Days of Gratitude - Psychiatrists, the DWP, and What Went Wrong.

Time for some more gratitude.  These days include things that went right.  And things that went wrong but which I was able to turn round and use for something good.

Another gratitude thing, for me if not for anyone else:  This is the 57th post I've made on this blog so far in 2016.  This is the same number of posts as in 2014 and 2015 put together.  A large part of this is gratitude.  And a large part is my improved mental health, combined with there not having been any major surprises to work through (so far) this year.  Things still aren't easy in my head.  If they were easy the post for 17th May would have been completely different due to not needing to visit mental health services and plead for medication.  But things are certainly better than they were through last year.

15^th May

Sharing time with a friend and a drink.

I don't often go to this chain but the places we had planned to meet were closed or just closing.  It was tasty though and half the usual price too.



 

Taken from my pew during the service at Northern Lights MCC

That being back at church for a week was actually quite nice.

For seeing a friend doing something there that brings her joy.

For buying a simple game to take to Amanda in Manchester next week.

This game was released in 2003.  If you want to buy it from Amazon in the UK the only one available will set you back £142 including delivery.  I paid £1.49 from a charity shop.

16^th May

Plans went wrong. As happens sometimes.

Iceland

 Grateful that meant I could chat with someone I'd hardly spoken with before.

And then the empty space after that, still waiting for something that didn't happen, meant I could pull out the phone and find pretty things to point it at.

Newcastle Civic Centre

17^th May

I've been taking some meds to get me through the worst of the days. Grateful that today they agreed that it might be worth prescribing them officially. I've spent six months wanting this. Hope they work well when taken regularly.

Grateful to have walked from town to the appointment rather than taken the Metro. Because the view from New Bridge Street over the Ouseburn is worth walking for.


Also grateful that the consultant psychiatrist who came in at the end to say I could have the drugs couldn't understand how it was possible that both Beth and I are the biological parents of our child. That entertained me!

18^th May

Grateful for forcing myself out for another random walk this afternoon. It was made more random than it already was by making the mistake of catching a bus to Stannington and finding it was one of the ones that terminated at Dinnington and so didn't get close to Stannington.

But I walked anyway. A circular walk that looked good on a map. And I enjoyed it.

19^th May

Grateful:

That after a very rocky start in mental health I recovered some.

That I have booked a trip to see Amanda in June. That with booking fee the return coach fare is £6.50, a new record low price for me.

That after nearly 3 weeks of chasing, the DWP has finally managed to tell me that they did receive my PIP appeal letter but haven't looked at it in the two months since putting in on their system. But at least I know it's there.

That Facebook reminded me about a mental health event in Wallsend that I'd totally forgotten about. I got there for the last couple of hours, saw a few people I've known in the past, got given a voucher for a drink in John Lewis, and was able to look a the Tyne afterwards.

And grateful to have This One, who helped me through this morning's struggling brain and kept me sane by holding me through all the phone calls and by being so soft.

That's a lot of grateful.