315- 2017 : a review, and goodbye!

I'm quite happy to see the back of 2017, as, despite many good aspects, it's been a very difficult year, full of so many struggles on so many levels!

314- So, Lulu, when are you going to have kids ?

Although not recently, most of my life I've hard the key question that seems to interest a lot of people : So, Lulu, when are you going to have kids ? I've put off this blog entry for a  very long time, partially because I don't tend to get this question that often anymore, and partially self-censored as this seems to be a hot topic.

313- 52weekgratitude - The end?

I followed 52weekgratitude's from start to end this year, which is more than I thought I would.

Indeed, I believed that I'd give up on it fairly quickly, because I wasn't a very positive person and some days, my struggles with depression made me even more negative. I had to adapt a few of the prompts, but managed the entire challenge !

312- My extended and elected family tree

 

This entry describes the people that I'd include in my family tree, but not in a genealogical sense. 

311- 100 things to be grateful for

52weekgratitude's near the end. For week 51, the prompt are 100 things to be grateful for...
I wasn't sure I could reach 100, but in a few days work and looking at previous posts and other people's for inspiration, I realized that each thing that I added, brought me closer to my goal, which is now complete.

310- Things I've learned in 2017

I'd initially planed this post for the very ending minutes of 2017, but two reasons compelled me to complete it earlier :

The first is my participation in a group post entry on Kay's MH_Stories blog, alongside the other ambassadors ;
The second reason is that this is the very topic of 52weekgratitude's 50th week. 

Thus, I present to you things that I've learned this year, thus far - and if I learn something else of value in the next 2 weeks, I'll either share it alone, or edit this entry. 

309- Daily impacts - Depression

I remind that you that this series is inspired by Jodie's "what it feels like" as seen on her blog.

For this 6th instalment in my daily impacts I'll concentrate on depression, a mental illness I've experienced as long as I can remember - as early as age 5, and, having seen photos of my even younger self, can imagine that I started even before that.

308- Daily Impacts- Mood swings and alterations

This is my 5th entry in daily impacts of mental illnesses. The first was for emeto & 3 other phobias. This series is inspired by Jodie's "what it feels like series" on her blog.

Mood swings and alterations are probably my most permanent and repeated symptoms of cptsd. I alternate between opposite extremes, such as emotional numbing, or hyper-emotional outbursts, or moments of rage switching to total apathy ; and have lived with chronic depression all my life. 

307- Dermatofibroma part 5 : It's a DFSP !

I wished that today would be the very last episode in my Dermatofibroma series, as I went to the dermatologist who retrieved my 8 stitches in just under 2 minutes and I only felt a sharp pain for 5 seconds - which is much better than lat time at the nurse's where I had a panic attack & mostly fainted.

306- CBT4Emeto- 1

I'll try to keep my entries about this particular series of CBT series trigger free, but if you suffer also from emeto, beware of the topic. Therefore, trigger warning always applies in them.

Well, today I had my very first CBT for emeto and my 3 other co-morbidly phobias that go hand in hand with : copro, hemo, and carno-phobias. 

305- Tools for depression & SAD

So, I discussed my struggles with depression in quite a few posts. I know a lot of us suffer from depression, either alone, or as a co-morbidity/part of another mental illness (such as mood disorders, cptsd- which is my case, or any other possible cause for it).

Depression can be an episode, it can be chronic, it can be continuous or it can be limited to specific moments of the year (trauma anniversary, or most commonly, SAD).

304 - 52weekgratitude - 49- Winter

2017 is near its end - already! and we're also on week 49 of this 52weekgratitude, a challenge that is about to go poof at the same time as the year vanishes and merges into the next - one where I'll probably do another challenge instead. 

303- Daily impacts - (c)PTSD

From my cptsd bucketlist, you know that I suffer from several forms of cptsd, which, despite barely scratching the surface of this topic, I have discussed many times all over this blog.

In all those previous entries, I used rather clinical or emotional terms, to describe my traumatic experiences and some of the struggles they caused. 

Today, I want to discuss how all these interact and impact me on a daily, or regular basis.

Before I do that, this is my fourth entry in daily impacts of mental illnesses. The first was for emeto & 3 other phobias. This series is inspired by Jodie's "what it feels like series" on her blog.

302- Another deficiency in B12

This morning, I went alone to the lab for an updated blood-work, to check if a weekly supplementation in B12 is sufficient, or if I have to go back to a daily one. 

301- 52weekgratitude - 48 - (past) Job(s)

I don't currently hold a job, the topic of 52weekgratitude's 48th week, but, I'd like to discuss, quickly, the positive aspects of my previous professional occupation : that of a librarian.