things in the last few days.

Wednesday 14th November 2012

So I’ve been having a bit of a blog break. My world has been a moody, hectic and stressful. I withdraw from the blog world when things are rubbish. Things are a bit rubbish right now.

The biggest rubbish thing is that Juno is very, very unwell. She started vomiting everything she ate and got really weak and feeble. The Fam took her to the vets last night and she needed an emergency operation, which she had in the middle of the night last night. Turns out, she’d swallowed a peach stone and it’d got stuck in her intestine. It’d completely blocked her gut and her gut had started to grow around it, so it was becoming a part of her. If we’d left it any longer, her gut would have probably ruptured overnight and she would have died, but she’s healthy and young and got there in time so she looks like she’s going to be ok. They had to remove six inches of her gut, and they also spayed her so she’s pretty unwell right now. She’s still at the vets to be monitored, plus she’s super doped up on painkillers, but me and the Brother got to visit her today and she seemed pleased to see us. Her bat ears stuck up and she rested her head on us and ate a little food and drank a little water. Hopefully she’ll be home on Friday (if everything goes as smoothly as it seems right now), but we won’t know for sure if she’s fully healed till a weeks time. Luckily, they don’t think there’ll be any lasting complications. Fingers crossed.

Juno at the vets, snuggling the Brother

So yer, right now I have no dog and I’m worried and sad and have no one to look after me in that way that dogs look after you. They really do save you sometimes. I miss her and she’s only been gone a day. I hate not having a dog around. So much.

On top of this, our kitchen has just started being redecorated. This is stressful in an eating disorder way (obvs.), but also because my house is full of people and its loud and hard to feel comfortable. They turn up, bump into HTT, smash things and generally lead to me hiding away. I hate people in my house, especially when I’m meant to be home alone. I like my alone time. It’s important to me. I like empty space sometimes.

The £2,000 peach stone

There are good points to it though. In one of my more hyper moments, I decided to create an incredibly selfish Facebook event in which I invite myself to people’s houses for dinner so that they can cook me nice foods to make the transition a little easier. I’ve been struggling with food a bit recently and I’ve lost a couple of kilos, so I think it’s important to try keep my eating up regardless. I figured what better to kick an eating disorder sneaking back in than letting other people cook me normal people meals. I used to find other people cooking for me horrific, then uncomfortable, but now fine. I figure this way, I’m less in control and will probably at least maintain a vaguely healthy weight for a while. Maybe I’ll even gain some weight. That’d probably be a good thing if it does happen. It’s only two weeks. Plus I’ll get to spend a little more time with my friends, which is always fun. Yesterday I saw a couple of people and their aces gecko Ricardo and we ordered Thai and drunk wine and gin and I had a nice time. It was good to see people. Especially people I don’t see enough and actually really like.

But yer, the kitchen makes life more difficult. It’s annoying and makes eating hard. Especially with Valium withdrawal. Valium withdrawal symptoms come and go in varying intensities, but it basically sucks out. I occasionally break and end up taking more than I should, but it is so hard you have no idea. It’s like the worst flu ever – tremors run through your entire body, you’re exhausted but can’t sleep, you get extreme fluctuations in body temperature and mood, my brain is louder, my appetite is just gone, there’s dizziness and generally feeling like you could collapse at any point, your head gets foggy and everything gets less real, you shake and have that not sleep you get with a fever, nightmares, increased urges self-injurious thoughts, anger, irritability, feeling like you literally might be about to die because you can’t breathe, feel nauseous and so dizzy you literally cannot stand. It’s shit. Another reason blogging has been a little rubbish recently.

Another stress had been the major amount of life admin I’ve had to go through recently. Sorting out my freedom pass, upgrading my phone with O2 and Carphone Warehouse, sorting out the Ma’s new phone contract, switching banks, sorting out a new student bank account, trying to work out uni, sorting out deferring my Professional Careers Development Loan due to being in benefits, having no money. It basically means I’ve spent what feels like years on hold. On hold to O2, Carphone Warehouse, NatWest, Co-Operative Bank, Tesco Mobile, Job Centre Plus, university etc. Urgh. I actually feel like I’ve done so much, but it’s probably haven’t done all that much really. I still haven’t decided if I want to insure my iPhone and iPad, so that might be a little bit more admin, but it’s like the least important bit left.

Treatment is also really bringing me down. I’m hating on the HTT, arguing with CDAT, telling the Psychologist I hate him more than anyone else and how he can’t help me, telling everyone off, shouting at the IMPART group that I’m never coming back because they suck. I don’t even know if I need help, but everyone thinks I do and I don’t know what to do about it. Double urgh.

Thursday 15th November 2012

So I did my finish my post yesterday – I got too Valium ill. Sorry.

