Tag: volunteering

Day 19

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Writing again

Photo by Thapelo Boateng on Pexels.com

Before and after going to the dog field with Lydia this morning, I did some work in the kitchen, finishing the decorating and cleaning, then putting things back but reducing clutter at the same time.  It does look and feel so much better.

Leaving Lydia to look after the house – Trev was still away but came back this afternoon – I headed over to the Buddhist Centre to do some volunteering for a few hours.

The work was outside. To begin with it felt a bit cold, but I had gloves, a hat, coat and boots. It wasn’t long before I took off the hat, coat and gloves, as the physicality of the work – sweeping – warmed me up. A few people – residents at the Centre – passed me as I was working and all made appreciative comments.  The young lady who was supervising me made sure that I was happy doing the work and insisted that I had a cup of tea before I left, which I did.

The satnav on the way home directed me on a different route to the one I normally take and it proved to be a calm and quiet drive, through villages lit up by Christmas lights – lovely.

Arriving home, I was glad I’d made the enchiladas the day before as all I had to do was turn the oven on before giving Lydia her tea and then having a bit of a rest.  Trev had returned home and it was good to watch a bit of telly.  It’s been a fairly full day, and a good one.

Day 5

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Writing again

Lydia jumped onto the grooming table as we arrived at our appointment this morning, without any prompting from either me or Vicky, the groomer.  Each time we go she is more relaxed about the process, although I still put a muzzle on her and feed her lots of treats through it, reinforcing the positive and managing the risk at the same time.

After grooming we went for a walk and then home. For once she didn’t push her breakfast ball around until it was empty – she was still so full of treats.

This afternoon I drove to the Buddhist Centre, to do a few hours of voluntary work that I’ve offered to do.

It felt good to work in a different environment and also to not feel rushed or pressurised in any way. After being introduced to the work that needed doing, I was left to get on with it and given a few encouraging comments along the way. The work was a simple physical activity although I did need to concentrate and apply sustained effort, which I did for almost three hours before heading for home.

It’s another early start tomorrow as I’m setting up a table at the Bootham & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre. So, I’ll take Lydia out for a walk just before dawn, pack a few remaining things that I need to take into the car and head off.

Today’s been a good day and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 1

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'3 Comments

Writing again

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After a two-week break, I’m back writing again.

It seems fitting to start this latest cycle of writing on a Mental Health Monday. So, it was a walk with Lydia this morning, yoga and Qigong this afternoon.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy with work on the house, doing some decorating, and I’m now starting on a phase of going round, room by room, clearing, cleaning, sorting.

Just as well then, that I’ve given myself a recharge boost with a weekend at the Buddhist Centre, with teachings and meditation sessions included as part of the course. I’ve also arranged to volunteer at the Centre one afternoon a week, which is an opportunity to put some skills and experience to good use, learn new things and meet new people.

For now, then, I’ve got a good complement of different activities and interests during the week, without being too structured or rigid and with plenty of time to rest or do other things as they arise.  I know I’ll want and need to review what I do at some point in the future as I look for new challenges and further growth, but I’ve got what I hope is a reasonable balance for the time being.

I continue to reflect on how fortunate I am to have my health, fitness and circumstances to be able to do what I do.

Thankfully, also, Lydia is fit and healthy too.

We’ll keep walking and working together and I’ll keep writing. They’re all good things to do.

Hard Core

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First published 17 August 2022

Breaking big rocks into smaller rocks: the hard-core approach to mental health recovery was the title of an article I wrote in 2013. It was published in a journal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists:

wp-1660729832067Download

I was surprised, though, that there was no follow up from that. Nobody from the world of psychiatry or related fields sought to make further enquiry about the approach I was taking to rehabilitate myself back into a relatively healthy state of mind.

I think maybe it was because what I was doing seemed quite bizarre: undertaking hard physical labour involving a large sledgehammer and a lot of rocks. And yet the improvements I found in my mental well-being were significant and lasted for several weeks after I returned to my day job, based in an office.

