This morning I aqua-aerobic'ed it in the pool and it felt really good! I am feeling the affects of dancing in the pool though. I did alot of push-ups with my arms on the sides of the pool. The Center was playing great music over the speakers, so I danced in the water, and did pull-ups with my arms under the water.

It was nice to wake up, weigh, and be under the 230 mark. Presently at 228.8. Feel like I am turning a corner, and getting closer to Onederland! I would like to never see 230's again thankyouverymuch.

I never told you guys that my Eldest Navy son called me on Friday evening. We talked for 3.5 hrs.... Actually we were having fun being on the phone, and looking on googlemap at all our old homes. You can click on it, and there is a place where you can slide on the dates (of when the google car came by that area). Some were back to 2007 so one previous residence showed our RV parked in the front! The last time he came by, we saw the google map car, and waved to it. If you wish to see it
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.163112,-123.9010976,3a,33.1y,153.74h,78.58t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shY5lUTd6g0sqRwKKMboDsw!2e0!6s//geo0.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid=hY5lUTd6g0sqRwKKMboDsw&output=thumbnail&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&thumb=2&w=203&h=100&yaw=114.24052&pitch=0!7i13312!8i6656

let me see if that worked.
Becca
Oregon

Well, better late than never I guess! I'm only 30 pages behind! I'll try to read a few at a time as I get time, but work is so crazy busy lately that when I get home I don't even want to turn on my laptop to read my email, look at my Facebook messages or do anything online! So, it'll probably take me until May to catch up on the news.

I'm going with my husband tonight to look at a treadmill that we found on craigslist. Looks really nice. I'm a little concerned because my knees still hurt after the knee scopes and I don't think they should anymore. So treadmill may not be my best option. But I really like treadmills so I guess we'll see. I might have to do 20 minutes in the morning and 20 at night for a while or something. When it gets warmer here in Wisconsin, I will be able to ride my bike. Hoping to get it out this weekend. Supposed to get up to 68 on Sunday. JOY & RAPTURE!

Getting stir crazy. Want to plant a garden and get outside a little. I love my job but don't like that i'm salary and end up working so many hours all the time. I wish I were independently wealthy...

Well, have a great day everyone. I'll try to do some reading and catching up and will try to check in daily from now on. I've just been such a slacker lately with everything except work!

Tracie in WI

April Goals:

• 30 minutes activity x5/week
• Weigh less than I do today
• Continue to stay away from added sugars
• Be patient and kind to others
• Be grateful for each and every day and write it in my gratitude journal.

Hi gals. I'm over 50 for sure....I'm 67.
And still at it. I lost 50 pounds, put back on 9 since November.
My April goals are:

Where are my goals I entered?
Well, most important is to lose 2.5 pounds this month.

miriamwithcats wrote: »

Beth, as I was sitting in my hot tub doing my workout this morning, I was thinking about you and your son. When you say the treatments don't work, I was wondering what your definition of a treatment working is. Medication does not alleviate ALL of the symptoms. It only lessens them to a manageable level. The person, like me, that has a severe mental illness, must do a lot of other things to manage life with a severe mental illness. Someone who has schizophrenia or mania has to learn how to ignore the voices/ sounds. They don't go away entirely, they just are diminished with medication. Someone who is having paranoid thoughts has to learn to use cognitive therapy (changing your thinking) or learn how to ignore/ manage the voices or even to check with others about if their reaction is out of line or not. At this point I am reminded of the man in northern Iowa who talked back to his voices, aloud, and kept getting picked up by the police and put in the hospital since it scared others. He managed the voices, not by stopping his talking back to them (arguing with them that they were wrong) but by holding a cell phone to his ear when he talked back to them so people thought he was just having an argument on the phone!

People with depression, like me, learn how important daily exercise, eating right, sunlight, cognitive therapy (changing our thinking), not isolating, and other things are to our well being. Medication does not "cure" depression. It just gives one the ability to use other tactics to manage life. That is why a wellness recovery plan is so important. There are things one has to do every single day to stay well. (Avoiding alcohol and street drugs is probably the most important.)

Peer support (people like me helping others, since I have been trained in listening, etc.) can be very helpful. The Depressive Bipolar Support Alliance is a good source of peer support through their support groups and literature.

Sometimes people have to make a major life change to minimize stress, which makes symptoms worse. That is why my oldest sister went from negotiating contracts for the aerospace industry (big bucks) to negotiating contracts for academia WITH the aerospace industry (much less money but also a more relaxed work environment since the focus was on learning, not making money for shareholders). Throughout my career, I intentionally did not seek out supervisory roles, or management roles, since there was more stress in those roles. So I worked in direct care where there was less stress, but also far less money. I changed my standards for housework and other things, giving myself permission to be less than perfectly tidy since that was additional stress I did not need. Others go to minimizing possessions to lessen the stress of housework.

I don't know your son's situation, and if any of this applies. It was just my thoughts as I was working out in my hot tub. The mental health system will NOT tell clients these things. They have to be learned from peers. The system makes more money if you stay sick. If you figure out how to take care of yourself, and get stable on meds, you can do what I do- get a primary care doc to prescribe my meds and avoid the mental health system completely. So they really are not invested in wellness, and even worse, many of the people working in the mental health system do not believe that anyone can actually get better. That belief is passed on to clients through subtle means, so that the clients do not get better. This paragraph sounds paranoid but there is research that substantiates what I say.

Miriam ... You have given me much to think about. Thank you. As for your last paragraph ... I have heard more than once from mental health practitioners that we will probably never see our son well .. He of course has heard this also.

Beth