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Melanie-cat
Contributor

Hi, just introducing myself...

Hey there all, just saying hello. I'm a 51 year old woman, and I live in NSW. I struggle with depression and anxiety and emotional over-eating, and I'm having a hard time feeling alone with all this. I'm also smart and strong and loving and creative, with lots of interests in life, some skills and talents, and some important passions. I make mistakes, and I have regrets, but I do a lot of things right too - so I will not submit to the shame that my mind tries to bury me in, no matter how intense it gets. And I'm damned if I'm going to define myself by my emotional and psychological issues. I am more than those. I'm here to get support in managing the stuff I grapple with. I hope I may also provide a few helpful words here and there to other people too.

17 REPLIES 17

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

@Melanie-cat  Hey Melanie-cat and welcome to the forum :)xx.  51 you are a youngan I am turning 55 in November :D. I also live in NSW and am in the process of trying to get fit by doing loads of walking and healthy eating - love the walking loathe the healthy eating :D.  You have come to the right place if you are feeling alone as there is generally someone online 24/7 who would love to have a talk. I live with my kidults and wonder how I would go if they moved out ..... it would be hard to get used to but will happen one day. 

 

There are some great threads you might like to try out the 'good morning!' thread to start with. It is a thread which goes on all day and is one of my favourite and then there is the 'a long rave' thread which is another good one. Have a look around and when you feel up to it say hello 🙂 Oh and btw if you want to talk with anyone in particular put a @in front of their name like I did for you and that will send a notification to them of your message.

 

Take care and I hope to see you around. Love peaxx

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

Hi 👋🏻 @Melanie-cat

Thats a pretty cool intro 😊. I could maybe learn a lesson or two from you, I still submit to shame and other destructive thoughts although slowly slowly improving. 

 

I hope you find some connection and support here. 

Best wishes 😊

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

Hi @Melanie-cat, welcome to the forum. Not letting your MH define you is a really great stance. I am not there yet, but I hope to be.

Great intro, hope to see you around the forum 🦋🌻

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

Thank you so much, @Teej ... As far as I'm concerned, if anything's changing in how you respond to shame, then you're winning; if you even have the awareness that you can potentially, when strong enough, stand apart from shame and resist it, rather than believing everything it tells you, then you're winning 🙂

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

@Molliex  Thanks heaps... and its lovely to feel so welcome 🙂

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

@greenpea  What a great message  🙂 I am also striving to change my eating and exercise habits, which at present are bloody abysmal. I love eating healthy, it's just that I have an addictive-like craving for the unhealthy stuff too, in direct proportion to how not-happy I am! Exercise is harder to want to do, because it physically hurts, but I think tiny bits of exercise are the way back in. It helps to remember that I have been better than this in how I eat and how I move, at times in the past, therefore it must be possible to get back to something like that again. Some days it feels so hopeless, but I don't think I have to feel hope, which sometimes we just cannot feel. I believe that the opposite of hopelessness isn't hope, it's action or movement. I keep telling myself that every time I move a muscle, even breathe deeper, it is a small victory. 🙂 Anyway thank you for the welcome, and it is good to communicate with someone who is aiming at the same target 🙂

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

Hello @Melanie-cat and welcome to the forums. I see you already know how to tag and been wondering around. Really great to see and i do hope you find being here helpful.
I love how youve written the negatives and positives avout yourself.
What sort of creative things do you like? I love drawing, painting, crochetting, scrapbooking and im sure theres more but im yet to discover.
I also have anxiety and depression BPD and CPTSD so can relate to some of the things you may be experiencing.

I have injuries that make exercise painful sometimes too. I went and seen an exercise physiologist and wondered if you might be open to this too. You can get a care plan from the gp to make payments cheaper too. They helped me with some of my eating struggles and helped to find some exercises/altered forms of exercise that wouldn't cause so much pain.

Can i also ask if you have any supports in place such as family, friends and health professionals such as gp, psychologist, psychiatrist, aupport worker or any others of course.

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

Hey @Melanie-cat I'm a 51 yo woman too. I'm forever working on my food and exercise issues... forwards, backwards it goes... but agree that incremental change is the way to go. It all counts. @greenpea I love hearing about your walks. It's encouraging.

Re: Hi, just introducing myself...

@frog  Hell yes, it all counts!! You go, girl 🙂

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