Share Your World – 2015 Week 6

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What was the last time you went to a new place?

At the end of last year, my husband and I left sunny Sydney Australia to spent 6 weeks exploring Eastern Canada. We were hoping for our first white Christmas. But no,  unseasonably high temperatures meant we are still waiting. Many people in Quebec City—where we spent Christmas—because it was one of the top places in the world to have snow falling from the sky as well as snow on the ground— said it was the first green Christmas they had had. They had lived in the city for over twenty years. However, to my excitement, we did receive a very light snowfall walking home from Christmas dinner—so I made my husband turn around and walk in the snow until it stopped.

View over Montreal from Mont Royal

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels, other?  And what type of genre would you prefer?

I am a writer. I am in the final stages of editing my non-fiction self-help book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible. It has been along journey and I have enjoyed learning about every step. At some time in the future, however I would love to use my creative ability and write fiction—although I don’t know what genre I would write in although I would like it to appeal to both sexes like Janet Evanovich.

Out of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing) which is your favorite?

I am a visual person. I must see something to understand and remember it. I am attracted to the beauty of things, even the beauty of the less attractive things of this world.

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Despite my daily commute to work, I find my life and job very satisfying. I work with a great team helping people with recovery from an eating disorder, which is rewarding work. I spent my weekend with family or if I am really lucky alone doing the things I love to do—writing and blogging. Every holidays I get to travel and explore the world. For these reasons I think probably only about 10% would lead a more satisfying life than I. When my life doesn’t satisfy me for a period of time, I get to the bottom of it and fix the problem.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week we had two separate visits from extended family. It was great seeing them and catching up on the latest gossip.

Yesterday my daughter brought home a new member of the family—a kitten she calls Toast. I look forward to getting to know him and possibly coming up with my own name to match his personality.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/02/09/share-your-world-2015-week-6/

Mental Lists

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Remember when you wrote down the first thought you had this morning? Great. Now write a post about it.

Every morning as I rush to turn the annoying noise of my alarm off—my brain turns on its autopilot. It instantly begins reviewing what happened yesterday and deciding on what needs to be done differently next time. Changes noted, my brain begins to make a mental list of today’s tasks. It is usually about this time my focused brain kicks in—broadening out the detail based on the overall days plan. Questions I ask myself:

  • What time do I need to leave the house by? I have a 1 1/2 hour commute  each way to work, so if I have a deadline I have to make sure I leave on time.
  • Am I going anywhere after work that requires me to pack an extra bag in the car as I won’t be coming home.
  • Have I got time to write, post and visit on my blog before leaving for work? Most days I make it happen.

Practical plans met, I go on to make my mental list for the day. What are my top to goals for today that if I do nothing else must get done? At least one usually pops straight to mind. I then consider the remaining things I am hoping to complete today and decide their order of priority. I am looking for my top 5 things to do each day. These will be my focus.

  • Two must be done—bigger or more important tasks first
  • Three hope to be done—simpler tasks

By limiting my tasks I focus on each day and not attempting to everything, I find I get more done. Sometimes I will  write down my mental list to give it more clarity and focus. My earlier post Hand Brain Connection will give you more information on this. Today I am off to a good start as I have completed one of my three simpler tasks—writing this blog post and visiting several sites in my blogging community—all before leaving for work.

Yes. Thanks to my mental lists it will be a great day. Hope you enjoy yours.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/first-light/

Back To Childhood

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Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.

In today’s world there are many new smells. At times, they converge together  and in some ways diffuse into each other. When I was growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s things were different. In many ways, life was simpler but with a lot less opportunity. Smells were stronger and often less environmentally friendly. So which smells do I remember from my childhood. There are many—some memories are good, the others not so much, but they are still mine.

