Mental health

Mental health is an ongoing battle. Much like physical health you have to keep on top of it. I have been struggling lately.

Autism has always been part of my life. I've always known I was different but not why until 14 years ago I was diagnosed.

Trying to fit into a world that I struggled to understand has led to periods of depression and poor mental health throughout my life. I have had a breakdown, been through counselling and medication.

I changed my work shifts last year which has helped enormously. I was on sertraline for depression. I weaned myself off before Christmas but two weeks ago recognised I needed to go back on it. 

I'm posting this so that other people, no matter what the reason for their mental health struggles, can see they aren't alone.

There are no wrong answers. Do whatever helps. Talk to people especially your family, meditate, yoga, running, exercise,seek counselling, get medication but don't suffer in silence. You are not alone.

Does your mind ever wonder to the bigger picture?

It's easy to get caught in the immediate stuff like the Tory Brexit or the cost of living crisis.

Does your mind ever wonder to the bigger picture? By bigger picture I mean the biggest picture. Mine does.

The human race. Where are we going? The answer to me cannot be separated from where we came from.

Everything we know including ourselves is made of matter. Matter that was created in the birth of stars.

In other words we are born of the stars. Our destiny, if we are to survive as a race, lies one way or another in the stars.

One likely possibility is that we will be stupid enough to burn through all the natural resources on our planet. Therefore we will have to journey to the stars to find another planet for human life to continue.

Even if this scenario, or another scenario, does not occur one day our sun, like all stars, will burnout and explode. Resulting in the same journey to the stars, beforehand, to find another planet if we are to survive as a race.

Our journey as a human race therefore started in the stars and unavoidably will end in the stars.

Reflections

 Sat in the window seat of a coffee house this morning. The perfect position to watch the world go by.

Yet my attention is drawn to the bulb just above my head.

The glowing pleasingly shaped filament. 

The warm colours in the glass. Warm like a real fire.

The reflection of the world around me. The window bar where I am sitting and my cappuccino at the bottom of the bulb. 

The street outside with people moving to and fro on the left of the bulb.

All the while my world sits next to me in conversation, Mrs J and my Son, while my autistic mind wonders…..

🎆Highlights of 2022🎆

Shift change - changing shifts after 34 years from continuous shifts with nights to days/afternoons ( Mon - Fri). Probably the biggest and definitely the most life changing alteration.

A job - for my Son. Finally getting a job after five years of trying. Defying expectations due to his autism left school with good qualifications going on to get a degree in IT. Now doing several hours a week working from home and earning. Finally a start and a foot in the door.

Changes….

2 Monarchs

2 Deputy PM's 

3 PM's

3 Secretaries of state for work and pensions 

3 Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

3 Home Secretaries 

4 Chancellor's

And still stuck with the Tory party 🎶

Feel free to sing along to the tune of Twelve Days Of Christmas 🎶🎶😉

Discovering Mastodon - a social network that is just that - Social. Somewhere I can be myself, engage with others and post about my various interests in one place. Liberating.

Entering a race - entering a race for the first time since before the pandemic. The Chester Metric Marathon in October 2023. Done the Chester marathon but always fancied this as it is a unique distance.