What is a normal day, let alone life?

Zippy1983

I thought this would be an interesting topic, With my Mental Health I struggle with my personal care. I am ashamed to admit thy as someone who always takes prides in my appearance, I freely admit that its been an as and when I have the energy jobby.

When I came out of the Mental Health Unit in late 2023, I was placed into a 24 hour Supported Living House at my request. I was placed in a room that was upstairs. They had a shower over a bath with no hand rails, which wasn’t good for me. I had to use the old tub, however it was very narrow and often took me five or six attempts to get out. Another nemesis I found was the stairs, I often fell up them or down them which has shook my confidence. The latter alongside the struggle to get out of a bath has led to me having a phobia of falling in the shower! I now have to use a stool to shower, but I mainly have **** washes due to the above.

I will skip to six months down the line where I now found myself as a Service User, living independently in my own flat. This is five years after I had worked as a Support Worker, taking care of service users with mental and physical disabilities in their own homes. It is something I am still trying to wrap my head around that I have to use adaptations in my home to lead an independent life.

In my mind I am still in my late teens into my late twenties working full time as a Gardener & Estate Ranger for OMBC Parks Open Spaces in and around Oldham and Saddleworth. Alongside that working on private gardens, nursing homes and a chemical plant in and around Oldham, Saddleworth and Clayton. I’m also still the man that could walk 29 miles in a day out on the tops, or carry camping gear on an overnight trip. Then chuck into the mix doing a tandem paraglide off a 6,500ft mountain above Olu Deniz in Southern Turkey.

With my daily living I use a variety of lotions and potions, all of them vegan based. Since my ex dumped me I truly have been battling myself to actually know who I am as a person. I have taken to having piercings alongside experimenting with make up and painting my nails black. I have kind of lent against my love of Rock & Metal Music, with me trying to go for an Ozzy style of eye make up.

I will admit I have probably got more lotions and potions than what most people have, plenty of moisturiser and such items. One thing I have been doing for a number of years is due to getting plenty of grey hair alongside an island emerging at the front of my head, I have taken to shaving the old cranium to a mirror finish. I like to use the old Barbour technic of Shaving Cream with a brush with shaving, someone said how do you do the back of your head. I just said very carefully and just applying enough pressure not to **** a layer of skin off.

A lot of my daily living is based on taking it minute by minute, seeing how my mind is, which side of me has woken up that day. I tend to break up cleaning the flat in room at a time, always listening to my body and if my back starts hurting I know I’ve done enough. With cooking a meal it’s a case of having to see how I am mentally that day, as for example since the weekend I’ve just had a single bowl of cereal a day which is obviously not a good thing to do. If I make a cooked meal I tend to use only my air fryer to either cook a jacket spud with baked beans or a vegan meal consisting of quorn chicken pieces, mushrooms, mediterranean veg, spinach, rice and mushy peas. If I’m exhausted both mentally and physically, if there is money in the bank I will order a take away and sometimes that can be five days straight. The only problem with the latter is that it’s eating food that triggers my stomach condition. When I do a monthly shop I have to pay attention to all ingredients and avoid foods containing Garlic, Pepper, Spices, Onions, Sauces such as Ketchup, Mayonaise etc alongside Tomato based foods, Cakes, Biscuits, Chocolate, Caffeine, Hard Cheese, Coffee, Cucumber, Tomato, Fizzy Pop, Citrus based products, alongside certain fruits. I also have to avoid fried and fatty foods too. . I would say I have to walk a very narrow margin with my diet, if I stray from that path I end up paying for it tenfold.

I have to have alarms set on my phone to remind me to not only take medications, but also when to eat. As I have to plan when to eat around certain medications that I take for my stomach condition. I also have a schedule set for when to get up alongside when to go to bed to. I have even set a schedule for when to shower as well. This is kind of a way of having that person there telling me when to do things, as if I didn’t I would forget.

How do we tackle every day life, do we have routines, what challenges do face? Please only share your own personal experiences if you feel comfortably to do so 🙂