  •  Fresh salty sea air made complete by the smell of seaweed—growing up we lived in coastal Australia. We were never far from the beach and many holidays were spent there. They were fun times. Today as I no longer live by the ocean I receive a pleasant surprise when I return. One of my earliest blog posts,  Calm Action is on my latest trip to the beach as an adult.
  • Cherry medicine smell—made to taste like cherry to make it easier for kids to swallow medicine. I am still unable to drink Dr Pepper as it instantly takes me back to my childhood and the not so pleasant taste of this medicine—my husband is the same and our kids think we a making it up.
  • Mud—our house was on slope and not landscaped, so every time it rained we had a lot of mud, clay-like solid mud. It had a particular smell and was slippery when wet.
  • Fairy floss—as a child this had a much stronger smell than the pre-packed fairy floss you can buy today. I found that similar smell in the freshly spun fairy floss we found being sold on the street in China.
  • Aniseed lollies—I was the only child in my family who liked these licorice flavoured lollies, so I could guarantee they were not stolen. On the odd occasion as an adult I have bought these lollies I have been disappointed as the smell and flavour is not as strong as it used to be.
  • Eucalyptus smell of the Australian bush—growing up I spent many hours going for bush walks with my family exploring. It has a unique smell and these days unfortunately it is only on weekends away that I get to re-experience my memories.  Although I do live in  an area filled with individual gum trees—the Australian bush is different.
  • Mothballs—back in the day clothes were packed up at the end of the season and stored to make room in the wardrobe for the next seasons clothes. To stop moths and silverfish eating holes in the clothes, two or three balls made of naphthalene were added to the storage container. These had a strong smell and when it came time to change the clothes back again for the next season, it took a long time for the clothes to lose the smell.
  • Epoxy resin—as a child my father made many things as he is creative and talented. I loved it when he worked with epoxy resin—I loved the smell and how quickly it worked. I am sure it wasn’t good for me but as it wasn’t an everyday occurrence it wasn’t a problem.

I have enjoyed remembering my childhood smells. I will keep this post as a work in progress continue to add smells as they come back to me. If you are from a similar era—what smell do you remember? I would love to hear about them.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-transporter/

Tomorrow Is Another Day

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Take a quote from your favorite movie — there’s the title of your post. Now, write!

As a child in early primary school I can remember going to the movies to see Gone With The Wind. It is a movie that changed my life.

I loved it.

I left the movie theatre that day thinking,  I as a girl, growing up in the 1970’s could do anything. Scarlett O’Hara was my hero. What I saw as a child was a woman who, if she wanted something, went out and got it. She was a tough, resilient survivor and I needed to know that was possible. I, of course missed all of her relationship difficulties, which are another part of the movie, but I was too young to understand.

The concluding scene of the movie and the title of this blog post has lived with me everyday since—”tomorrow is another day.” Whenever things get tough—I like Scarlett—remind myself “I can’t think about that now, I’ve got to think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day.” I usually find by giving myself some space, by sleeping on my problem—the next day I have an answer. My problem may still be as big but at least I have made a plan to get through it. When problems are really tough, I go back to an earlier blog post and ask St Francis of Assissi for advice.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/silver-screen/

Proud Of Me

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When was the last time someone told you they were proud of you?

I think this prompt needs to be turned on its head. Instead of saying “when was the last time someone told you they were proud of you,” it should say “when was the last time you told yourself, you were proud of you.”

Our self-esteem depends on our opinion of ourselves. If we are regularly criticising our efforts instead of finding ways to encourage growth—we are going to go backwards. It is okay to be proud of even small changes—it is not about who has the proudest moment—it is about acknowledging our own worth, not waiting for external validation.

For me, the last time I told myself I was proud of me and that I had done a good job was last week when I printed off the latest version of my Inspiring Hope manuscript. I hadn’t seen the changes I had made in the last six months and it looks more like a real book everyday. It looks good. I am proud of it and all that I have learnt on my journey of writing it.

Take some time and consider when was the last time you told yourself you were proud of you. If it has been a while—what are you proud of recently? Beginning this month, join me and give yourself a pat on the back regularly. This will help motivate us to take on more challenges and grow into the person we dream of being.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/proud/

(Eating Disorder Recovery) for Dummies.

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Take a complicated subject you know more about than most people, and explain it to a friend who knows nothing about it at all.

Well it seems amazing to me that today I celebrate my 200th post. I am also proud to say that is has only taken me 276 days to reach this milestone. Not a bad effort for someone who—works full-time and is writing a book.

It is the topic of my book that I thought may work well with today’s prompt—my thing is—how eating disorder recovery is possible. I have worked in the field since the 1980’s and have many years experience supporting people living with and recovering from an eating disorder. But what are they and how does one recover?

Eating disorders are psychological and physiological disorders that takes over the lives of those living with them as well as their families. They are characterised by an obsession with food, weight and body shape. There are 4 types:

  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Bulimia Nervosa
  • Other Specific Feeding and Eating Disorders
  • Binge Eating Disorders

People living with an eating disorder use a mixture of various behaviours to control their weight, numb their feelings and control their lives. Behaviours used that need to be manged in recovery are:

  • Restriction
  • Bingeing
  • Self-induced vomiting
  • Laxatives
  • Excessive exercise

Recovery involves stopping the use of these behaviours and replacing them with healthy coping skills. But how?

There are 6 stages of recovery. It is an individual journey and  can take between 2-7 years from the commencement of when people decide to recover. This in fact may be several years after the person was diagnosed.

