My home is a mess

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning everyone. Cat have you ever tried Echinacea? I swear by it, although its best if you can start to take it as early as possible. If someone else in the family gets a cold I take Echinacea for a week or two.

What a lovely treat Laurel, have never been to Paris before. Sometimes you just need to do these things.

Ah and Cats. My beloved cat got run over on the road outside our house which is meant to be a 30 zone but few people drive though at less than 60. I couldnt face that happening again so I resign myself to small furry pets that live in cages. I would secretly love a dog but OH hates them since he was bitten badly as a child so I guess its never going to happen.

I have to say there is some serious work going on around here - whats happening to us all? We will have to change the name of the thread soon. I am about to undertaking a big declutter and clean of the utility room which I have set aside the day to do. Its that bad!

Cat501

What a shame about your cat YL

I have tried echinacea before, I was looking for it in the chemist across the road last week but it's only a very small branch of Boots and they didn't have any. If I go further afield today though, I'll get some

I will ALWAYS be a messy, just hopefully a slightly more organised messy!:D

bearcub

Morning Messies (and Not-So-Messy Messies!)

Laurel, how lovely to have that room finished. Now, *all* you have to do is keep it that smart and tidy! And a visit to Paris! Not a place I've ever been to, nor ever will, I'd guess, as OH has no interest in France at all. I'm glad you all enjoyed the visit, though. Very good news about the work 'do' not now being at your place. How disappointed you must be!

Cat, I think nearly everyone has 'messy-itis' in them, except the obsessively clean people. Good news about the unit - what a find! :T Hope it stays dry for you, so you can get it home. I hope you can find something to frighten the sniffles away, so you can enjoy your holiday.

It rained here for at least 14 hours non-stop yesterday and, after a brief spell of brighter light (wouldn't take much), it's raining again. I'm not surprised, as I've noticed that if the clouds look as if they're thinning out, then it's bound to rain harder - Bear's Theory of Brightivity!

Right, must go and see to the lads. See you later.

Soworried

Can I join in please?

My home and garden are in an terrible state and getting worse. They used to be lovely but I was then struck down by a mental health issue.
I now struggle to motivate myself to do anything. I am looking out the window at my once nice garden which is now full of weeds and the grass a foot high I just want to cry at the state of it.
I'm pushing people away and not answering the door and phone as it is so bad I don't want people to come around.

Cat501

Hi and a big welcome to you soworried! Aww a few of us here know just how you feel (((hugs))). It can feel impossible even to summon up the motivation to get dressed sometimes eh?

First up, I guess you're having some treatment from the doctor? How's that going?

Secondly, there are lots of incredibly kind and encouraging people on here! I joined in I think it was last October - with a plea like yours Around February I fell off the wagon again (not booze, the mse wagon!). couldn't even motivate myself to read let alone post. I've also ignored the door, for years really!:p

But you've posted so :T It's baby steps on here - sometimes tiny tiny baby steps!!:p List EVERYTHING you do - whether it's making a cup of tea, getting dressed, posting a letter - everything! You'll see that every day you manage something, even if it IS only getting up and dressed, or brushing your teeth. Give yourself a pat on the back for anything you manage!

You're ill, and you have to look after yourself, so thinking about how lovely things were before you became ill probably won't help. For the moment at least, things are different x

Thinking about it right now, what's the one thing which is getting you down the most in your home? Start with that and break it right down into very very small chunks

Soworried

Thankyou, that is exactley how I am feeling. Half the day has almost gone and I am yet to brush my teeth. It is horrible, I never realsied that mental health issues were real or could be like this. I am on tablets and have been since April. I have been diagnosed with PTS after an incident that happend. I basically just shut down.
I think they might be starting to work and that is how I am starting to see how bad I was and how bad the house has become.
I am managing the small things now like making a coffee or a sandwich.

The thing getting me down the most is the garden, I can't hide how bad that is.

Thankyou for your post, that means a lot.

Cat501

No problem Sorry to hear about your incident and diagnosis but at least you have the diagnosis and are getting some help x

Hope the pics either make you realise it's nowhere NEAR as bad as you think:rotfl: or that you're not alone

Making hot drinks can seem like a lot of effort when you're ill so :T

Soworried

The pictures have helped thankyou for sharing those.

Even typing these posts has made me feel more motivated. I'm going to get ready.

bearcub

Hello soworried, and a BIG welcome to you. Cat has already given you some great advice, and she speaks from experience, as you've already realised, I think. Yes, little 'projects', one at a time. Whatever you do, DON'T look at the whole lot, or you'll never get going. Mental health can be a really big hurdle to get over, or past, but the problem certainly is real. If someone has never suffered with it themselves, or never had to deal with someone who has, they have no idea what's going on in your head, and it's NOT your imagination, or you being lazy. But, as I've said before, you ARE selfish, simply because you're very inward-looking, and you can be no other way while you are ill. If it would help to talk (although I suspect you may have another offer), please PM me.

Re the garden, do you by any chance have a friend who could cut the grass for you? If they've offered, and you've turned them down, then asking them could be a baby step towards action.

sonastin

Soworried - best way to tackle the big jobs when you're overwhelmed by them is to break them down into smaller jobs. Really really small jobs. Don't stress about getting "the garden" tidy. Break it down into areas - lawn, flowerbeds, pots, etc. Now break those down into even smaller tasks - watering the pots, pulling the weeds out of the pots, trimming the plants that are in the pots, moving the pots into a sunnier location, etc. In fact, pulling the weeds out of one pot, pulling the weeds out of another pot, etc. Only try to do one job, or one part of one job, at a time. When you've done it, reward yourself with a huge pat on the back for having done so and feel free to postpone doing another bit of a job until another day. Or feel motivated to do another bit of a job immediately - entirely up to you and how you feel but at least one tiny corner is starting to get better and you are back in control.

So, as a motivational kick up the backside (which you are free to ignore if you're not quite ready yet!) your one and only job to do today is to go into the garden and pull up one weed. Only one. You don't even have to brush your teeth to do it. And when you've pulled that one weed, take the day off and celebrate that you're starting to get your lovely garden back!