Things are a bit brighter today because I got to pick up Juno from the vet because the recovery has been going so well. She’s going to need special food and special medications and special walks for a week, but she’s doing well. She’s very confused from all the painkillers and I think they make life a little difficult, but she’s beautiful and home and the vets all really like her and she doesn’t even have to wear a cone on her head because she’s been so good and isn’t even touching her stitches because she’s so well-behaved. I love my puppy so much. I’ve been appointed supreme pup watcher for the next week so I’m going to be well on watching her to keep her safe. She makes me so happy. I’m still scared, but it looks like she’s going to be ok. I now have a purpose again – keep Juno safe and healthy and happy.

I also actually went to my IMPART group today. It wasn’t as bad as the past few weeks, but I think I’ve realised that I’m actually quite behind where a lot of others in the group are right now. I’m pretty sure I’m the youngest and I’m pretty sure that I’m not as good at managing my emotions and impulses as most of them. What they are showing us seems impossible right now. Today, it was anger and anxiety management, but it was all like “in between the trigger and the behaviour, you have all this time to intervene and stop your thought processes etc.”, but all I could think was “what time between trigger and behaviour? There is no time between trigger and behaviour.” It made me feel pretty useless. I don’t think I can stop my impulsive behaviours. I honestly don’t know how. In showing me how, I got to listen to what other people do and it was all like “exercise” which I can’t do without going overboard, or “learn to be assertive” or “step outside the situation.” I am really not good at being assertive and have pretty poor interpersonal skills. I do ok with the people who know me really well, but not so much with new people, and even when the people I’m in love with make me feel too much, I often react in the wrong ways. They deal with it though. I think there’s a general feeling within my friendship circle that I’m not actually the problems, which makes my friends super aces. I’m just realising I really don’t have any coping mechanisms for managing my emotions. Except self-harm, spending money, not eating and getting fucked. Way to go Ellie – fucking useless at self-regulation. Triple urgh.

I am actually complying with treatment though. Kinda. I struggle with the Valium thing a bit, and I drink too much and smoke too much, self-injure too much. I know this, but I’m not trying to fix it because I don’t have any other ways too. Still, I actually went to all my appointments. On most days, I do actually get dressed and out of bed, even if I haven’t slept much. I am really trying to be budget and to eat lots and to stay as safe as possible. I don’t call the HTT as much as I should, but I don’t like them as a whole unit. They can’t keep me safe from myself and I won’t let them really. Maybe I’m half complying.

The thing is, although I’m taking some action to get better, I’m not sure if I believe I’m ill or deserve help or need to get better or have the motivation to. Intense emotions suck out, but sometimes they are great because intense love and intense happiness and intense excitement are really fabz. However fleeting and uncontrollable these emotions may be, I honestly believe I feel them stronger than other people. I know black and white thinking can be bad – everything is all or nothing. However, I have a strong sense of right and wrong and I like that. When applied to myself, it sucks, when applied to outside circumstances, I have a strong opinion and without the grey, I gain passion. Sure, my identity and opinions can change rapidly depending on my surroundings, but I think it means I am more able to empathise with other people sometimes as I really do absorb their views so whole heartedly. My impulsivity around things like drugs and alcohol and shopping etc. make me more fun to be around sometimes. Sure, the dissociation, negative self-beliefs, parasuicidal behaviours, impulsivity when alone etc. suck, but there are positive things about the way I am now. And that’s the thing – this is who I am. I don’t know if I want to be anyone else. I’m taking action, yet I see the positives and don’t know if I’m ready for change.

Still, being unable to work and being unable to do the things I want to do and struggling every fucking day might make this all worth it. I just don’t like knowing what’ll be left of me when this is all done. Will I even be me? I hate not knowing.

But finally, some other great news – my uni have decided to waive my fees and make me a part-time student so I can access all the support I need. This makes me supez happy. It’s also scary as it means I’ll actually have to finish my degree this year, but I have a whole year to do a dissertation so hopefully it’ll be ok. I’m scared, but at least I’m able to access any support I need. Fingers crossed. Once my freedom pass shows up, I’ll be back at uni to try sort it all out.

So goods and bads and lots in between. This is some sort of update I guess. I hope you’re all well.

Juno having a nap – home again :)

SHE GOT THROUGH!

Juno is today’s Daily Puppy. Check her winning profile on http://www.dailypuppy.com/

I’m really happy!

x.

daily puppy.

There is no reason for this post other than to say…

I entered Juno in to the Daily Puppy. Check out how cute my puppy is in her profile. I know it’s a long shot for her to get picked, but I think most of the photos are quite good quality, follow the submission guidelines etc. Plus I think she’s actually really cute. I mean, to me she’s the cutest thing in the world, but I also think she’s legitimately really cute.

She’s too much cute.

Right now, my brain can’t hack much else.

This is one of the pictures I chose when I submitted her.

Now I have to walk her before it gets dark.

Bye x.

juno.

Hello readers.

This is Juno.

Hi.

