Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[Buster70]

Bin there done that

[Catkins]

So true Carnation!

[pulisa]

We are all creatures of habit..Some more than most like me!

[Carnation]

I'm interested to know how long it will be before I remember my new bin destination or whether I have a memory blip similar to our anxiety.

[Lencoboy]

I'm going to tell you my story about a bin.
Yes, that's correct, a bin.
I recently purchased a new bin for the kitchen and it won't fit inside my normal cleaning cupboard so it now sits on the other side of the kitchen against the only spare wall.
Bare with me, there's a point to this story.
Anyway, this means I now have to remember not to throw my potato peelings and various other rubbish items under the sink cupboard because there ain't any bin there.
You'd think after a few days or sooner I would remember by now where the new bin is.
No. Countless times I put things in the bin from breakfast to dinner time and still I'm going to the sink cupboard, mutter a few words to the tune of "for gods sake the bin ain't there anymore" and turn to the position where the bin actually is and tell brain off for not remembering.
I've estimated to date that it must be at least a dozen times a day over 3 days = 36 times.
Now I realise how difficult it is to break a habit, especially a subconscious habit and that applies also to the habits that we have adopted through fear.
So anyone struggling with changing mindset, you have to keep going, don't expect a change immediately or within 3 days. It takes a long time to to break habits, with or without anxiety but eventually you will remember that the shop you enter isn't going to kill you, neither is going for a walk or stepping outside your house.
Each time you attempt something you think is scary, it's another chip away from the fear until the fear is no longer there.

Sshh, careful not to start triggering Phil over bins for the umpteenth time!

(Partly said in jest BTW).

[Carnation]

Lencoboy, I'm not particularly keen on bins myself

[Carnation]

I had a duvet day yesterday. Not because anything forced me to, but because I fancied it. The weather was on the grim side, I'd been going out quite a bit (not bad for someone with agoraphobia), I've been busy in the garden clearing the paths from weeds and pruning for the winter and I just thought "I want a lazy day with a blanket and some tlc". With the country going crazy over fuel it wasn't such a bad idea. Just want to say that the people that filled their tanks for 'want' purposes rather than 'need' should be very shamed. Several of my friends can't get to their hospital appointments and some are now housebound due to having no petrol at all.
This situation will calm down soon as all storms pass.
Back to my duvet day....
I like to read, watch a film on my IPAD, nap, eat, watch the birds from the window, listen to mindful videos, listen to music, eat some more, check in with my bodies responses and ha some quality time with my cat. I had a brilliant night's sleep and feel much more refreshed today. I've got a busy day today and I'm ready to deal with it. Body recharged and mind clearer.
Duvet days are good if you have them for the right reasons. It doesn't have to be a case of giving in, it can be a case of recharging and healing the body and mind.

[Catkins]

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a day. I struggle to do it. Maybe it's about letting yourself be?

[Carnation]

It is catkins.

[Lencoboy]

With the country going crazy over fuel it wasn't such a bad idea. Just want to say that the people that filled their tanks for 'want' purposes rather than 'need' should be very shamed. Several of my friends can't get to their hospital appointments and some are now housebound due to having no petrol at all.
This situation will calm down soon as all storms pass.

That's one of the reasons why I hate society at times.

The way some have been behaving like animals on forecourts over the past week (especially in certain parts of London) is totally pathetic and absolutely beggars belief.

Ditto for the toilet roll stampedes last year.

But sadly the media aren't generally interesting in focusing on the decent majority who are actually capable of reasoning.