Lived Experience Forum

[Former-Member]

Loving this whole thread of positive movement from the past and hope into the future, such great encouragement for us all! 💗

[Angels333]

I have had a rough year. I have put on weight but am trying hard to keep fit. I had been well for 12 years and everything was fine and then psychosis started in April and things were a mess for quite sometime. I am glad that I have a really good psychiatrist. I withdrew from university and have decided to go to tafe instead. It seems that you all know each other. ..

[Former-Member]

Hi @Angels333 nice to 'meet' you ☺️ we only know each other through sharing on the forums but we do get to know each other well 😉 which is such a great feeling to have as I often feel quite isolated in the real world. Please join in everywhere on the forums as everyone is very welcoming. In the nightshift thread we have an ongoing chit chat conversation that is for everyone (conversation topic is constantly evolving lol) and there is the Friday night feast where we share a pretend plate of food and just chit chat - nice to have a social life lol!!
I'm sorry to hear you had a rough year, I got put on anti psychotics in Jan and still haven't gotten rid of the weight I put on then but it hasn't really been a priority yet either...
Welcome and hope to see you around the forums 😎
Lj

[Mazarita]

Hi @Angels333,

Great that you have been putting in effort to keep fit despite the difficulties that have arisen in your life. I too have felt unhappy with my weight this year (as with several years since starting anti-psychotic medication). My efforts at fitness have so far only stabilised weight, but I still count this as a positive. Fantastic that you have a psychiatrist you are happy with.

I read that you are planning to study fine arts at TAFE next year, something really interesting and rewarding to aim for. I finished my year 12 at TAFE many decades ago and did so well in that different context I got into uni. Unfortunately I had to leave that before getting my degree, also partly because of mental illness. This hasn't stopped me from having a creative life over decades now and even something of a career in it at one time. Sending very best wishes with your study and artistic pursuits next year.

Some of us on the forum have been visiting very regularly for quite a long time now so we have got to know each other over many posts and replies, though we won't ever know each other in real life. But we are glad to see new members arrive and look forward to getting to know you better as you keep posting. Feel free to join in any discussion you are interested in and to start your own.

Happy new year to you!

[Stu]

The new adventure sounds exciting and at the same time maybe a little scary but staying positive is a common trait to all😇 Hope! Compassion and understanding of ourselves and for each other will go a long way❤️ Some days better than others but on we go. A big cheers to all in our community and may the wisdom be part of us all in 2016 The old proverb of knowledge -a tomato is a fruit but we don't put it in fruit salad - the wisdom And apart from it not tasting nice! Giggles we all are special don't ever forget that😎 See y'all in the new year and congrats!
Stu

[Angels333]

Hi lisajane yes, it is the antipsychotics that causes weight gain. I have really bad anxiety at the moment

[suzanne]

So lovely to read about all the courageous growth and change over the past twelve months and your plans for more of the same next year.  The Forums have grown into such a lovely supportive place which is evident in this thread.  So you guys can add that to your list of achievements for 2015 🙂

It's been a good and mostly stable year for me.  I've always been a bit of a rolling stone but the only significant change last year was work related (Hello Sane!).  All else stayed the same.  What's risen to the surface in reading this thread though is that perhaps I haven't devoted enough time to old and treasured friends.  I'm feeling slightly adrift from people who were once closer than family.  

So in 2016 I'd like to make time and space for the half dozen friends who saw me through all the good times and bad in my 20's and 30's.  None live near me anymore so it'll take some effort but I'd love to get to the end of 2016 with some great new memories and feeling much more strongly connected to my little family of friends.

[suzanne]

Hi @Angels333, I'm sorry to hear that it's been a tough year.  When our health takes a hit it tends to bring down everything else too.  Most of us have had years like that.  It's sounds like you're bringing some fighting spirit into 2016 - having a good Psychiatrist and a plan for study are a great start.  With your anxiety peaking it's a great idea to choose challenges a little more within your comfort zone.  You can always head back to uni later.  I dropped out of about three uni courses before I got the timing and subject right.

What are you planning to study at TAFE?

[MoonGal]

Hi everyone, This year has been full of ups and downs, but not as up, up or down, down as they used to be due to an anti-psychotic medication for the first time in my life. I have put on weight because of it and have been unhappy about that, but will no doubt learn to live with it in the absence of capacity to excercise due to physical disability too. I am eating more healthful food now its summer and having salads instead of crumpets so that's a plus! One thing I am getting much better at is identifying my 'states' aeven while I am in them (observing) and starting to understand some of the triggers and putting things in place to avoid the worst excesses. I hope int he coming year to consolidate that understanding even more to help myself stay more even.

I have really had a good year all things considered and I am just in a hiatus mode while I progress a TPD claim.

I have enjoyed getting to know some of the regulars here and am grateful I came to the forums, it has helped immensley with identification, feeling less 'alone' and getting over my terminal uniqueness! I have also had some solid support from some of the forumites and moderators and for that I am really appreciative.

So I don't usually 'do' new years resolutions, being bi polar I launch into resolutions with huge energy A LOT... often to fail (laughing) so best I just hope for more of the same in terms of reprieve from the worst of the symptoms. 

I would wish you all a 'happy' New Year, but it might not be, it might be middlin' to average if not downright hard. It might be full of ill health and loss of function, it might be full of pain and weight gain. It might be a year when you wish you hadn't been born. So - I will wish you a calm mind, a kind heart and gentle hands instead. Because all of us struggle and these things help us to have a quality of life, both when we are travellin' well and in the hard times.  

[Angels333]

Thanks Suzanne, I want to study fine arts.