What are you thinking about doing just now?

[Merritt]

Thinking of going back to bed for a couple of hours and hoping the Wheel of Mood Swings lands on something better when I wake up.

[Clementine]

^

[Tembo]

Ive learnt with depression that I'm very much alone in this world. I try to open up to friends and family, but they just brush it off, or immediately change the subject onto themselves.

I don't really ask for much, I'd just like to talk about my feelings for a few minutes a week .

All this mental health advice says to open up and talk to people - well, to who?
When people say 'how are you?' to me, they don't actually want me to tell the truth. Such a stereotypically English thing it seems.

This forum is really great, and there are some lovely people here. But I'd like to be able to talk about it to someone I know really well, like close friends and family.

[newbs16]

^ What's wrong?

[Consolida]

^^ Aww Jinny, I hope you found the courage to go for a swim and felt all the better for it But, don’t beat yourself up if you decided to return home and snuggled up in bed. It’s a miserable time of year I think. Christmas just around the corner and the weather is chilly and damp. Look after yourself

[Schmosby]

Well done

[Consolida]

^^ Well done Jinny

[Tembo]

Originally Posted by GlasgowFilmTheatreFan

Aleks some people are good for certain parts of friendship but just literally aren't wired for empathy. If we are unwell mentally or physically it's almost like their attitude is "let me know when you get better, we must meet up". For me I value the 50 minutes I have each week to talk about my feelings with a counsellor. When that ends I'll likely make more use of helplines.

Noticed I sort of put this in the wrong thread!

But thanks GlasgowFilmTheatreFan, you're right. I'm not having therapy at the moment, but perhaps I should have some more.

Jinny, glad you managed to do it

[Schmosby]

Just got in from work...so thinking of sleeping preceded by food, shower and posting here.

[Circlesquare]

Should I message an ex work colleague to ask how she is doing with her new job and things? We were Facebook friends until she unfriended me over a work thing where I had to tell her off about wandering about and not working.
Another person who I work with has said that her Facebook posts all seem very down and depressed, it sounds like her new job is not going as she thought.
I don't know whether to message this person to see how they are doing or just leave it. Thoughts???

[Consolida]

Originally Posted by Ichigo

Should I message an ex work colleague to ask how she is doing with her new job and things? We were Facebook friends until she unfriended me over a work thing where I had to tell her off about wandering about and not working.
Another person who I work with has said that her Facebook posts all seem very down and depressed, it sounds like her new job is not going as she thought.
I don't know whether to message this person to see how they are doing or just leave it. Thoughts???

A small part of me thinks ’Go for it! What harm can it do?’ but a bigger part of me would think ’Do I really want to attempt to resume a friendship with someone who unfriended me simply because my job required me to ask them to work when they weren’t?’

(I assume you held a higher level at work than this colleague and part of your job description was to politely ‘tell off’ colleagues who were slacking?)

If you had previously developed a good friendship with this colleague then I guess you could message her with a casual ’Just wanted to say hi and to see how things are going?’ sort of thing. She may well respond to your message but I think you should also be prepared for her ignoring you. If the latter should happen then I think you should try to move on from what happened with this ex colleague and tell yourself that it’s her loss Ichigo

I don’t know if that helps at all

[Circlesquare]

Yes I'm a team leader so it's my job to motivate my team, and I'm not a shouty person so it was more out of frustration that I trusted her to do the work.

I've decided not to bother... I doubt anyone would bother with me, and infact nobody does.
Thank you for the replies Muggings and Vienna

[Schmosby]

Going home.

[Consolida]

Originally Posted by Ichigo

Yes I'm a team leader so it's my job to motivate my team, and I'm not a shouty person so it was more out of frustration that I trusted her to do the work.

I've decided not to bother... I doubt anyone would bother with me, and infact nobody does.
Thank you for the replies Muggings and Vienna

I think you have made the right decision Ichigo.
I think you deserve a much better friend than a colleague who ‘unfriends’ you because they weren’t pulling their weight and it was part of your job to tell them so.

As for nobody bothering with you, well, Vienna and myself responded to your post. That’s a kind of bothering isn’t it?
Take care

[Clementine]

Starting a new painting.

[Indigo_]

^ Got any ideas?

[Clementine]

^ Not really, I tend to just start something and make it up as I go along. I***8217;m a bit weird like that

[Indigo_]

^ Cool. Post pictures when you're done

[Mo34]

Going to bed. I feel whacked. When I went to bed last night i suddenly had an upset stomach and to run to the loo . That of course woke me up and a lay awake for ages. I then woke up at 5 am with a wheezing chest out of no where and couldn't stop coughing so I got up. ive felt zombiefied ever since.

[newbs16]

^ I hope you're better now.

[Mo34]

Yeah, just tired, thanks newbs . God knows where the wheezy chest came from, seems to have gone again

[Clementine]

Originally Posted by Tiger_Lily

^ Cool. Post pictures when you're done

Half of what I draw or paint ends up in the bin!

I painted a quick messy Robin yesterday.

[Mo34]

^ wow, that's amazing.
Have you not thought about trying to sell your art work?

[Jason90]

That's amazing Clementine , how come you throw away so many? I bought a sketch pad and some pencil's to try to learn to draw and maybe design my own personal tattoo, wish I had 20% of your skill! I'll tell the tattoo artist my nephew designed it or something..

[Clementine]

Thanks guys
I have sold a few to people who have asked for them, I don’t have the self confidence to sell anything otherwise though.
Most of them end up binned because I’m massively self critical, Jason. I think it’s mostly crap. It’s a big problem for me, I’m getting a bit better at showing people things I’ve done though at least

[Clementine]

Yeah it’s watercolour
I don’t mean I throw it all away, I just give up on a lot of stuff that doesn’t really work out and I’ll bin it or paint over canvases.

[anxiouslondoner]

^ I love it! You have talent.

By the way the Instagram link in your signature doesn't work any more since you changed your account name.

[Clementine]

^ Ta
Oh, thanks for letting me know!
*fixed*

[umm]

Originally Posted by Clementine

Thanks guys
I have sold a few to people who have asked for them, I don***8217;t have the self confidence to sell anything otherwise though.
Most of them end up binned because I***8217;m massively self critical, Jason. I think it***8217;s mostly crap. It***8217;s a big problem for me, I***8217;m getting a bit better at showing people things I***8217;ve done though at least

If that robin is anything to go by, your work isn't crap by any stretch. What, in an ideal world, would you like to happen with your work? To be sold? Exhibited? Or do you paint solely for your enjoyment?

[Clementine]

Originally Posted by umm

If that robin is anything to go by, your work isn't crap by any stretch. What, in an ideal world, would you like to happen with your work? To be sold? Exhibited? Or do you paint solely for your enjoyment?

Thank you

I think in an ideal world I would love to sell artwork and earn some of my own money. I was offered some gallery space a couple of years ago but I was in a particularly bad bout of depression and couldn’t go through with it. My mental health is too poor for me to think about doing anything serious with it, I don’t feel remotely good enough and my confidence is way too low. I still enjoy painting though, it’s my therapy