how is everyone?

[donna frankland (uk)]

hi all, i realised this evening that it is about 6 months since i posted on here and properly admitted to myself that i have/had depresson/stress (never did find out for sure )

i remember we had a huge lengthy discussion and that i found out that it affects many of you on here.

i was wondering how everyone else is feeling now, are you all doing good? if so i am thrilled for you, if not i am here if you want an ear to bend or a shoulder to cry on.

i dont think any of you realise just how important your support and encoragement was for me at that time, and i would like to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart again!

myself i am doing very well, i had 6 weeks of councelling, left my old job in the lab and got a new one doing kerbside recycling

i still get twitchy and worry about stuff that is silly (got some good leaflets on ocd!) but at least can recognise that it IS irrational and that it is my illness (i hate that word!) that is making me feel this way.

i am still going to the reiki group and will hopefully soon be doing my reiki 1 attunement

but what i have found has helped me the most, strangely enough is tikki's homeopath! the woman is a miracle worker i swear!

please do let me know how the rest of you are doing, i really would like to know!

[smileyzookie]

Sooo happy to hear you are doing well!! I know when I've gone through depressing times and finally popped out of it its like a breath of fresh air! I hope you continue to do well.

[Tassie]

Hey Donna - that's so good to hear - sounds like you are doing really well - and having a varied life. I was reading a recent post of yours and wondering how you were, so it's lovely to get the update.

 

We're having some lovely spring weather here, and I'm into bike riding with a friend and her Border Collie to train our dogs up for an Endurance Test the weekend after next - and we're also training for agility - we've had some successes with our girls, and the competition tracking season has just finished, with my Fergus showing improvement. And in 3 weeks the dogs and I are going travelling on the mainland - main objective being to attend a 6 day dog camp with Mary Ray from UK (of Heelwork to Music/doggy dancing fame, but she also does high level obedience and agility.) I went to a weekend camp with her 2 years ago, so I'm really looking forward to this longer campe - she is inspirational, and a LOT of fun. So you'd have to say, life is good here in Oz.

[BustopherJones]

Donna, it is good to know that you are doing well. I hope that my words of encouragement were of some value.

 

As for myself, some may have noticed that I have not posted much recently. I am a bit depressed, exacerbated by panic. My employer was acquired last year, and in a move last week categorized as "restructuring" (I describe it more appropriately as "genocide"), I (along with many co-workers) lost my job. I was not with the company long enough to qualify for a pension, and at my age the outlook for finding another job does not look good. But we have our priortities straight. We have examined our alternatives if we have to live on Social Security. The choice now is between keeping the pick-up truck or keeping Annie. Oh, well, if I really need a truck, I can rent one when the occasion arises...

 

Annie is doing well. Missy is still holding her own against the cancer. And I am recovering from a severe infection from a dog bite, which required a tetanus booster and ultra-strength antibiotics. (Lesson: Never use a bare hand to try to break up a dogfight...)

 

Again, dear lady, I am glad to see that you seem to be doing so much better. God loves you; and so do we...

[donna frankland (uk)]

aw bustopher, sorry to hear you arent having the best of times right now.

its a bit cheesy i know but i truly do believe that stuff happens for a reason and i am sure you will find a silver lining just around the corner.

please allow me to repay your kindness and send all my love and healing thought winging your way xx

i dont know if you would feel happy with it, but at my reiki share we have a 'healing bubble' as we call it at the meetings and we can place anyone or any situation into said bubble. if you would like me to and feel happy about it, i will place you and your family, annie and missy included in it

 

tassie, i am thrilled to hear things seem to be going so well for you right now!

 

smileyzookie, thankyou for the kind thoughts! are you doing ok?

 

everyone was so nice to me when i was down, if there is anything i can do for anyone, please do let me know you are all so lovely!

[Jack & Co.]

Bustopher, I'm so sorry to hear about your job. One of our friends worked for a large pharmaceutical company that was taken over and he was assured that the new company wanted and needed him. Well, he got the ol' knife between the shoulder blades so the new company could put one of their people in his place.

 

Is your career/education something that would allow you to teach school? My son has had several high school teachers who taught school as a second career. He had a retired lawyer who taught practical law and I believe a retired engineer who taught geometry or algebra. I think here they call it "lateral entry" where your career experience is considered equivalent to a degree in education.

[BustopherJones]

if there is anything i can do for anyone, please do let me know

Just keep honoring us with your gracious and charming participation on this forum; that will be reward enough.

 

Jack, thank you for the suggestion. In most states, having an MBA and having published aritcles in numerous business professional journals might be enough; but in Connecticut, we have some unrealistically stringent requirements for teachers, and I do not have the luxury of time to go back to school and get a teaching certificate. But it was a good idea, and your desire to help is appreciated. My wife and I are trying out various brands of cat and dog food at the moment, so we should be okay...(just kidding)

[Beth G]

Good to hear from you. I'm right there with you. I was also dx with depression(about a month ago). The meds (which are for the depression and the fibromyalgia)are working though as I'm feeling more upbeat and not sleeping as much. Just remember you are not alone.