Juno is my beautiful new puppy. She’s only nine weeks old and absolutely stunning. She’s mongrel (obvs.) and we think she’s got some german shepherd and border collie in her. Honestly, she is way too cute. Seriously, pets are the best kind of therapy. You’re feeling gravitational and everything is fucking sinking and then there’s a puppy and she’s cute and she soft bites your slippers whilst you make a cup of tea and bounds about and falls asleep on your feet and I honestly challenge anyone to not feel slightly better. Then when she tries to eat your hair it’s almost unbearable and it all gets overwhelming. When I think about her, I turn into a child and start jumping about and squealing and my face screws up and my hands and feet fist up because I’m so full of excitement. She is the best thing in my life right now. Every day she gets a little bit bigger and a little more boisterous. Seriously, I’m in love.

Me and Pa drove to Nottingham in the middle of the night to pick her up. She slept on my lap in a box most of the way home. She was so cute. Seriously. We ended up naming her as a fam at four o’clock in the morning. It’s a suitably geeky name. In Roman mythology, Juno is a goddess who is the divine protectress of the community. She’s the daughter of Saturn and the wife and sister of Jupiter. 3 Juno is also an asteroid, and their is an asteroid cluster named Juno (around 3 Juno) and a NASA spacecraft that’s mission is to arrive at Jupiter in 2016 to gain a better understanding of its atmospheric composition. I wanted to name her Io (classical and astronomical) or Freya (Norse goddess), but wasn’t allowed because the Pa isn’t geeky enough. Juno worked though because he liked the film.

What’s really good about pup is that she gets me downstairs and with the fam. She basically needs a lot of attention right now so needs to be watched and played with and stuff most of the day. It means we’re all about together and I get far less worked up about myself. Since the entrance of Juno, things have been easier.

But then I feel it creep because nothing good lasts. Take Saturday for instance. It involved dealing with a lot of destructive thoughts and sprinting down the road in my DMs because I had to run because everything burned. I ran and ran and was thinking of lots of horrible things and I was so worked up. In the end though, I accidentally bumped into the Olympic Torch Relay and got distracted. It was really late and I thought I would have avoided it as planned. Turned out I hadn’t and it basically lined my entire walk. Lots and lots of people. At first I felt really shit because there were all these people and they were all so different and all in these diverse groups and I was so wrong I didn’t fit anywhere. Then I saw all the people on stilts and other weirdo performers and got distracted from that and suddenly felt so proud of where I live because honestly, it’s so nang. So I called the Pa and we watched the party buses and the torch. Then we decided to run after it and catch it up again to watch it get passed over. Then we got Indian takeaway and talked about puppies and how great East London is and how against the Olympics we are and how it’s ruining the area, but how it’s nice to see everyone so happy and I felt ok.

Then the fam went out and I stayed in because I’m useless and rubbish and hate fun and love to wallow and be miserable all alone in the dark with my mood and absolute desire to ruin my life. So I sat home, being sad until the pup woke up and we played and my friend came over and we played with the pup and the pup slept and was gorgeous. Life was good because there was a puppy. Seriously happy making.

I also really like watching her grow. She’s beginning to master going up the garden stairs. She’s getting a lot more confident so she’s pottering around alone more than before. Plus she sleeps. A lot a lot. Especially in this horribly hot weather because she has the double coat of German Shepherd. I love her very much. We took her to the vet for the first round of vaccinations and the vet said she was a large puppy, so probably will be a large dog which makes me really happy. I like proper dogs. And also that she was in fantastic condition. She did good and was very cute. However, the vet then started banging on about pet obesity and how we should train her to view celery as a treat so we can train her with it, instead of the “high fat, high salt, high calorie dog treats” you can pick up in pet shops. I was a bit like “what the fuck?” I’ve never had an obese pet and I’ve never particularly trained them on raw vegetables. Apparently obesity is the single most common problem in pets right now. I don’t care all that much though, she’s going to get all the crusts from my toast and little chewy bones. She’s a pup, she’s teething, she needs to chew things. And needs energy to grow. Hence all the rawhide bones money can buy (which is a lot because it’s 5 little pup sized ones for a pound in the pet shop round the corner).

Tackling a step.

Anyway, caring for something little is really good for my health I think. She needs love and attention and to be treated good, and to treat her good, I have to be in a good enough state to be around her. And I want to be in a good enough state to be able to so I’m trying harder. She’s a bit all-encompassing right now. If I throw myself entirely into puppy, I have literally no time for anything else. She needs playing with and feeding and training and watching. It’s a good way to replace some of the space in my head filled with freaking out.

The novelty of it all does start to wear off a little though. I’m starting to spend more and more time tucked away again. I’m feeling a little bit fragile. Like I could snap at any point. I’m getting more and more full of the urge to get people to actually grasp how much I’m fucking screaming, which is never a good place to be in. I duno. We’ll see I guess. Imma try keep myself all up in pup though because it is a whole load nicer.

Have some more gorgeous pup.

Sleepy Juno.