The stages of recovery are:

  1. Nutrition Management
  2. Stopping Eating Disorder Behaviours
  3. Feelings management
  4. Passions
  5. Relationships
  6. Intimacy

My book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible covers all of these areas and many more. Breaking the hold an eating disorder has is difficult. It requires addressing many individual issues some of which are initially unknown. There is no map for the journey, but it is definitely one that needs professional help. The quicker help is sought, the better. However seeking help late doesn’t mean someone is not treatable — even if you have had an eating disorder for years. Committing to recovery and connecting with a treatment team is what makes a difference. This is always hope.

Possible Inspiring Hope cover

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/daily-prompt-2/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale

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This week, share an image that highlights a size relationship — make us pause and take a second look to understand the scale of the elements in your photo.

For more information on Canton Tower one of the world’s tallest building see my earlier post. It dwarfs people and is difficult to photograph due to its size.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/scale/

Will I Go?

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Is there a place in the world you never want to visit? Where, and why not?

I love to travel.

If money were no object I would travel to more countries across the world. From my experience, more can be learnt about different cultures by getting off the usual tourist path—we have traveled recently to regional China and Canada in winter.  Learning about a country through its history joins the dots on why things developed and are the way they are.

When my husband and I are considering traveling to a new destination, I ask myself the following questions to discover if it is a place we can visit now. Even if the answer is no, it doesn’t mean it is a place I never want to visit. Everywhere has something new to offer.

  1. Will we be safe? This is particularly important as we like to get ourselves around places not go on tours where you may have a built-in safeguard.
  2. Will we be able to stay healthy? Is the food and water safe?
  3. What , how and where will we eat? What is it advisable not to eat?
  4. How will we get around the city? Will this be possible? In Nanjing we thought we would catch a train however when we arrived at the train station it was literally packed with people. There no signs were in English, we felt claustrophobic so we quickly left and made other plans.
  5. Where do we plan to stay?
  6. What local rules or customs do we need to follow? Can we live with them for a couple of days?
  7. What is the reason we want to visit the country or area? If this is strong enough it can change some of the other answers.
  8. How do we get from the airport to our accommodation? Once we needed to pre-book a private car for a two-hour trip across provinces in China.
  9. Are injections required to protect us from disease?
  10. All things considered is the risk too great for us to travel to this part if the world at this time? YES or NO.

If the answer is yes, we reconsider visiting if the situation changes. In the meantime we will go somewhere else. We will never stop traveling—meeting new people and learning new things as it takes us out of our comfort zone and allows us to grow in ways we couldn’t imagine. Bring on our next adventure.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/no-thanks/

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

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Here’s the title of your post: “An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse.”

Set a timer for ten minutes, and write it. Go!

The most important offer I couldn’t refuse was my first job. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I finished high school. I was 18. I had my life in front of me and only two prerequisites for my job—I wanted to work with people and I didn’t want to be a general nurse. Th world was my oyster but I didn’t know how to open the shell to get the pearl.

At the time my mother was working in the post office in the telegram department and noticed that the delivery boys were making a lot of deliveries to the local psychiatric hospital, literally up the hill. She inquired and discovered they had advertised for six trainee psychiatric nurses. This was a job mum thought would suit me, so she was excited.

At the time I didn’t know much if anything about psychiatry, but the more I investigated the keener I was. It was a type of nursing that dealt with people not bedpans and I was encouraged to talk to patients. Yes. This was my job and now I had to get one of the positions.

After two interviews, despite my young age I was offered a place. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. My career psychiatric nursing started 34 years ago on Australia Day—what a way to celebrate. It has been the perfect job for me. Now called mental health nursing, it has many areas of expertise. It has taught me many skills and allows me to help people get through very difficult times in their lives.

I am grateful to Matron for believing in this young woman and helping me find my pearl.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/race-the-clock/

Lessons From My Teachers

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Tell us about a teacher who had a real impact on your life, either for the better or the worse. How is your life different today because of him or her?

Teachers are about education. And from my experience good and bad teachers teach you skills, even if it wasn’t what they set out to teach you. My school years were the late sixties and seventies—a different era. Most of my teachers taught me well and used skills that I consider imperative today when interacting with or teaching my patients.

  • Caring
  • Confidence
  • Consistency
  • Good Communication
  • Honesty
  • Individuality
  • Kindness
  • Listening Skills
  • Non-judgmental
  • Patience
  • Respect
  • Self-Belief
  • Transparency

In 5th class however, my teacher was the opposite. He made my life so difficult. He picked on me, made me the laughing stock of the class and criticised everything I did. This lead to poorer marks that meant my grading in high school was lower than it should have been. Despite this I worked my way back up and the gifts I gained from him are RESILIENCE and a never say never attitude. All of these skills and qualities combine to make me the person I am today. It is all part of the patchwork quilt of my life.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/teachers-pet/