Yes
I'm back
In one piece
Just about
I guess it's nearly a year since I stopped writing
I thought it was over
I thought it had come to a natural end
But
It seems that's not the case
I never forgot you
Every single one of you
I missed writing
I missed you
I'm not sure what this blog is going to be now
I'm not entrenched in the illness the way I once was
I have a life now
I have a job
I have a car
I'm doing a course
I have a wonderful man in my life
Who deals with my crazy ass every damn day and still hasn't walked
So I guess it's a case of let's see where this goes
Seven years since I stArted writing this blog
And I'm not sure if I have any answers
But I'm still here
Despite everything
Despite getting in my own way at every opportunity
But hey, that's nothing new
If you are there please let me know
If you are reading let me know
I missed you......
And then she recovered.......
Life with addiction, anorexia and bulimia
Pages
Sunday, 13 January 2019
Thursday, 15 November 2018
Back.....?
Hello fellow bloggers, writers, readers, sufferers
I'm back
I think.....
Is there anyone out there...……..?
I'm back
I think.....
Is there anyone out there...……..?
Friday, 16 February 2018
This is the end...
Hello friends
I’m afraid that time has come
Time to say goodbye
I rarely check blogger now
And life is shooting forward so much so that I don’t have time to write
I may come back
I may start a new blog
I don’t know yet
What I do know is that thi blog
That I started writing in 2012
Is no longer a necessity in my life
And blogger seems to be dead in the water anyway
I guess this is a good thing
I no longer need the support of writing
I used to write every day religiously
About my ED
But EDs no longer interest me the way they used to
When I was unwell
I spent my days watching documentaries
Reading books
Following blogs
All about EDs
Maybe I’ve grown up
I don’t know
But I have moved on
19 years later
It time to say goodbye
Before I go
I do wanted to say a massive thank you
To you
To each and every one of you
For reading
For commenting
For supporting me
Being kind to me
For your friendship and company
Your love and support
You were there when I was at my worst
And I will never forget you
I also want to wish you well in your life
I wish nothing but health and happiness for you
You deserve it
You are worth it
Don’t ever doubt that
You have helped me more than you will ever know
Thank you
I love you
I will miss you
For the last time
See you in the flip side....
Sunday, 7 January 2018
January 2018
Hello friends
Apologies for the lack of posts in December
It was a tricky enough month
Which saw me have a few drinks
And then promptly stopped when I realized it was becoming more than an occasional thing
Christmas came and went
I had one small meltdown
Which didn’t last long and I got over it fairly quickly
Food wise
I am doing ok
Got out of routine g over the holidays
But am now back on track
I saw my doctor yesterday
While I was in the waiting room
I met a woman who I have seen in about a year
She said to me
‘Have I got the right person? Are you Ruth?’
I was like em yea it’s me
She went on to tell that I looked like I had had a face lift
This is also the woman who when I last saw her jiggled my arms and commented on my weight gain
But look
I don’t let these things bother me
If I let every little thing bother me I wouldn’t get very far
But I guess it just goes to show
Now these comments don’t bother me
Where as a couple of years ago
They would have sent me over the edge
I keep in touch with Mary
She often asks me to help out with different media talking from my own point of view
At the end of the month
I am giving a talk in a nursing college
Which is really exciting
My Mam is also speaking
After all it is a family affair...
In other news
I am still horse riding
And still loving it
My instructor tells me we will start jumping soon
Which is what I’ve been waiting for
I just can’t wait
I’ve been waiting since last May
And now it’s finally happening!
Yay!
Up until last week
Things had been going great with Cocos owner
We were talking
And had a buddy in mind for Coco
It looked like it was really going to happen
Until Wednesday
When I rang him to tell him I had booked the farrier
He verbally attacked
Told me I have my priorities all wrong
And I should be getting a bridle for Coco before I do anything
Told me I am full of ‘ buts and excuses’
And I need to look forward not back
The call ended with me telling him if he wanted a bridle to go and get one
He promptly hung up on me
I was left stunned after the call
And became very upset
Cocos owner has often acted a bit odd
But this was another level
And it actually makes me think that he might be a bit unstable (Ha ha no pun intended)
That I should probably stay clear for a while
So I haven’t seen Coco in a few days
And am missing him a lot
It’s not fair though
I have put so much time and energy in to Coco
He has come such a long way
But I have this complete asshole to contend with
I’ve to consider whether it is worth it
At the moment I don’t know
One thing I do know is that he owes me a massive apology
I mean who does he think he is
Not only to another person
But to the person who looks after your God damned pony!
I mean really...?
On the quiet I have been scoping out fields over in my area
Technically Coco belongs to the charity that rehomed him
So it might be a possibility to go through them
But we’ll see
I’m not rushing in to anything
Anyway
This Is my life these days
It mostly consists of fields, dogs, horses and the rest
I’ve never been happier
Or more content
I hope all of you are doing ok
If I’m not friends with you on FB
Send me an email and I’ll send you my name so we can become friends
How was your Christmas??
