Doing Alright.

[JPEG1998]

Hi @Shaz51 ,

How are you going today/tonight?

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing physical ailments. I am 26 and have a tiny cyst in my brain, and my knees are buggered from years and years of playing netball. While it is not considered an emergency, I can't help but wonder if the cyst in my brain is a contributing factor to my turbulent and unpredictable behaviour over the past ten years. Who knows 🤔

[JPEG1998]

Hey @Ainjoule ,

A meeting for a local consumer advisory sounds interesting! 

What is cognitive remediation therapy? 🤔

I have been taking care of myself by catching up on sleep, and volunteering with children and cats 😺

[Ainjoule]

Hey @JPEG1998 

I've only just started the cognitive remediation therapy. I think it's suppose to help with memory and problem solving. So far it's mental exercises on the computer. It's ok.

Sleep works wonders hey. Good on you for volunteering with children and cats. Do you have any pets at the moment or you are busy with the volunteering with the cats? 

[Shaz51]

Hugs @JPEG1998 😊

I am tired and going to bed @Ainjoule , @tyme , @JPEG1998 

Hope you all have a good sleep tonight 

[Ainjoule]

Night @Shaz51 

[tyme]

Gnight @Shaz51 !

[jabart]

Hi @JPEG1998 

I think all ages use SANE forums.

It’s good to use journaling, it does help. We don’t have to always keep what we write. We can vent on paper, then find a safe place to dispose of it. Often once we have vented, our point of view changes and our resilience strengthens. Our journal can help us focus on more positive attitude. 

As I am the carer of an adult son with complex psychological needs, my life can be a roller-coaster ride, with no time to find my balance. I understand what you mean by, “too overwhelmed with assignments and my personal life to actually stop for five minutes and ask for assistance”. At the moment my life home life is calm and I am not letting external factors intrude. I can use my journal to prioritise what is important. Although I can’t hold the world at bay indefinitely, it is giving me a breathing space. 

Have you talked to your psychologist about how to upgrade your education level. We CAN’T learn when we are in overwhelm, and it can be triggered by any renewed attempt to restart and drop us back into an “I can’t state of mind”. Find something you want to learn for your enjoyment, a short course, and go for it.

Everyone is different, we all have different learning styles, ASD/ADHD gives us issues with ‘voice’ processing, I’m on the spectrum and I learn better from the written word yet my son learns better from the spoken word. Little steps, an occasional helping hand, and our goals are achievable.

[defaultusername]

I am going well today, thank you for asking @JPEG1998! 🙂 How are you going?

I have 4 dogs but 1 solely sleeps with my mother as they are loyal, haha.

I have a Bull Mastiff x Bull Arab, Kelpie x Heeler, Kelpie x Bull Arab and a lil bitsa. Aw that's lovely you have the two cats. I love cats too, we sadly lost our cat of 13yrs late last year and he was such a joy. And even got on with the doggos, well he was Top Cat even our big dog was scared of him 😂

That is a unique pairing, I hope the new diagnosis can at least help you moving forward. Especially with the NDIS. Last I heard, they will be introducing needs based assessments eventually? I hope that is still the case, as so many people sadly miss out when the need is still there.

And thank you, yes bullying is so cruel and I now feel sorry for anyone that ever does it as it's such a cry for help in my eyes. I just wish younger me thought like that, haha.

No problems at all I hope it can be of some help for you, TAFE has been amazing to help me catch up and get to where I'd like to be. And such a supportive space to be a part of especially in preparing for uni.

And not a problem at all, I hope that you do in fact see how resilient you are 🧡

[JPEG1998]

Hi @jabart , 

Apologies for the late response. I've been taking a break from the forums. How have you been lately? How is your son going?

I thought what you wrote was great, '[o]ften once we have vented, our point of view changes and our resilience strengthens.' I found that this aligned with what I experienced with journaling, and due to this, I plan to journal again. I want to make this a healthy habit of mine, even if I am feeling good and want to write down my thoughts and feelings. And it is great to hear that you too are utilising a journal!

My parents can relate to you, as they too [had to] care for someone with complex psychological needs. It turns out that I actually do have schizophrenia (myself and my care worker from the mental health centre recently caught up and spoke about my co-morbid diagnoses), along with the autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. I am grateful that I do not experience delusions anymore. And I have never been the type of person to hear voices that nobody else can hear, along with seeing things that other people cannot see. My parents work full time, and whilst they are at work, I will undertake my three volunteering roles, spanning across a couple of days per week. I think that it is great to give you time and skills back to the community, and sometimes you even get to develop great friendships with like-minded people. I volunteer with cats (working on the admin side of things), children (through mum's work), and at an op shop! 

My care worker is going to find a good psychologist for me at the local mental health centre. I've been seeing psychiatrists in the public system that have helped me monitor my medication, throughout their tenures. When I spoke with my care worker last, we discussed paid work, and balancing that out with university or adult school (where adults go the get their high school certificate). Everything is up in the air at the moment, with the exception of paid work. I have been shortlisted for an admin role! I have my fingers and toes crossed that I get an interview.

Being on the ASD spectrum can undoubtedly tough, as you can tell from this post. I believe my dominant style of learning is visual, where my back-up style is audio. My favourite subject would have to be mathematics, as I am quite good with numbers. Like you said, '[l]ittle steps, an occasional helping hand, and our goals are achievable.'

Looking forward to hearing from you.

JPEG1998

[JPEG1998]

Hi @defaultusername ,

Apologies for the late response.

I've been doing quite well. Taking my medication everyday, as required and recommended, undertaking my three volunteering roles back-to-back, which I am really enjoying 😁

Oh bless 😂 Pets can be so carefree, yet caring at the same time 😊 It is never easy losing a beloved pet, so I do apologise for the loss of your cat. My 4yo male cat is currently in the kitchen sink, eating leftover bits of rice! It never ends with him 😂 On the topic of dogs, my aunt has a kelpie, and he is out of control 😂

I am honestly not too familiar with how the NIDS works. What I am aware of is the fact that applicants need to exaggerate in order to be successful in receiving funding from them.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

JPEG 1998.