Mental Illness Survival Skillz! Part 6 (A Humorous Post)

Today, my lovelies, was a great day. Some very important and private realizations were come to in the best of way, and it seems like the godz rewarded me very physically. I was literally showered with gifts. Needless to say I’m feeling very pampered and spoiled right now, as well as a little raw and fragile on the inside. Medically though, everything is fine, so all hail my doctor, and especially hail to the divinity(ies?) who got me my pills! (All hail! All hail! All hail!)

Now, today’s tip is simple, but I find myself skipping it every so often and therefore royally screwing up.

Basic tip of the day: set an alarm for your med times.

Eh, you say, that’s lame. But how about this?

Royal tip of ze day: Set an alarm for your medication with your medication’s theme song.

A what?

You know. The song that you feel represents you struggle with your mental illness vis-a-vis your medication (or via your medication perhaps?). Y’all got one, right?

I had my theme song the first night I took this bout of medication. I had to. It was such an intense moment I was practically in tears and couldn’t get myself to take the dreaded (EEEVIL and non-spiritual and oh so bad for you and medico-satanical) pills. So I put a song on that motivated me and it became my ‘medication theme song’. O-of course I had just watched Zootopia so …. That’s my theme song.

Oh how corny.

But you know what? Whenever I feel down about my (not so evil and not so bad for you and especially not medico-satanical) medication, I listen to that song. It reminds me of how far I’ve come, my goals, and what I’m aiming for.

So why not make medication taking time a reminder of that? Why don’t we reclaim the often shameful act of taking taboo medication and make it an empowering moment of reflection? And if you’re like me and there’s people around that ogle at your pills, take it as a moment to PREACH! YASSSS! Shamelessly take those pills in their faces! Talk about the effects! Ask them for that glass of water!

Hahaha. Or you could just take your pills. That’s up to you.

Any funny medication time stories out there? What are y’all’s theme songs (and if you don’t have one yet, get one and tell us about it!)?

Mental Illness Survival Skillz! Part 5 (A Humorous Post)

Another day, another night, and potentially more episodes of RuPaul’s Drag race to binge on Netflix! Wheee!

I’m still functional y’all. This is not a life-time record, but definitely a recent record. Two days of competency in a row! I feel like I deserve a medal. Or that my doctor deserves a medal. Either way- what fabulous treat of information do I have for you today?

Well, let me see. This one is influenced by a friend, by my wife, and by (drumroll) my own ve-ery terrible sense of fashion.

Pro Tip (because my friend who told me this is really a pro at appearing formal and demanding quality service): have a jacket/ coat that looks classy, and a pre-‘normal person’ – approved ‘looks good’ outfit .

Wait, whaat? Am I telling you what to wear? Well, maybe, yes. You see, people treat you very much based on how you appear. And when it comes to medical, government, and professional services, you want to be treated well. And sadly, my friend noticed a huge difference in her treatment when she simply wore a classy trenchcoat over her normal shirt and skirt. I’m not even joking y’all. I’ve tried this tip too (in my own gawkishly unfashionable way) and it holds true. I’ve even let my wife (who has an impeccable sense of fashion) dress me, and received very polite and respectful service.

So here’s the thing. Unfortunately, on a daily basis, most of us don’t have the energy to pull off fashionable and classy outfits. If you’re like me, your sense of style resembles a gothic hobo. We basically want to walk around in something that will make us feel like we’re still in bed, or something that will shield us from the world. Hence, the hoodies and sweatpants. Unfortunately, if you look like you actually are sick, people will treat you like shit instead of trying to be kind.

However, a shirt is a shirt. A ‘classy and socially acceptable’ one will take just as much energy to put on as a dumpy and paint spattered one. I promise that if you already have that outfit selected (by a person with a ‘normal’ sense of style’) and labelled ‘looks good’ in the back of the closet (because you sure as hell won’t usually wear it) you can just slap it on and walk off and be respected. Same thing for the trenchcoat – but remember to check if it’s actually trenchcoat weather. Don’t do like me and hide in hoodies all summer. You’ll just look weird.

So! Anyone else have tips to share? Awkward wardrobe adventures? Are you enjoying the tips? Leave a comment y’all!

Mental Illness Survival Skillz! Part 4 (A Humorous Post)

So today’s post is brought to you byyyyyy- functionality!

Yes, it’s true, I’m feeling functional today. Which in my version of the world means that I was able to get out of bed and stay out of bed and do a few things in the day. Considering that only yesterday I literally spent the whole day in the safety of my bed, I’m rather ecstatic. Pardon the rant but y’all I’m so Proud of myself!

So bragging and self-celebrating aside, what survival skillz do I have for you today? Well, I have one that was contributed by a great friend of mine, and on the topic of beds no less! Yay, beds!

Skillz #4 : if you can’t wash your bedsheets, dust them down and spray them with vinegar.

Holy crap, y’all, this tip works on so many levels. Let’s break it down.