While I don’t believe that all aspects of my complex mental health needs would have been resolved by continuing to do rigorous physical endeavour all day, every day, the experience certainly had a part to play in my overall recovery.

And the principle of breaking things down into smaller chunks is one that I work with every day.

How else do you create hard core?

Day 12 – volunteering

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Writing into Life

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Lydia had some anxious moments when she saw another dog while we were out on our walk this morning.  I helped her through her anxiety with some guidance and reassurance, and hope that, over time, and with continued reinforcement, she will start to realise that she no longer has anything to fear, providing I’m with her. It’s no easy thing, working through deep-rooted fear. I know that from my own experience.

Latterly, and increasingly, I’m finding guidance and reassurance from the Buddhist community that I’m lucky enough to live near.  When I say ‘near’, it’s about a 45-minute drive away, but it’s near enough and it still amazes me that it’s there at all.

Finding a source of meaningful guidance and support through fear and anxiety is a big thing. It took me a long time to search out and find this guidance and support but I’m sticking with it now, and hoping that I’ll be able to give back through some volunteering work with the Centre.

I’ve done a lot of volunteering in my life, which has been part of my searching journey.

While at 69 I don’t have the same amount of available energy as I had when I was younger, I feel that I have a clarity and a focus that I didn’t have when I was younger either, so hopefully there’s a bit of a balance going on.

I have a friend who volunteers practically every weekend, after a full-on working week. That’s quite something, especially as it involves a lot of driving and early-morning starts.  Most people want to have long lie-ins at the weekend, but not my friend.  She’s a true star in every sense. Some people just keep shining. You know who you are Jo!

Day 7 – purpose

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Writing into Life

Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

Lydia and I did a double circuit of our woodland walk this morning.  It was good walking weather, neither too warm nor cold, and she was doing really well with her “heel” work, tugging on the lead only a little but also at times pulling herself into the “heel” position, which I was quick to reinforce with the reward of a treat (or three). She’s not just a “good girl”, she’s the best girl (but then I’m biased).

I’m rewarding myself with the treats of a yoga class followed by a Qigong class this afternoon.

I keep to the routine of my ‘Mental Health Mondays’ most weeks, providing the classes are on. It makes for a great start to the week, working at deep levels which, combined with meditation, help me to push through on positives.

That doesn’t mean that I’m always ‘doing stuff’.  It just means that I’m working on training my mind to not revert to the negative thought patterns that I grew up with, so that I can move forward in different ways, taking care of my body at the same time as I need it to carry me through.

I’ve taken a further positive step by applying to do some volunteering at the Buddhist Centre.

My offer is one afternoon a month for now, as I don’t want to over-commit on top of existing commitments, particularly since I’m still working through a phase of burnout.  But being at the Centre yesterday helped to remind me how replenishing an atmosphere it is, and I have a lot of skills learned in my working life that could be put to good use.

It isn’t always easy, during retirement, to re-establish ourselves after the rigours of working life have taken their toll. I don’t want or need too many things going on but I do need to feel that there is some meaning and purpose in what I do and why I do it.

Hard Core

'A Poetic Potter & A Potting Poet'Leave a comment

Breaking big rocks into smaller rocks: the hard core approach to mental health recovery was the title of an article I wrote in 2013. It was published in a journal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists:

wp-1660729832067Download

I was surprised, though, that there was no follow up from that. Nobody from the world of psychiatry or related fields sought to make further enquiry about the approach I was taking to rehabilitate myself back into a relatively healthy state of mind.

I think maybe it was because what I was doing seemed quite bizarre: undertaking hard physical labour involving a large sledge hammer and a lot of rocks. And yet the improvements I found in my mental well-being were significant, and lasted for several weeks after I returned to my day job, based in an office.

While I don’t believe that all aspects of my complex mental health needs would have been resolved by continuing to do rigorous physical endeavour all day, every day, the experience certainly had a part to play in my overall recovery.

And the principle of breaking things down into smaller chunks is one that I work with every day.

How else do you create hard core?