Eating the Elephant

One of my biggest issues is getting overwhelmed by looking at things as a whole instead of breaking them down into more manageable tasks.  Case in point, my house, I would get so overwhelmed by the whole big mess that it would just throw me into a depression and make me feel worthless.  So in my partial hospitalization therapy (which ended on Thursday), a person said that

"The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time"

Wow!   What a powerful statement!  No matter what obstacles you may face or how overwhelmed you may be by stuff....you have to take it one bite at a time.  This approach has really helped me in my house cleaning etc.  Today I got so much accomplished, we made a garbage run (our dumpsters are down the street), I cleaned and vacuumed the hallway (not completely but much better), cleaned the main floor bathroom, did 2 loads of dishes by dishwasher and 2 loads of dishes by hand.  I also cleaned/scrubbed the floor in a corner by the sink.  I feel so accomplished and I wasn't overwhelmed by it all.  It is great.

Also there was another quote that I really got from the group sessions.
"If you're not working towards something you're going backwards"  This really hit home as well because this is a lifelong disease it is something I have to control and work towards EVERY day, I can't let it slack.  She also talked about how just like for competitive sports (baseball, basketball, soccer etc) have to practice before the game, so do alcoholics/mental illness people, we have to practice/work towards recovery EVERY day, we have to carve out time in our daily schedules so we can be prepared. If you prepare and practice everyday you are more likely to be successful when an even comes that may be a trigger.  Also we need to focus on the positive.  Ask yourself the question would I rather sit in front of the TV or learn how to better deal with my disease.  Strongly suggested a support system (friends, family, group, counselors etc).  Do what you have to do EVERY DAY to keep the illness at bay.  Just like my husband is a diabetic so he takes pills every day and watches what he eats, so I need to not only take my pills, but work on relaxation techniques, therapy etc, EVERY DAY.  I am going to find a group therapy to go to, see my psychiatrist (first appt in 2 weeks) and my counselor (first appt on Monday), I am very excited to keep going with my recovery.  In fact, Rob surprised me on Thursday night, he bought me a bunch of jewelry making supplies for me to develop as a hobby.  I wasn't really a jewelry person before I joined and sold Park Lane Jewelry, but now I love it, and now that I'm feeling better, I don't want to leave the house without putting some on.  So we went to walmart, and I swear we bought one of everything in their jewelry section (not really but darn close) then we went to Michaels and bought some books etc.
 Here are just a few samples of what we have made:
These are my 'recovery' jewelry.  They are purple/amethyst which is for healing, the heart on the necklace is to remind me of how much I am loved by friends/family, the couple in the heart is to signify the love my husband and I share, and the 4 leaf clover to remind me of how lucky I am to be here.  The bracelet on the right is one that Rob made, it has purple beads, a heart and then a hope ribbon, again to remind me of my recovery.
The Owl and dangler were part of a kit, but I added the sparklies at the bottom of the owl.

 Rob made these earrings for me, he is so good at this already, he says it's because it's just like making fishing lures that he used to enjoy making when he was growing up.