Managing Lifelong Mental Health as a Senior

Oh, just want to say something and then i will sign off. I gave my phone number to theresa and colleen. So i now can be contacted.
But i need to say one more time that i feel much safer than i did last week. To have our online community care so much and wonder if i was okay was not expected and it has so overwhelmed me with gratitude. I will definitely not do stupid things without checking in with you guys first! Blessings

Johnjames, thanks so much for telling us about the pain specialist . i am praying that you will have more and more strength each day. I did not know that there are service dogs specifically for psych issues. I am going to look that up. My english bulldog serves the purpose for now. I lost my bassette hound last year at the age of 14. Long life for a bassette. My chow mix had also passed 6 months earlier. I got my puppy before gracie died because i knew i wouldn't do well when she passed. I stayed with my chow, louie, and of course with gracie as i had to make the decision to let each of them go. I still can't look at their pictures because it is still too traumatic. But louie did live 11 years which is long for his breed.

Oh...i used to work in rehab/hospice/alzeiheimers (wrong spelling there) facilities and we brought in petting zoos for our patients. We actually brought into the building and even up the elevator a llama, goat, pigs and rabbits and all sorts of unusual animals. They sat on the beds (well, not the llama and goat)! And everyone came out of their yukky mental and physical stuff they were dealing with. Even me! I carried a baby pig around all day but, unfortunately, the zoo wouldn't let me take him home. They found me hiding in a closet with him but they heard his squeeks through the door and found us.

It sounds like you have a loving wife and your comment about not wanting to leave her alone to suffer if you were "not here" is extremely compassionate and sensitive. Those who take their own lives have no idea of the life-long trauma they leave for their loved ones. It sounds like, even though you live with such mental and physical pain, you put your family first, and friends. Please keep us informed as to what is happening with you. You are definitely a role model and i feel encouraged when you share. Blessings.

Oh, just want to say something and then i will sign off. I gave my phone number to theresa and colleen. So i now can be contacted.
But i need to say one more time that i feel much safer than i did last week. To have our online community care so much and wonder if i was okay was not expected and it has so overwhelmed me with gratitude. I will definitely not do stupid things without checking in with you guys first! Blessings

Yes, I was in a very bad car accident where my car was t-boned directly hitting my side, then both cars ricocheted and hit again. It was 1985, and seat belts were not required, so of course I didn't have one on. I was thrown all around the front driver's seat, hitting and breaking the windshield, the passenger seat, the steering wheel, and the driver's window. I was unconscious for about 1/2 hour, and when I came to, the firemen were cutting me out with the jaws of life. I remembered feeling like I was in a samadi tank, which is a sensory deprivation tank where it is perfectly back, noise-free, and you are floating naked in skin temperature liquid. I knew I was waiting to be told it was ok to emerge. I felt complete peace and contentment in the tank. After awhile I became aware of a white light shining in a circle around the outside edge of what looked like a round door. Suddenly I heard someone saying, "lady, lady wakeup, are you ok?" He repeated that a couple of times before I became conscious. My head was laying on the driver side door where the window had been. In my mind I was thinking, don't move, your neck may be broken, and keep your muscles relaxed. They got me out and I was taken to the hospital. It wasn't until my husband was taking me home later that the experience came flooding back I told him that I thought I might have died briefly and that I no longer had a fear of dying because one second you are here and the next you're not but you don't even know it. Also, the feeling of love and peace I had was overwhelming. I think that addedto my calmness when I awakened. Remarkably, I had minimal injuries, no broken bones and no cuts. I did have some back, head, and neck problems and a pretty bad concussion. I'm pretty sure that's when the back problems that still plague me today began. I remember the feeling of peace and love and can recreate those feelings whenever I meditate. I'm not religious, but I do believe our minds or consciousness go somewhere when we die. I wasn't aware of my body, but whatever it is that makes me, "me" was there. I think perhaps that's what is called, spirit. My experience still intrigues and calls to me now 38 years later. That's the best description I can give, although it is entirely inadequate. Gail

Yes, I was in a very bad car accident where my car was t-boned directly hitting my side, then both cars ricocheted and hit again. It was 1985, and seat belts were not required, so of course I didn't have one on. I was thrown all around the front driver's seat, hitting and breaking the windshield, the passenger seat, the steering wheel, and the driver's window. I was unconscious for about 1/2 hour, and when I came to, the firemen were cutting me out with the jaws of life. I remembered feeling like I was in a samadi tank, which is a sensory deprivation tank where it is perfectly back, noise-free, and you are floating naked in skin temperature liquid. I knew I was waiting to be told it was ok to emerge. I felt complete peace and contentment in the tank. After awhile I became aware of a white light shining in a circle around the outside edge of what looked like a round door. Suddenly I heard someone saying, "lady, lady wakeup, are you ok?" He repeated that a couple of times before I became conscious. My head was laying on the driver side door where the window had been. In my mind I was thinking, don't move, your neck may be broken, and keep your muscles relaxed. They got me out and I was taken to the hospital. It wasn't until my husband was taking me home later that the experience came flooding back I told him that I thought I might have died briefly and that I no longer had a fear of dying because one second you are here and the next you're not but you don't even know it. Also, the feeling of love and peace I had was overwhelming. I think that addedto my calmness when I awakened. Remarkably, I had minimal injuries, no broken bones and no cuts. I did have some back, head, and neck problems and a pretty bad concussion. I'm pretty sure that's when the back problems that still plague me today began. I remember the feeling of peace and love and can recreate those feelings whenever I meditate. I'm not religious, but I do believe our minds or consciousness go somewhere when we die. I wasn't aware of my body, but whatever it is that makes me, "me" was there. I think perhaps that's what is called, spirit. My experience still intrigues and calls to me now 38 years later. That's the best description I can give, although it is entirely inadequate. Gail

@johnjames Thanks for your post about your fox hole. It doesn't sound silly at all! A safe place is anywhere that we feel safe (or safer) during a crisis. Thanks for that great insight in finding a safe place even during a war. As I think about it, I realize that we all have our “war-like struggles” and to find that "safe place" is very important. Just a message to the rest of our group, @georgette12 @safetyshield @jimhd @rspaulding @lesbatts @overwhelmed @ihatediabetes @johnhans, please share with the group, if you like, where your "safe place" is. Thanks to you all for your wonderful kindness and support to each other. As I've said before, you all really bless me! Teresa

@johnjames Thanks for your post about your fox hole. It doesn't sound silly at all! A safe place is anywhere that we feel safe (or safer) during a crisis. Thanks for that great insight in finding a safe place even during a war. As I think about it, I realize that we all have our “war-like struggles” and to find that "safe place" is very important. Just a message to the rest of our group, @georgette12 @safetyshield @jimhd @rspaulding @lesbatts @overwhelmed @ihatediabetes @johnhans, please share with the group, if you like, where your "safe place" is. Thanks to you all for your wonderful kindness and support to each other. As I've said before, you all really bless me! Teresa

Oh, just want to say something and then i will sign off. I gave my phone number to theresa and colleen. So i now can be contacted.
But i need to say one more time that i feel much safer than i did last week. To have our online community care so much and wonder if i was okay was not expected and it has so overwhelmed me with gratitude. I will definitely not do stupid things without checking in with you guys first! Blessings