~Hugs!~

[WyoBC]

Good to hear that your doing good Donna. Bustopher, sorry to hear that you lost your job. I know it will all work out for you. God Bless you guys

[Black Watch Debatable]

Glad you're doing better, Donna!

 

Bustopher, please forgive me for beating what may be a very dead horse, but I didn't know whether you'd thought about subbing or teaching in a private school.

 

According to this link you can work as a substitute teacher in Connecticut with just a BA.

 

And the private school situation might be worth checking out...

 

Again, my apologies for being a clueless busybody. I wish you the very best, and hope things will be looking better soon.

[prosperia]

Aww Donna! Its good to "hear your voice" again. I assume we all subconciously assign different little voices to everyone, right? Im not the only crazy one, right? Right?

 

Things have been rough for me recently. Its pretty much all here if you want to search it. But Im happy to say everything is looking up. I think I have won the most recent battle, and I hope life is peaceful for a while.

(((sigh))) I always seem to be fighting on some level. But hey! How boring would life be without it right? Its what makes our lives unique and special! You'll overcome this depression. And you will look back on it as

another battle won.

You are in my heart and prayers,

[Jack & Co.]

Bustopher, my husband said you should check with your local community college. He said your business background and MBA are exactly what the community college system is looking for.

 

Donna, I'm glad things are looking up for you. I'm really into recycling and I would love to hear about what y'all recycle! Thank goodness we get ours picked up every week because between the 3 newspapers I take and all of the plastic milk jugs my boys create, I would be in a pickle!

 

Edited to add: Maria, I'm glad to hear the hopeful, more upbeat tone in your "voice." Hope the rockiest patches are behind you.

[Tiga's_mom]

Good to hear things are going better for you Donna.

 

I've was also dx with depression/anxiety years ago. I go through my ups and downs. I take anxiety meds and they help a lot. It's a pretty stressful time for me right now because I'm away from home working. It's really hard. I haven't even been away for a month and I still have about 8 more months to go. I really miss my SO and Tiga.

 

I just take one day at a time and hope the time goes by pretty quickly, and I keep thinking about all the things I'll get to see and do. Depression/anxiety is a hard thing to go through. The biggest thing is to have lots of people to support you.

[urge to herd]

Hi, Donna,

 

Great to hear from you, AND to hear that you're doing better. My situation is much better than it's been for a while. Some great therapy and the right meds have made a world of difference. From time to time, I still have to deal with fallout from a pretty chaotic/violent homelife as a child, and I'm coming out from one of those periods.

 

Glad to hear you're doing well. Enjoy that new job and learning more about Reiki.

 

Ruth n the BC3

 

Ruth n the BC3

[KrisK]

Hi Donna! Just catching up on this thread. All's well here. We've started herding lessons (OH NO...I'm addicted!!!), DH is still recovering from his January accident..but getting better, and it's fall here..the leaves are already changing colour - winter's not far behind I'm afraid!!

Glad to hear you're making progress. Have fun with the new job...sometimes a change is as good as a rest, they say

[Eileen Stein]

Donna, it's great to hear from you again. I knew I wasn't the only one who was wondering how you were doing.

 

Bustopher, I'm really sorry to hear about your job loss. The human cost of these corporate mergers is appalling. My first thought too was private schools/community colleges, but I see that Luisa and Jack & Co already mentioned those possibilities. You've probably already looked into that, but I really wish it would work out -- it would be good for the students as well as for you.

 

If you feel the need to get away for a few days, feel free to borrow my bass boat . . .

[donna frankland (uk)]

Originally posted by Jack & Co.:

 

Donna, I'm glad things are looking up for you. I'm really into recycling and I would love to hear about what y'all recycle! Thank goodness we get ours picked up every week because between the 3 newspapers I take and all of the plastic milk jugs my boys create, I would be in a pickle!

at the moment the lorry i am on picks up;

paper

glass

tins

textiles

food waste (gets a bit funky in the hot weather )

these all get collected weekly.

some of the bigger lorries have just started to trial taking plastic and cardboard. if the trial goes ok i think plastic and cardboard will go onto all the lorries. i hope so as in my village we have nowhere to recycle them and i cant drive to go to the places where you can recycle them.

although it is not the company i work for, we also have a fortnightly collection for garden waste.

i pay ?25 a year for a big brown wheelie bin and once per fornight they come and take all my rabbit poo away job done!

[donna frankland (uk)]

maria, i am sorry to hear you have been havng such a hard time, i hope that the sun begins to shine for you again very soon xx

 

eileen, nice to see you again too!

 

beth, i hope you continue to improve, it is true what they all told me. talking about it truly is one of the best remedies for depression. my email is open to anyone here if they want a chat

 

kris, i am so jealous you wouldnt believe i hope DH is feeling better!

 

ruth, glad to hear you are doing better too,

its a long hard slog out of it, but when you get back to the top you really appreciate the view!

 

tammy, i know you miss tiga and SO it must be soo hard. perhaps you can request a postcard from the pair of them?

you will be home before you know it with loads of new experiences to share!

 

wyo bc and luisa, thanks for the thoughts, i hope you guys are doing good also!

 

please please dont let me have missed anyone!

 

stay strong eveyone xxx