Friday, 10 November 2017
November
Another month





Another update
It's strange to think that I used to blog every single day
Without fail
And given that I had no life to speak of
I don't know what I had to write about
But as you know
EDs are all consuming
You eat or not eat, sleep and breathe it
It's everything and yet it's nothing
It seems to be the only important thing
But when you take a step back
You can see it for the life sucking, draining vacuum that it is
I don't preach
And I don't tell people what to do recovery wise
I know everyone has to live their own life
And let their own story happen
Heck I was well in to my thirties when I finally began to recover
I was lucky
I had the combination of great support and an unwillingness to wither away the way I was
I have to confess though
I don't read any ED blogs any more
I can't
It's too upsetting
It's too triggering
I've had to take that step away
To protect myself
I hope you understand
But I am in touch with some of you on FB
And that is so great
There comes a point when your life is at across roads
You get an opportunity to get well
I had many
And threw away many
As you know I spent a long time in and out of hospital and treatment
It took me a good few admisssiond to figure out that I do not do well inpatient
That's ok
We are all individuals
And we recover in different ways
What works for me may not work for you
Look at addiction
For the longest time
All
I heard was that I had to go to meetings
I went to a lot
But still wasn't getting it
I don't doubt that they work for some
But not for me
I still practise the same ethos
Helping others
It in my case animals
And that works for me
You just need to find what works for you
It's not always obvious
It's trial and error
But it's worth it
Every
Single
Time
In other news
I am doing training to start work in the new year
But I am undecided as to whether I will actually take the job
I have an urge to go back to finish off my horsemanship course
I feel stronger
I think I might be able to do it now
But there is something holding me back
Recently
During horse riding
I've been experiencing very low energy and fatigue
And have been pulled off the horse a few times
My instructor tells me I need to figure out what's going on
And it's killing me that my body is getting in my way of doing what I love
I spoke to my doctor
Who did blood work
And then started me on B12 vitamins and folic acid
He also looked at my meds
And reviewed the fact that I am on three very sedating meds
So he reduced the mirtazapine from 45mg to 30mg
And the methadone from 26mls to 24mls
So hopefully that will make a difference
My doctor made the point that I used to need all those meds
Way back when I was very unwell
But I'm doing better now
And so I guess we need to adjust and review
It's good though
It's progress
Moving in the right direction
Part of me would love to stay in my cosy bubble
But look that's not real life
Unfortunately
Coco is well
He is quite the social media star now
And has his very own following on various FB groups
Winter is coming
And I'm hoping he'll make it through without any issues
It's almost a year now since we first met
And he has come on so much
He has gone from being a scared and lonely pony
To a happy, cheeky and very social wee fella
He loves my dogs
Especially Lea
And follows her every where
We did have an incident last week
I had Coco out on the lane
And at one point I unclipped his lead rope
Usually he follows me
But instead he turned on his heel
And started trotting up the lane towards the road the monkey
I remained calm and called him
Walked after him quickly
He reached the road and stopped
I continued to talk to him
And thankfully he didn't go any further
But Jesus H Christ he gave me a hop
There you go though
All in a Pony's days work
Really though I have a lovely bond with him now
He's quite the cheeky monkey now
When he doesn't get treats he walks behind me and nudges me with his head
Pushing me to give him something
He's spoiled rotten bless him
My farrier has offered to take him
To put him on a diet
And to start breaking him in
This is exciting news
I just hope it happens as I think Coco had so much potential
I think he'd make a lovely riding pony
How great would they be?
To actually ride him
That's the dream right there
I'll leave you with a few photos from the last few weeks
Til next time.....
Thursday, 19 October 2017
October Update: Part 2
Hello friends
I don't know how many people still read and follow this blog
It still gets a couple of hundred hits a day
So I'm thinking there are still a few of you
This blog has changed since its birth some five and a half years ago
It was an ED blog
Thenna recovery blog
But now it's more like a life blog
A living blog
A keep going despite everything blog
A don't give up blog
Life is good for me
And might I add I am the heaviest I've ever been and I couldn't give a hoot
When they need to remove a wall from my home to get me out of the house with a forklift
Then I will worry
I can't remember if I wrote about what happened a couple of weeks ago at horse riding
Anyway I'll you
I was in a lesson with Fintan
And from the start I didn't feel good
We were trotting around the arena
And I started to feel very dizzy and weak
My instructor realised and pulled me off the horse
I was so disappointed
I chatted to my instructor afterwards
And she told me that the way I was going she wouldn't let me ride
She asked if I was eating properly
And the answer to that was a big no
She emphisised how important it is to eat correctly while doing such a physical sport
That right there was motivation enough to get me to sort out my food
It wasn't that I was restricting or binging
But I wasn't eating breakfast
Or a solid lunch or dinner
I kind of just grazed through out the day
Picking and not actually eating proper meals
So
I had to make a very manageable and realistic meal plan
I now eat breakfast, lunch and dinner
And do my best to eat good healthy food
It has made a massive difference
I'm a different girl
I have energy
I feel more switched on
More able and capable
And horse riding has become fun again
I was there just yesterday
And my canters went great
My instructor told me that she can see the work I've put in and that we will be progressing now
I'm hoping this means I'll be jumping
I can't tell you how excited I am for that!
