I have found that since my heart attack I dont have the interest that i used to have in collecting fossils and rocks or books. I see them as clutter now and Im trying to thin them out. They just seem surplus to requirements now.
I used to buy books everywhere i went, i had almost 700 books at one point, but ive got rid of maybe a couple of hundred in the past couple of months. Still got more to sift through.
Ive not even started on my fossil and rock collection yet.
Has anyone else felt the same way about something they used to do before they had their cardiac event?
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BaronFrankenstein
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I certainly decluttered my house in many ways after I became less mobile from my cardiac and other health issues.I haven't got rid of any books yet or nature collections because now I get out less I read a lot more , and I've started making more use of the things I've collected already in my small artworks because I can prioritize these now that I can't do the big outdoor artwork or activities I used to do.
I'm a professional nature and land artist and used to walk miles over rough ground with my tools to create temporary installations and collect materials for indoor works. Since my Dysautonomia got worse I can't do this anymore , and I can't stand or sit in a practical way to do murals or large canvas work either.
I also can't do much intricate work or spend too long on a piece at one time because of tremors and cardiac induced vision changes.
I was pretty dispirited initially but eventually found photography to fill the creative void. I only used to use my camera as a tool to help plan things but now it's my main way of creating.
I can do short trips and sit and work. It's been a lifeline.
At one point I felt like you , uninterested in things I was really passionate about. Pretty apathetic about doing things. Just too fatigued daily so I began to see things around me in the house and they'd annoy me because I thought," what's the point of having this I'm never going to use it again".
I'm glad I took my husband's advice and let him box stuff away out of sight but not out of reach because as I got used to my new rhythm of life and had more good days my interest in doing more things and rekindled interest in my art work , books and past times grew again.
Boxes came back out, stuff was looked at with new appreciation, things were begun again in ways I could manage, my positivity returned and it keeps my mental health steady despite all the physical problems I need to cope with.
I have even started to make a little money again from my photography, commissions and small artworks , and I have embraced the chance to lecture to students in many countries over zoom.
I have kept hold of my rock collection and I still love my fossils ...... I'm still collecting stuff from the beach and I'm a moss and fungi nerd and proud of it! 🍄😆😆😆
Give it time you may feel the same after a little time.
I've been gradually decluttering my house for years, partly because of changing interests and partly to make it easier for my executors should I die in my house or need to move to sheltered housing or whatever. Before my aortic stenosis was diagnosed, I had planned to move around 2026. My TAVI last July gave me a reasonable heart but may have contributed to anaemia (I'm not feeling great as I write).
Having to take it easy before my op, I didn't much miss the environmental work I did several times a week and to which I made a brief return this winter before finding it too much. And I've had to greatly reduce the length of my walks, to my disappointment.
My big interest remains a postcard collection that I started when convalescing from sub-cranial surgery in 1996. It's very well written up and I am revising some of the captions, to reflect the knowledge gained in 28 years. I also have seven large files of accompanying notes that need tidying up.
Most winters I assemble two or three 1,000-piece jigsaws, often for the third or fourth time, but this time I lost patience with a couple.
TBH it's not unpleasant to have to take things easy - but only for some of the time.
Its funny you should mention postcards as i have collected several hundred over the years and only today was thinking about thinning my collection out and selling some off.
If i sell them on eBay its a bit daunting having to create a listing for several hundred. Back maybe 15 years ago there used to be a way of quickly making lots of listing through a third party program i believe but i dont know if that can still be done.
At least the market for postcards remains good, certainly compared with that for stamps, which has collapsed. Part of my decluttering was selling off (and giving to charity) some eight albums of stamps, many with a cycling theme (very niche!) Two albums remain (early Great Britain and Newfoundland), and I'm hoping to offer these to one of the very few remaining dealers or an auction house - once my energy returns.
Listing several hundred postcards on eBay could be daunting - or a good way of occupying one's time. Were I to do so, I would worry that sudden iller-health might inhibit my fulfilling orders. My own collection is the one possession whose destiny I'm concerned about, and there are instructions in my "death file" as to its disposal.
Any collection is likely to include some common cards which probably wouldn't sell. But there may be others that might go for a good price. Earlier this week my bid of £50 won a card showing convalescing soldiers outside a pub c1917-18, which the local history society was able to identify. (So there was some communication with others.)
I’d give things a bit more time. You might be feeling depressed or run down after the cardiac issues and regret it later if you get rid of things now. If there is too much clutter you could possibly put things in the attic or in storage. Also sound out relatives to see if they would like some of the items (and also to see if they think getting rid of the things is a good idea). Act in haste and repent at leisure…
hello there, I think that when you have cardiac illness whatever the nature of it is it challenging. I’d say give yourself time. Aside from that, I am a geologist and speaking as a geologist don’t get rid of your mineral, rock and fossil collection!
Hi. I have fot to thin it out though. You know how it is you pick up rocks and take a few home wherever tou go. Im just going to keep the best examples ive got then give some to my niece as she is a collextor now. Ive for studf rickes away in boxes and i need to display them otherwise it seems pointless having them.
When we are faced with such an illness it makes us realise that we're not immortal and we naturally start to think about our relatives having to clear out all our stuff. My son is likely to be .moving to America soon so emptying a house will be difficult. I've started making sure the things I collected go to people who really want them. Look how many people you see on TV like on the Yorkshire Auction show where people start to downsize and get rid of collections they know others won't want to deal with. I think it's a normal reaction.
A cousin who lives 250 miles away has been planning to visit me all year, but she's been thwarted by floods, a cancelled flight back from Denmark and a bug (that she didn't want to pass on to me). We're talking on the phone tonight about her coming down next month. One reason is to take her around the house pointing out possessions and what might/should be done with them. I've noted above that my Big Plan was to downsize in two years' time, but I suspect that that may be two years too late.
My outlook on life changed, and I only had a minor MI back in 2019.
I now find that I concentrate on other people and less on myself, even though that was not a conscious descision.
I did not set out to have a different outlook, neither did I have any kind of epiphany, it just seemed like a change in me. A "change of heart" if you excuse the corniness of the sentiment.
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