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Looking after ourselves

ClockFace
Senior Contributor

Routine - success

For those that have followed my dribble lately, you know that my routines are pretty important to me and I have found it more difficult to manage without them with the situation with my sister. 

 

Anyhow, this morning I woke up at 5am, routine starts at 6am and thats what happened, at 6am I started my routine and finished at 7:30am, bang on time. It was like an injection of energy, I felt so much better, kinda like I was complete. 

I still dont feel well, I mean it  didnt fix the stomach pain, my back still hurts like hell but mentally I feel so much better, less broken which means dealing with the pain and the sick and the everything else so much easier.

 

Now for the day routine, that mainly consists of short walks. With my back pain walking is a bit of an issue. I can only manage a short period at a time. I dont often really do a shop at the grocery store, Im often limited to the first few isles, so I tend to go to the same grocery store each time cause I know I can get what I need without going far. If its bad or Im walking a long distance or even an unknown distance I use a walking stick, I used to feel ashamed of that, I mean Im 43 and I have been using a stick for years. I have a disability permit and I often get stares with that. But hopefully its like a week or so and that will be a distant memory but I digress

 

I have a break period included in my day routine, a chance to breath and try and regroup. I want to add a few more. Breathing  excersises have always bothered me, I dont know why but they have, through the past few months, thats all I have had. While they dont stop the mayhem they do give you a moment and a few moments over the course of the day add up.

My night routine is sorta broken up into doing the dogs and one of my meds and then an hour later, charging my watch, taking meds and eating tea. I generally do this routine because well the dogs gotta eat, so do I and I need my meds. The timing seems to change a bit based on how tired I am but  I do want to go back to the correct times and go to bed when Im supposed to though there may need to be a few changes as one of my new meds acts quicker than my old one which means Im a bit drowsy and wonky earlier so either I have meds and tea later or go to bed earlier,  Im not sure yet.

 

My med that I take at 4:30pm means that Im not allowed to drive for 12 hours, which dampens the already on life support social life. Though this is for pain and all going well that will be managed with regular surgeries. The one Im waiting for lasts about 6-9 months and then you have to repeat, kinda crap especially with a $2k price tag (I get around $950 rebate)

But then the night meds at 7:30pm thats the end of me for the day. Very shortly after the drowsy and wonky feeling sets in and I am of little use to anyone. I just make my way to my bed and sleep.

Both the 4:30 and 7:30 medication ritual bugs the crap out of my family, like it is a regular issue. I go to bed too early. I cant drive to pick up tea when eating out. I dont really understand why, I mean I would rather not have another Brief Psychotic Episode etc and Im sure they would rather not have to deal with it either but they want to complain about how to stop it, it blows my tiny little mind

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Routine - success

Hi @ClockFace 

 

I liked reading your post as I too have my little routines that seem to keep me on the straight and narrow.  If routines work for you then that is a good thing.

 

Was just wondering if you have thought about doing your shopping online that way you can get a decent shop done.  So instead of wandering through the same grocery aisles, you can walk somewhere that you enjoy.

 

Good luck with your routines  🙂

Re: Routine - success

@Asgard 

Hey, routines are really important to my mental health. I am dealing with a couple of issues with my sleep at the moment (past several months) which means I sleep when I can, so I have no bedtime or wake time, I typically only sleep a couple hours at a time as well so sometimes I have a couple times in bed and some times Im awake for a day or so with no time in bed. So having a set time for my routines doesnt happen, which I find pretty hard. I have it more set to periods of time at the moment, like morning, afternoon and evening, which seems to work around 80% of the time. 

 

I do my shopping online predominately, I cant manage shopping in person anymore due to my disabilities. At worst I do direct to boot. I have my grocery needs pretty well sorted so that I can do basically one shop a month. A lot of my diet is meal replacement shakes and the like and my main meal is bought online and its a microwave job as I cant stand long enough to cook anymore. Everything is tailored to high protein, low carb because of diabetes and Im trying to get healthier (all under the care of a nutritionist).

 

I like routines, I like things being planned and organised. I have a meal planner that has my meals sorted for the next couple of months, with a bit of a change over period at the moment as Im changing protein powders etc. Thats in Excel then it all goes into a tracking app. All about making sure Im meeting dietary targets etc. I have similar for my budget an Excel workbook planning thro to the end of the year and then a tracking app to make sure Im following it as best I can and know where Im up to. 

 

Sounds stringent but its not, things change and so do I and there is room for that but knowing that I can afford the things I need going forward, what Im eating just having things planned out while I can makes it easier during the times when things like that are hard. I dont have to think about things, I have my routine, my plans, my set orders each month. The hardest thing is actually putting the order in and picking it up when its delivered to my parcel locker or actually following my routines. But I have been finding it easier since I started setting this up, I dont feel right if I dont do the things I have planned. So even when Im depressed Ill still do the routines etc because I feel "right", Im still depressed and still no motivation but I feel less like Ive done the wrong thing, guilty or like Ive let myself down. 

Re: Routine - success

Hi again @ClockFace 

 

Well you certainly have your routines as regards food in order,  You mentioned that sometimes you don't have the energy to put in orders, so how about treating yourself to something nice on those days - (Ben & Jerrys ice cream is my treat).

 

Are you getting out n about, a bit hot these days, but when it cools down

 

Take care

Re: Routine - success

Generally Im buying a months worth of stuff (food etc) at a time now. Ive worked out my meal plan for months ahead of time pretty much. I dont vary my food I eat a lot, except dinner which cycles through 3 or 4 meals. I might change flavor of the shake etc Im eating and for the most part I eat at the same time every day, if not the same time within 30min of the same time. The only time thats not the case is when the sleep issue wins out and I crash out.

 

I rarely dont have meals available, the mob I use is online and cheaper that way but has moved into Woolies/Coles. Its only a handful of meals but its something, for the most part I have access to the meals I like. Even the shakes I can get from Woolies. So I dont really have cheat nights. Occassionally Ill have a bag of chips or some iced coffee but thats it.

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