Arty Kitkat
I saw the how to so thanks. Can you do them by hand too? I do have a machine but its not working that well at the moment. The thread keeps snapping or getting knotted up :/
Posts by Arty Kitkat
Kira I got my bits today 
I'll post a piccie this evening. Already had a jolly rancher - really unusual flavour but yummy. Also me & my bf have eaten kitkats too - we have them in the UK but with different packaging which is cool. Thank u. Yours should be with you v soon. Its been posted but a few days later than originally planned.
Kira I got my bits today I'll post a piccie this evening. Already had a jolly rancher - really unusual flavour but yummy. Also me & my bf have eaten kitkats too - we have them in the UK but with different packaging which is cool. Thank u. Yours should be with you v soon. Its been posted but a few days later than originally planned.
Glad to hear your okay and congratulations on your newest addition
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38477438@N04/3774107909/" title="Recycled Beaded Earrings by ArtyKitKat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3774107909_81708ccb78_o.jpg" width="512" height="640" alt="Recycled Beaded Earrings" /></a>
Earrings made from beads found in a charity shop, wire and silver beads from the tie of some flowers
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38477438@N04/3782015499/" title="Business Card Holder by ArtyKitKat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3782015499_f70cefc2dc.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Business Card Holder" /></a>
Bussiness Card Holder made from chewing gum packet
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38477438@N04/3782826794/" title="Beaded necklace by ArtyKitKat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/3782826794_ea715c2040.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Beaded necklace" /></a>
Beaded necklace from old coaster chopped up and beads from a bracelet picked up in a charity shop
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38477438@N04/3782016441/" title="Bookmark and Skull & Crossbones stamp by ArtyKitKat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/3782016441_5626359817.jpg" width="400" height="500" alt="Bookmark and Skull & Crossbones stamp" /></a>
Bookmark made from card from the packaging of a pair of tights and pirate stamp made from old milk bottle
I think that was all that I made
Love the rings
Angelina you can forward them onto me - I'll pm you my address - only problem is that I'm in the UK but if your okay with that I'm happy
I like the sound of this but I'm not sure how you make them. A how to would be handy.
I like the sound of this but I'm not sure how you make them. A how to would be handy.
Heather I had a similar experience with meds. When I was on Prozac it didn't even hit the sides, even when I was on the highest dose. And the Mertazapine just freaked me out as it was too strong. It also really scared me that the tablets where so small. I got really anxious about ODing on them if I had a bad night. The Venlafaxine seems a good mid way one and suits me but unfortunately it only really takes the edges of the depression but still thats way better than nothing.
Also don't give yourself a hard time about forgetting, I have days where I have good intentions and then get to the end of the day and remember. I think depression does odd things to your memory. I'm trying to get myself into a routine of eating regularly and not just crap when I realise I've forgotten. I've found that when that happens I get into a really bad cycle. When I get low blood sugar I get anxious and low but my appetite isn't always great so if I forget I eat rubbish like chocolate or cakes or lattes and then I get into this really negative thought pattern where I beat myself up because I have eaten 'bad' food and I'm therefore a bad person and it all just spirals. this last couple of days I've just been trying to focus on a day at a time. Its tough though. And Heather you're not complaining x You're just doing your best to juggle everything which is hard.
I'm so glad your first session went well. I was thinking of you today. I know what you mean about 'you won't do anything stupid will you?' comments. If I let my mum in on how I'm really feeling, first she'll try and 'fix it' and then when she realised she can't just fix it she seems to get a bit pissed off with me, like I'm deliberately being difficult and then she'll end the conversation with that wonderful line. I know she's just frustrated because she can't help (and she works as a nurse so I think she's used to being able to help) but I always end up feeling bad for saying anything or being honest. I stick to chit chat know and thats much better. I hope I don't make her sound awful cos she's not but she just seems to think me moving back to Norwich will fix everything. Its like they don't have depression in Norwich!!!!
I'm sorry you've felt low for so long. It sounds like the therapy is going to be intense which I think is a good thing. Sometimes short bursts of therapy are great in theory but if you have a long standing problem you need something that will go much deeper. I think its probably going to be really tough but it sounds like you've got some good people around you. x
Cool I've got gimp so I'll have to give this a try
Slap art - try googling nopanic - they're a british charity that works with people with anxiety issues and they have a helpline, loads of self helps stuff (DVDs, relaxation CDs, leaflets, booklets) and they also do a thing where you join up and pay a small joining fee and you can join one of their telephone support groups. They do a lot around social anxiety and they do a self help programme in the form of a booklet and CD. I got it to go through with 2 of my clients and although we weren't able to do it because other stuff came up the stuff they sent was pretty good.
Mind also do loads of leaflets and self help stuff and so do Sane. Sane also have their own phoneline too.
Anyway I hope that helps. I seem to have slipped into linkworker role a bit there. Unfortunately I can't seem to apply it to myself which feels like a bit of a bad joke. I've had a shite day today. Of all things to bring me down, it was finding out that I don't have an underactive thyroid that had me in tears today! You'd think I'd be happy but I think I was pinning so much on having a physical thing wrong which could be fixed that I feel so shit that I've got to go back to being not my body's fault that I'm depressed but its my brain. Although I know rationally that its an illness I feel so shit that I've been taking all this medication, had CBT read god knows how much stuff and I'm now doing online CBT and its not really making a dent on it. My psychiatrist was quite happy when he saw me last week as my scores on these depression and anxiety tests done during the CBT showed quite an improvement. What he probably isn't taking into account is that my mood cycles. If I'd ended my CBT on week 19 and not week 20 my scores were just as bad as when I started the therapy! I know I'm probably on a low part of the cycle and I 'know' that I'll come out of it but while I'm in it its horrible. I just feel like if I get too much thinking time I'll be in tears and I feel like I have no control over my thoughts. I don't know if anyone else gets this but I think being 'well' is really tiring and I only seem to be able to keep it up for a month or 2 and then I go right back down again for another months of shit.
I also spotted this http://www.intervoiceonline.org/
Have a check of this link http://tallguywrites.livejournal.com/133179.html?page=1#comments
A friend found it a while back and I printed it out at work (I also work in mental health) and gave a few copies to our hearing voices group and some of our Under 30s group and we're hoping to get a copy of the book when its released for work as we thought it was really well written and helpful at explaining some of the symptoms. I'm also trying to get hold of an excellent book one of the hearing voices group brought in for me to read. It was given to him by his CPN and was apparently produced by one of the drug companies (I think they produce Respiridone) and that was very similar and also very good. If it gives you any hope, this particular client still hears voices and experiences many of the symptoms but has learnt techniques to manage them so that he is still able to live his life. He's in his mid thirties now and it has taken him time to do but he's actually managed to make friends with some of his voices so they can help back him up against the bad and bullying voices. He's also learnt to negotiate with them so that he 'books them in' at a time so they don't bother him so much other times.
Its sad I really would love a world where people dealt with mental illness in the same way they do physical illness. I know that thats not always perfect but it would mean that people wouldn't feel the mix of negative emotions when someone discloses that they are ill. Fear is probably the worst as people have probably more to fear from the person serving their lunch with the cold than they do from someone with depression or schizophrenia or any other mental illness but because there is still so much stigma and ignorance people get scared. Sometimes thats what I love about my job. It's like walking into a parallel universe where mental health problems normal and talked about like anything else.