Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[Carnation]

My other half is the same BlueIris, even standing on a chair he wants me near by incase he falls.
We all have our weaknesses and strong points.
I've always been ok with heights, but put me in a tunnel, lift, small enclosure with no windows and I'm

[DustingMyselfOff]

I don't think ALL woman are like us, Carnation, but probably a lot more women than men. They can only do one thing at a time and they always make it a bigger and more complicated job than it needs to be. My husband will make list after list of the things he needs to do and feels he's accomplished by just making the list. Then, when he finally assigns himself a day that he's going to tackle one of the things, he will research, prepare, gather all the proper tools (and then some) and take forever getting started. And then have no problem leaving it unfinished if time runs out. DRIVES ME CRAZY! And yes, as your husband marvels at your multi-tasking, I marvel at how incapable they are of that. I will ask my husband why he didn't do X, Y or Z since he was right there anyway, and he'll say he can only focus on one thing at a time and didn't want to get side-tracked. Oh, how much time they waste. :(

I'm pretty invincible, especially when it comes to hooking things up in my tanks that require mixing lots of water with electricity and handling poisonous corals and creatures, but I don't think I'd try the branch cutting - you win the prize on that one!

And I hate to tell you that not only have I owned octopuses (and "rescued" about a dozen from a nearby university who had an unexpected batch that they didn't have the funds or resources to raise) but I've hatched sharks out of shark eggs, raised them to a large size, and then re-homed them.
Sue

[BlueIris]

Oh, wow! What were octopuses like to keep? Don't worry, no plans whatsoever to secretly acquire one but I do think they're the most fascinating creatures.

[DustingMyselfOff]

They truly are amazing (as are most creatures when we look closely enough). Difficult to keep in captivity.... trying to recreate an ocean environment in a square glass box is challenging. Most of the octopuses (octopi?) are nocturnal, but one of the large ones I had was always active and awake during the day and would actually "play" with things I'd put in the tank for him. The ones I rescued were just born so they were so tiny I had to raise live, even tinier food for them (live mysid shrimp) and make sure they didn't get stuck on any filtration equipment, etc. I love a challenge and that may have been my biggest one yet.... the octopus were the size of the opening of a drinking straw so I was using a magnifying glass to try to feed them. I don't think it's fair to keep some of these gorgeous creatures in captivity, but since I knew the university had no way of caring for them and they were going to be flushed, I had to try.

These challenges and wildlife of all kinds is what keeps me distracted from my anxiety so God bless them all!
Sue

[BlueIris]

Sue, I take my hat off to you; your compassion is an inspiration to all of us.

[DustingMyselfOff]

Sue, I take my hat off to you; your compassion is an inspiration to all of us.

Thanks, Blue, but it benefits me much more than it benefits them. Like I always say when rescuing dogs "Who rescued who?" These critters and challenges give me purpose and a reason to get up every morning, and they keep me busy enough to take my mind off my own trivial troubles for a while.

And yes, I even re-locate any bugs I find in my house, don't even kill flies. Perhaps I've taken this too far.
Sue

[BlueIris]

No, you haven't, that's a wonderful outlook. I try to subscribe to it myself, but wasps in the house occasionally die because my husband is severely phobic, and while he's really careful, the craneflies that turn me into a cowering wreck are so fragile... I think it's their fragility that terrifies me, in fact.

[Carnation]

Wow! Sue. You amaze me and really did not think you were going to reply with that response.
I take my hat off to you. What an interesting lady you are.

[pulisa]

Thanks, Blue, but it benefits me much more than it benefits them. Like I always say when rescuing dogs "Who rescued who?" These critters and challenges give me purpose and a reason to get up every morning, and they keep me busy enough to take my mind off my own trivial troubles for a while.

And yes, I even re-locate any bugs I find in my house, don't even kill flies. Perhaps I've taken this too far.
Sue

I suspect that the challenges these creatures offer you are far more beneficial and therapeutic than anything the pharmaceutical world can offer you, Sue? No side effects either.

[Carnation]

I've not been my best today. With the threat of ferocious storms predicted I've been anxious and on alert all day!
But I still braved going out even though I had that spaced out feeling, which only proves that anxiety causes it and just had the storm pass over me and although I just have to shut the windows and draw the curtains and blinds, I did manage to look out the window and watch the storm as it moved away, which is something I've never managed to do before.
I've had some bad experiences with storms from driving through them, to running through them and it doesn't get any easier for me.
I try to understand them and I know it's all part of nature, but I find it so distressing.