Lived Experience Forum

[Powderfinger]

This is not an exhaustive list of hard things to accept about a mental breakdown, there are too many to list.  There is one thing I'm finding very hard to accept. The truth that at the moment my ability to work is very much limited.

.For at least five years I have totally agreed with a quote from the Dalai Lama. A man that has inspired me and still continues to inspire me. I am in love with him, not in a romantic way. More do in a way that I'm in love with him because he gives me hope and he is just very beautiful as a person. I've added a picture of the quote.  

I miss working so much as I love my job and financially I need to make money. I've been feeling very stressed about it. Then, I remember this quote. It makes me think. Fact: I am very unwell due to my very serious breakdown. Fact: Money is not worth further endangering myself at this point when it need rest and recovery. Fact: Stay in the present and try not to feel anxious about the future that isn't even here and hasn't happened. Of course it takes a bit of changing how the mind has been but it helps to know this quote and remember when I start to feel stressed, anxious and panicked again. 

[Appleblossom]

Hey @Powderfinger 

I think your post is very wise and I love that quote.  It is not one I have seen before but encapusulates the way I see a lot of mainstream life.  I have worked in a lot of different fields and held a wide range of roles so it makes me feel my life is rich even tho it has not been in a monetary sense.  Even now I am always doing volunteer work of some kind official and unofficial.  Working out what we need rather than all those things we are told we want is key.

Cheers

Apple

[Owlunar]

That sound pretty sound @Powderfinger  - you know what helps and you practise it which has to be good

All the best

Dec

[Powderfinger]

@Appleblossom I've learnt from some of the wisest teachers. I like that this specific quote is not a riddle for anyone to figure out. It's just using basic facts but the quote itself comes from observation and thinking. Much like philosophy. 

I agree that it definitely runs rampant in mainstream culture. I'm not main stream. I have always felt great difficulty in blending in amongst the mainstream population. I stopped trying now as I came to the realisation it is just not going to happen. 

As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life. Not everyone can just pick one or two careers for the rest of their life. Some have more, dome have less. I think this pressure to fit into boxes of how it should be us quite damaging. People tend to feel something is wrong with them if they don't fit into the boxes and  if they have not accepted themselves for who they are 

Hmmmm yes, needs and wants are two very different things. I'm.not really swayed by anyone or anything that tells me what they think so want. I don't fall for things easily. I usually just ask myself why zi may want something and then so ask if I need it. Usually those two questions cut tibtge chase pretty quickly. People can be very impulsive like that. Just buy it or have it, just because. Utterly pointless. 

[Powderfinger]

@Owlunar Sometimes I know. A lot if times I don't. 

I do practice living healthier though. 

[Appleblossom]

Just reflecting and chatting @Powderfinger 

There is a lot of shame about not working. I also see a lot of confusion about what is actually doing a good job.  My son recently introduced me to the ideas in "Bullshit Jobs" by anthropologist D Graeber.

Sometimes we need to make the call, that we are not best suited for a job.  Eg when I was chasing up major fraudsters for tax, I realised I was out of my depth. Their depth of deceit was so tricky. I moved to an area I was better suited, teaching music, but then after 25 years, I slowly allowed myself to relinquish that role.  I found the social imperatives and pressures of parents, I was not completely comfortable with, and being older I had accumulated enough security anyway. As a teacher we have a broader allegiance to the good of the student and to music, rather than being paid lackeys for well to do parents. I do not want to undermine the importance of earning and providing for oneself or family.  Just that there are different circumstances and moral paths for different people, places and times.

Stay Safe