Posted by Dinah on July 14, 2006, at 21:36:43
In reply to I just realized something... *rant*, posted by Deneb on July 14, 2006, at 19:44:25
You've been out with friends a couple of times just recently, haven't you? That's more than I've done. :)
You ought to see if you can get the DBT skills book at your library, or read gg's links, and join us. That would give you something to do.
Some structure in your life would probably be helpful to you. School doesn't start for a while. What do you think you can do in the meantime to force you to wake up at approximately the same time and stay awake? I remember when I was off for the summer, my sleep cycle got way messed up. I'd stay up reading till dawn then sleep all day. It's really important for good mental hygiene to keep as regular hours as possible.
Have you thought of volunteering at your animal shelter? I did it for a while, and it had the advantage of not requiring a long term commitment, at least ours didn't. I walked dogs. I didn't stick with it long, because I'm scared of most animals except dogs, but I found the dog walking very rewarding.
I always thought that when I had the time, I'd like to train dogs for the shelter. I know there are people who wash and groom dogs, or help train them so they'll be more appealing to potential owners.
What sort of thing do you find interesting to do?
I wouldn't think it's terribly useful to label yourself as crazy, is it? Wouldn't it be more useful to just decide what conditions help you to feel at your best? Do you generally feel better on meds? Or if you get regular sleep? Or if you have something to do so that you don't get bored?
Sometimes it helps to wonder what your typical patterns might do for you. Even if they feel awful, sometimes they serve a purpose. My OCD obsessions often distract me from real problems. They're so ridiculous that I can easily dismiss them, and my anxiety. While often there is something not at all ridiculous that they keep me from thinking about.
Euphorias and crises tend to make one feel fully alive. While life without euphorias and crises can seem a bit mundane at times. Life can often be mundane.
Or, like my obsessions, they can provide focus to something that might be a distraction from a real concern that requires real action and calls for real anxiety.
As an exercise, I sometimes thank my obsessions for trying to help me by distracting me. And ask them what's so scary that they'd rather I worry about whether I ran over someone in the car.
Might it be an interesting exercise for you to ask what good deed your euphorias and crises are trying to do for you? Are they trying to distract you from discontent or anger or fear?
I'm not discounting a biological element to my OCD. And some would say it's nothing but biology. But I suspect our brains and our bodies are complex and more than able to make use of biological traits.
Therapy can be a good way to tease apart those threads, although I understand that you aren't really interested in therapy? Or maybe it isn't available to you?
poster:Dinah
thread:667140
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060709/msgs/667169.html