• Dusting off your bed (which will be easy because you probably don’t make it every morning anyways, if ever) will remove any dust tracked on by the furry critters you cuddle with. It will also help ensure that there are no sharp objects, markers (leftover from coloring in bed all day), or crumbs (snacks in bed anyone? Hell yeah!) in your bed. This will maintain a modest level of cleanliness and tidiness. Once that is done you…
• Spray vinegar on them! If you don’t have a bottle of vinegar, just make yourself one right away. Get an empty spray bottle from the gardening section, fill it up, and spoosh spoosh all over your bed. Why? Vinegar is basically a cleaner. It cuts grease, kills mold, deodorizes, etc. So basically, you kinda wash your sheets and freshen them up. Why is this so important?
• Beds are a private affair. A lot of us derive comfort from hugging pillows, hiding under blankets, etc. But especially if you have night terrors or nightmares they’re probably due for a wash. Do you necessarily always have the energy for that? … Maybe not. Buuut- Taking care of our beds is a form of self-care. Unlike dishes, which are a visible marker of functionality, beds are a quasi-invisible one. Only we feel the difference between a fresh bed and a not so fresh one. So by freshening up your bed with a dusting and vinegar, you ensure that you can rest well both from the reflex of ‘ahhh, this feels good’ of fresh sheets, but also because you know that they’re clean. You’ll relieve that stress of ‘oh, I really should have washed my sheets today.’. So this is both physical and mental self-care, y’all.

So that’s it. Wash your sheets in a machine as often as possible, and freshen them up with vinegar and a good dusting when you just can’t cope with washing them.

Whew. That was long. Anyone have any crazy bed-related stories? Any tips/words of wisdom related to bedclothes?

Heheh, I have one funny story. My present doctor once asked me if I did my bed in the morning. I froze and stared at her, wondering if it was an actual question. I seriously didn’t think young adults were expected to make their beds anymore. “Who makes their beds in the morning?!” I was thinking as I gawked at her. Haha, she wasn’t joking. It was a real question. Oops.

Mental Illness Survival Skillz! Part 2 (A Humorous Post)

Now today, Ladies and Gentlemen, was supposed to be a fasting day for Ganesh. It promptly began with me accidentally eating breakfast. After some gentle input by my dearly beloved wife, I realized that I was too sick to fast today. Damn. In fact, I ended up eating a TON of sweets today. Like this ice cream topped with caramel and whipped cream with maraschino cherries and sprinkles. Did I mention Ganesh likes treats? Right. All hail Ganesh!

Sorry for the blurry picture

So what is the life skill for today? Uhm, let me see. What would encompass going out to eat (being socially active!), getting your meds adjusted (surviving a doctor’s meeting! -> which is pretty considerable considering that doctors/medical institutions are one of the main sources of discrimination for those with mental illness), and eating sugar?

I don’t know.

But I’m going to be lazy and rely upon the last tip my friend gave me (Gasp! I’ll have to get original after today!). Aaaaand, drumroll please!

Dry shampoo.

Come on, we all have those days(sssss) we don’t shower. But the thing is, even if the idea of showering is exhausting and can bring you to tears, you can still be fabulous (and get out, have a social life, and eat ice cream [see? this relates!]). All thanks to the invention of dry shampoo (according to my friend) and baby wipes (according to me). Dry shampoo for glorious hair, baby wipes for a fabulous body. And voila! Insta-showers! (Alright, we all know it’s not a real shower, but hey. It’s a quick fix to be able to pass socially and – most importantly – feel good)

 

 

 

Mental Illness Survival Skillz! (A Humorous Post)

As I have posted recently, I am currently in a slump (don’t worry, I’m getting my meds adjusted and coping with it very well :)). As I was messaging a friend the other day, complaining about the horrendous state of my dishes (they were nigh on evolving into life-forms) something happened. She began messaging me all these tips on how to cope with the inability to do dishes, such as rinsing them and stacking them so that when you are having a minor up you can do one or two, then rest.

And I thought, in my dazed state, “Huzzah! Life tips for surviving a mental illness!”.

After some exhaustion-fuelled giggling, I came up with the idea for a series of (potentially humorous) blog posts that I will be trying to post in a streak for the next few days: Mental Illness Survival Skillz!

Ta-ta-ta-daaam! How does one survive their mental illness, all while living a glamorous and fabulous life? By growing a fabulous set of mental illness-coping skillz!

So today’s post is dish- centric. For me, I can gauge how terribly I am doing by the state of my dishes. When I am great, the counter is sparkling clean. When I am terrible, there are so many dishes that there isn’t room to place a cup on the counter. And if you move something, something else might fall (it’s badly stacked too!). So what do we, those whose disability manifests in such visible ways, do when there is visit coming over [eep! In laws!], we generally want to ‘pass’ as ‘normal’ or… we just want a friggin’ clean place?

Well, my friend swears by ‘rinse and stack’ to then do them later. I generally soak the dishes… then leave them to collect life-forms (petri dishes, anyone?) So rinse ‘n stack peoples, rinse ‘n stack. It’s less likely to grow bio-hazards and tip over, y’all.

Haha, so anyone else have trouble doing their dishes? (Personally I had to call in someone for help…) Anyone else have tips on how to cope with this?