How do you protect yourself?

Did something happen to you? You don’t have to say what it is but I hope you are ok.

Psychologists have identified five ways to protect wellbeing. 

• Connect with others
• Be active
• Try something new 
• Give to others (volunteering/helping someone or something)
• Savour the moment (mindfulness)

I realise looking at this that I don’t often try something new. I don’t know how often people need to try a new thing to make this helpful for wellbeing. At what point does a new thing become an old thing? 

The past week has been really rough since the weather dip. I left my therapist, then cancelled my request to leave her luckilly she didnt get my message. My feeling is generally to go into defensive mode and curl into a ball but I can see not talking to people can be a problem. I just see too many issues in the world its like someone removed all the veils - now I am just thinking how can people just let it run like this. Creativity has been my saviour so many times. I just find it hard when things get revealed for what they are. It just becomes this kind of cold hard manual world, where everything is a thankless souless task. I wouldnt mind that so much if I saw there was light at the end of the tunnel. 

My main vulnerability at the moment seems to be that I am kind of on the breadline, accepting food parcels and going to the community fridge in the church. At the same time it feels like I am fighting a losing battle with people not interviewing, employing or paying me for my time.

When I got me autism diagnosis last year I wanted to help people, I am seeing how hard now that is because people dont want to see the extent to which society is offset. This is compounded by the fact I can only tell very few people I have it, its not a problem but it is the more I think about it.

Sorry to sound gloomy, I am an optimist :)

pietro_21 said:

Sorry to sound gloomy, I am an optimist :)

No need to be sorry. It’s better to say how it is for you rather than suppressing it.

I feel like saying sorry now because I can’t offer the things that would help you such as employment, and a peaceful, caring and tolerant society.

Some people find it helpful to look out for a kindness or some positive action by a human each day, It’s a type of mindfulness that actively seeks the good in order to counteract the bad stuff we are subjected to. It can help people to keep faith in the goodness of humanity.

The lack of employment opportunities, particularly young people, has been on the news recently. There were meant to be interventions by the government to address this but I don’t see any sign of people being helped. Perhaps if enough people clamour they will do something to address the situation. It they can’t help people, they certainly shouldn’t being allowing them to stay on the breadline. 

Keep hope alive. 

All these things seem like tiny steps compared to the types of problems we are dealing with.

All these things seem like tiny steps compared to the types of problems we are dealing with.