The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

Thanks @Cherryfudge, I'm trying to learn to give myself some grace. x

daisy_1571

Agreeing with cherry, definitely do the form brutally honestly because that is what it needs. Its going in written in stark bits of information to help the people who don't know you from Adam but who need this info to help them make their decision. Therefore it has to be cold, hard facts. Absolutely no point telling them your walking is fine if that's only because you limit yourself to only walk 7 steps because its painful to walk 8. The 7 ok steps aren't the point of the form. Its comparing your 7 steps against the average healthy person who can walk several miles before looking for a seat. Im sorry that completing the form will be hard as it will force you to look at your current state of health but once you have completed it, thats it out the way for another cycle.

Once its done, give yourself a little time to reset and then go back to seeing life as positively as you can, its a lovely character trait for you and others around you, it must help you on the bad days and the good days so keep that aspect. You are more than your illness, more than your bad days, more than the sum of your difficulties. You are mum, daughter, auntie, sister, friend, colleague, customer, client, online engager, chatter to random people you meet and etc etc. I don't get the impression you would judge someone else, dont be doing that to yourself, as you say, give yourself grace

Dxxxx

Newstartforme

Hi keedie , there will be people on here more knowledgeable than me but I think you would possibly be eligible for a council tax discount due to your house being adapted for your disability (bathroom) ? It's definitely worth checking that out as it may cancel out the rebate you are going to lose for single person discount. Good luck xx

Wanna_Bee_Free

Hi Keedie,

Sorry to hear you've been struggling. I've always found your posts on here so positive and encuraging. Thank you! Good luck with the form. I am getting in touch today to say don't forget to take a scan or copy it before it goes off. I am so grateful to past me this week who took a copy of my father's blue badge form 3 years ago.

Have a good week! xx

liselle

Yes exactly.I knew someone who suffered from terrible back pain.Her job, which she loved, involved standing all day.She would go in to work for one day and then have to spend the next 3 days in bed.She sadly had to leave the job eventually after her husband said she had to give it up for the time being, at least.I assisted her to do a staggered return to work.

Keedie

Thank you all for your advice and support, it has really helped me. I came a bit undone and got so anxious that I couldn't function. My mum had to end up calling the DWP for me to get a further PIP extension, and so I have until 8 May 2026 for it to all be sent off. The GP also gave me some medication that is like a strong antihistamine to make me drowsy enough to fall asleep. As I've been barely surviving on 3-5 hours of broken sleep each night. Hopefully it'll help.

Silver got spayed today and that was a rather expensive event, but hopefully everything should be okay moving forward in terms of pet finances. She's a little punch drunk at the moment and keeps toppling over in her hot pink cat suit that they put on her after the surgery. She still looks rather cute though.

I got £1,000 back from some of the money that I had lent a friend when I received my financial gift from a family member last year. That meant that I was able to set aside £1,128.64. I put it all into long term savings, sinking funds and savings challenges. I've also simplified my budget even further, so that it's just easier to handle and I don't have to give it much thought.

Being mentally unwell in the last few weeks has made me really evaluate my life and how I don't make enough effort to show up for myself. So the majority of the sinking funds were actually for me. I felt a bit giddy about it, and I was a bit scared to prioritise myself like that, as it feels so alien. But this is what I did, and I split it 50/50 digital Monzo pots and cash, with the full £1,000 being allocated to myself to reimburse myself so to speak:

• Flossin = £100 (beauty pot - and I went to the hairdressers on Friday and it's made a massive difference to how I feel)
• Socialite = £100 (going out with family/friends so that I can try and meet them for drinks, lunch etc)
• Sweet Treats = £50 (miscellaneous guilt free spending like a take away, buying a book etc)
• MentaPhysical Reset = £150 (anything that rebalances me, like a massage, craft activity etc)
• Social Solitude = £100 (when I need to get away and have some me-time, and this will be topped up with completed savings challenges)
• Birthdaze = £100 (I never remember to set aside anything for my birthday, but I've decided to change this)
• This Too Shall Pass = £100 (this is my bipolar buffer I am unwell and tip into reckless spending, this will scratch the itch so to speak without going into debt)
• The Keedie Fund = £150 (This is my overall miscellaneous fund that will prop up another category if needed)
• The AWE List =£150 (for Adaptations, Wellbeing & Equipment, so basically anything needed to make life with multiple chronic conditions easier to handle)

The remaining £128.64, was an additional £100 into my Natwest Digital Saver, which is my one month ahead fund. It now has £1,613.45/£5,000 in there now. The £28.64 was in coins that I had accumulated in my little money box throughout the month, and it went into my coin savings challenges.

Now that I've focussed on myself a bit, I can continue to set money aside so that I can repay my mum for the bookkeeping course (for which I am still seriously behind 😬). I need to count how much is in that envelope, as it's currently in cash in my safe and I will pay it into the bank and transfer it to my mum when I reach £300.

ArtyJ931

Woah - cool pot names. Mine are so bog standard. lol

Cherryfudge

Silver is such a beauty!

I'm so pleased you got an extension for your PIP. Poor sleep is so horrible, it makes things that much harder, so I'm glad the doctor could give you something to help.

beanielou

Glad Silver has had the ‘op’ and is on the mend. Such a cutie.

Keedie

She really is a cutie @beanielou. She's quite groggy today and rather clingy, but her appetite is slowly coming back, so that's good sign. Hopefully in a week or so she'll be more settled. And she has her post op check up with the vet, and we'll see how she's healing etc.

The PIP extension has really helped me @Cherryfudge to destress about everything and make notes of things as and when they come to me, rather than trying to cram everything. The stress and lack of sleep has pushed me into a mixed bipolar episode and these are the worst ones to manage, as you're both high energy and agitated whilst simultaneously being depressed and lethargic. I'm hoping it will tail off by the end of May/early June.

I find that having exciting or interesting names for my pots @ArtyJ931 makes managing money and budgeting more fun. My bills pot is aptly called The Burden 😂. I accumulate all income during the month to fund the following month's budget, and that pot earns a little bit of interest and is called The Parachute, as it's like my little financial safety net. I do have to amuse myself wherever I can 😁.

I paid £50 into my Help to Save account today and £150 into my Natwest Digital saver, so that I can rebuild my savings. And I put £25 into my short term sinking funds.

I also checked my debt cash envelope and I've managed to set aside £355 so far, as I put another £25 into the envelope today. So I will pay that into the post office and pay mum £300. That will leave me at 10% of the £3,000 repaid.