We have a visit scheduled with a psychiatric nurse this afternoon and my wife and I have been making a list of all the progress and the issues that remain.
For example, I've been going through my clothes wondering why I bought so many identical items in the past, do I need them now? what to do with them, put them in the loft space? take to Oxfam? or put them back in the cupboards and forget all about them ......
At the moment everything is strewn all over the bedroom and I wish I'd never started. Surprisingly hard to make any decisions or know once a decision has been made whether it was the correct one.
I ordered Christmas lights but shrink from the task of hanging them up. Tasks started with the best of intentions can quickly spiral into confusion and a sense of failure. I know I should structure things and break them down into small achievable goals but it's hard to see when this is needed at the start.
I find it hard to stay within my capabilities and remember to approach what once were familiar tasks with caution and a realistic idea of what can be achieved.
Oh dear - but I must remember the progress that has been made and relax.
P.S. I tried a pint of my once-favourite beer and couldn't taste it.
Best Wishes, G2
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Gandalf2
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Please let me know what you find out. My husband has the same problem. He has been trying to reorganize the garage for a year. He has tried to break it down to small tasks however the project seems to be very overwhelming to him.
Re-reading your post a few times makes me think that you are actually improving more than you might know!
My world is changing quite a bit recently; I am taking on more and more and the fatigue is not being nearly as much of a problem as it was. There is no reason for this rather sudden improvement but so far, so good!
I believe you have the right idea; don't take on too much at once. Do one thing at a time then take the time to enjoy your accomplishment AND get some rest after doing so.
For the first time in many years, I have harvested and given away quite a lot of zucchini from my attempt at getting back to gardening. To me, this is a minor miracle! Hoping you improve as the days progress, and that you experience some minor miracles, as well!!
OldGnome
(I always rinse the produce and dry it, to get the dirt/dust/bugs off!)
What decision did you make regarding your clothes in the end?
I completed a similar exercise this week and it is such a task! I too have struggled with tasks that on the outset seem straight forward and turn out to be overwhelming but this time I approached it differently.
Firstly I bought 2 huge jumbo bags so that as I was sorting I could organise but when my alloted time was up I could put all the remaining unsorted clothrs in the 2nd bag and pick up again when I next felt up to it.
This meant I could stop when I needed to and not have the chaos around me.
I have regained some of that logical, step by step thinking, quite often writing it down so I can tick off each stage - I love a list now!
But I dont think that I have quite come to terms with needing to be so methodical for a thought process that would have previously just come naturally. Acceptance is sometomes so difficult.
However it is so important to recognise the fantastic progress made as for me, at the beginning of this Enc journey, I wouldnt even 'see' that my clothes needed sorting.
I hope your appt was positive and you gained from it.
Hi GB, the appointment went well. She comes to the house so there was no travelling involved. She perfectly understood my difficulty in planning and completing tasks that once were routine. She pointed out I was doing very well and had greatly improved since her last visit and since I left hospital. Always good to hear.
I still shrink back from complex problems and also when I go on Amazon to buy things I tend to over order - just to be sure. Which then adds to the overloading situation. Putting clothes out of sight seems to be the first step. When you forget what's hidden it's time to let go - one can usually always replace whatever one gave away if one goes too far. Designs are always improving.
My plan for today - get dressed, 100 strokes on the rowing machine, put some more clothes out of sight, put those already collected up in the loft - relax with a cup of tea and two biscuits. (Having a reward system probably helps - tea and biscuits will do for me), finish fixing the radio I started on months ago.
Plus: I think that now there are two parts to my brain as far as decision-making goes. One is an impulsive child and the other is a wiser adult. The child pulls everything out of the drawer and then the adult walks in and has to to put everything back. They used to be in the same room - now there are two rooms. I have to work on getting them back working together in the same room.
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