What I did today - for small achievements and cheers

[anxiouslondoner]

I actually cleaned and tidied my flat. It took the best part of two days and a number of evenings.
I feel almost normal. Never mind the large pile of boxes of stuff I never use but can't bring myself to chuck out, OK?

[Clumsy*]

^^ Jolly good job, AL !

This may inspire me to the same.

[SpectralOwls]

Originally Posted by Percy

Yay it's Spectral Owls. My favourite american

Glad to hear you're enjoying your job young lady

Aw, thank you Percy! <3

It's going much better than I thought.

[Percy]

You're welcome as always

[biscuits]

Nice one on the phone calls, Katie. Hopefully one day phone calls will become extinct!

That sounds really therapeutic, anxiouslondoner. Might I recommend a telescopic duster. Just because they're fun, not because I'm assuming you're hard to reach places are dusty.

[Appear]

The fella has been away for work since Monday and working from home means I've been pretty much home alone since then. So to get me out, at lunch I walked over to place that does lots of street food and had food sat in the sun. I nearly didn't go because of being a bit anxious eating out alone (as well as it just feeling like effort), but I'm glad I did. I'm lucky to have something like that so close really, so should make more use of it.

[biscuits]

^ nice one. Eating alone is the best. You'll become addicted to it and sneak out when Fella is in bed. I chop everything up really small when I eat with other people so I have something to look busy with.

[Percy]

Well done Appear

[Appear]

^ Ta!

^^ It will never happen - he's an early riser and I'm lazy. Unless I go out to eat at 11pm. Your chopping technique is clever. I normally eat quicker because I don't like being the only one left eating and the average person seems to shovel in their food at a much faster rate than I usually would.

[MissKatie]

I've gotten so much better at feeling comfortable in myself these last few years I will occasionally spring up a conversation with a stranger.
Like today shopping for worming tablets, a lady was dithering looking for dog food and we had a brief chat. Zero anxiety. Big win.

[Percy]

I've just had a long conversation with a chap and his dog outside starbucks

[Percy]

Well I had my flat warming bash. Only one personyn could make it in the end. Went very well with hardly any anxiety.

[Percy]

Thank you Miss Kooky.

[biscuits]

Excellent news, Percy. Gotta love it when something turns out to be enjoyable - instead of what our anxiety tells us it will be

Originally Posted by Percy

Well I had my flat warming bash. Only one personyn could make it in the end. Went very well with hardly any anxiety.

*hiccup* ?

[Percy]

Autocorrect you cheeky minx

[wez]

I was walking home from Tesco and spotted what I thought was a baby mole looking lost and far from home, wandering around a busy road ready to be squished, I had to step in and save the little adventurer hehe, I found an old tiny box on the side of the road and proceeded to chase the thing untill it gave up and decided the box looked like a safe place to investigate, thankfully it walked right in Turns out it wasn't a mole at all but in fact a shrew, I still think rescue was in order because of how it was playing chicken with the traffic. I walked to the local park and placed it into some long grass and away it went

[Percy]

Well done Wez.

[wez]

Thanks Percy

I am grateful that the whole thing went as smooth as it did as I didnt want to spend too long looking like a mad man crouch walking around the middle of the road, I owe that little shrew a big favour for surrendering himself so easily

[Rocket Spud]

Love these sort of stories - nice one, Wez!

[BritishPeace]

MAde some phone calls

[biscuits]

That's so sweet, wez! How lovely

^^^ nice one, BP. Phone calls are scary and it's such a relief when they're all done!

[BritishPeace]

It’s best just to do it as soon as you remember and not to think, do not think is one thing I have learned about anxiety

[wez]

[Jen.]

I had a work-related Teams call yesterday that I wasn't really dreading because I saw there were almost 30 other people on the invite list. I thought it was just going to be listening to an update with no input from anyone required, so I went into it quite relaxed, but then came the dreaded "Why don't we go down the list and everyone can do an introduction and tell us something interesting about themselves?"

I've never been so aware of the physical effects things like this can suddenly have on me (heart rate, breathing, nausea, light-headedness, compulsion to leave the situation). It felt like being back in school when similar situations would happen. I don't mind doing the introduction part, although the panic at the other thing made me panic about that too because I didn't have time to rehearse it in my mind, but having to think on the spot in front of so many people about something "interesting" to say was awful.

I would have been comfortable with it if there had been time to prepare, even if I'd just been told I'd be required to do this an hour before, so the stress of thinking on the spot wouldn't be there. Luckily my name wasn't too close to the start so there were maybe seven or eight who went before me. I won't say what I came up with, because the memory makes me cringe too much, but I'm glad I got through it because I was very, very close to just turning my computer off. Everyone else seemed to not care about doing it, unless they were good at hiding it, and some of their examples were awful really (e.g. "I like gardening" was one).

[Percy]

Well done Jen, that can't have been easy

[Appear]

^^ Nice one.

I've logged off a Teams meeting before when the chair said we'd be doing that. My attendance was optional and I did have some pressing stuff to do - that sealed it.

[Shy_pretty_Angela]

I managed to walk a bit!

[Percy]

Well done Angela

[Jen.]

Originally Posted by Appear

^^ Nice one.

I've logged off a Teams meeting before when the chair said we'd be doing that. My attendance was optional and I did have some pressing stuff to do - that sealed it.

Thanks - I kept thinking in the two minute window I had where I could have left and later claimed technical problems that I might just leave, but made the decision to fight through it and see. My cursor was hovering over the button the entire time though

I was considering that it might be easier to keep a list of "interesting things" on my desktop just case it happens again, plus something for the even worse "two truths and a lie". I've been put in that situation before in a seminar and decided it would be less excruciating to say "Sorry, but I really hate games like this, so I didn't think of anything" when it came to my turn than actually coming up on the spot with three things to say. It probably was, in hindsight, but it didn't feel like that at the time with everyone staring at me. I don't know why I always worry when everyone else's examples are almost always terrible. One example from that time was "I like Thai food," "I like Greek food" and "I like Chinese food." Who gives a **** what the lie is!

You'd think avoiding doing this stuff would come up in the inclusivity discussions businesses and places of education apparently have, but obviously not.

[Chess&Junkfood]

That's great to hear, Angela!