Watch this space...
In other news
Coco is well
He saw the farrier a few weeks ago
And was good as gold
I've started bringing him for walks down the lane on the lead rope
And he just loves it
He'll walk down no bother
But when I want to go back to the field
He doesn't want to
And stands like a stubborn toddler
So I try reverse psychology
And unclipped his lead rope and walk off
He immediately trots behind me
Apart from the day when he trotted past me and went heading up the lane towards the road
I was freaking out
But had to remain calm
I called him
He stopped and looked at me
Then I remembered I had polo mints in my pocket
I took them out and lured him back to the field with them
It worked thank God!
Relations with Cocos owner are not good
He is moody and unpredictable
One day he's as nice as can be
Another day he is verbally attacking me
He's sarcastic in a mean way
And I'm starting to wonder if maybe he's not entirely well in the head
He insists that I buy any tack or equipment that Coco may need
Because he supplies the grazing
Em excuse me
But last time I checked
He is your pony
Yes I help care for him
Yes I am invested in him
But I've already shelled out money for food, for tack, for the farrier
I won't be taken for a fool
Anyway
Moving on
Here is the monkey man Coco...
Sunday, 1 October 2017
October
Don't you just love Autumn?
I think it's my favourite of all the seasons
Today is the first of October
The leaves are falling
The colours are beautiful
It's cold enough to wrap up in warm jumpers and scarves
Love it all!
September was a month of highs and lows
I finished work
I celebrated my birthday
Then
On the 17th
I travelled three hours away to Westport for a little holiday
I've been talking about this holiday for quite some time
It's a package where you stay three nights in the hotel
And the manager of the hotel also owns stables so you can do a mountain trek one day
And a beach trek the next day
I brought my parents with me
And treated them
It felt so good to be able to pay for them
And it felt even better to organise my very own holiday
And do exactly what I want to do
I've gone on holidays in the past
But they were other people's holidays that I tagged along
This holiday was all me!
We arrived Sunday afternoon
Checked in
I handed over the guts of a grand in cash
That I worked hard all summer to save
I actually felt like a proper adult paying that bill
And to treat my parents was just great
We had two rooms
Myself and Mam in one
And Dad in another
We settled in
Then headed up for dinner
We actually stayed in this same hotel about ten years ago
At Christmas time
I was strung out at the time
And didn't brings enough drugs or methadone with me
And promptly went in to a severe withdrawal
I'll never forget that night
I thought I was going to die
Anyway
Here I am ten years later
Ten years older and wiser
A long way away from that girl
Michael
The man who owns the stables
Texted me to tell me he would pick me up the next morning
And we would do the mountain trek first
I woke up the next morning
Full of excitement and nerves
I forced down a breakfast
Grabbed my hat
And went to wait for Michael
He soon arrived
And we headed out to the stables
First impressions were not good
As Micheal was shouting at all the staff
And there was a very tense atmosphere
I actually went outside and rang Mam
I wasn't sure if I even wanted to continue
As the whole place felt very hostile
Anyway
I decided to give it a second shot
I was shown what horse I was riding
A massive boy called Pepper
I mean he was enormous!
I was introduced to my guide Atulla
Who was from Hungary
And two others called Zena and Cynthia
Atulla brought me out to the outdoor arena
And went over the trek etc
I decided I didn't want to canter that day
I said I would wait until the beach trek
A rare moment of restraint for me
So
We all saddles up and headed out
We were going to the foothills of a mountain called Croagh Patrick
Which people climb in pilgrimage
It was quite a long trek at three hours in all
It was just beautiful
The day was lovely
Weather was great
We did a lot of trotting and walking
A lot of chatting
And of course lots of photos
Atulla was quite the character
And kept us all entertained
The trek up the mountain was quite precarious at times
Drops either side
Rocky ground
But I thoroughly enjoyed it
We got back to the stables
And Atulla gave me a lift back to the hotel
I was so glad that I didn't pull out
I was so glad persevered
It was well worth it
I got back to the hotel
Tired but happy
I had a shower
Changed my clothes
And headed down to the harbour with Mam
I was really on a high
And couldn't contain myself
That evening we had dinner
And then went for a couple of drinks
And to listen to the music
I swear I was the youngest person there by about three decades
I was wrecked
So went to bed early enough
The next morning
I was sore but not too bad
Today were going to do the beach trek
And there was another lady coming with us
While I waited for Michael to pick me up
I tried to figure out who she was
Michael arrived
And I met the lady called Jo
She was bright and bubbly
And I liked her immediately
We headed out to the beach
Where Atulla was waiting with the horses
Who had been transported from the stables in a big horse box
Jo was riding Pepper today
Today I was riding a little cob called Charlie
But what he lacked in size
He made up for in personality
He was full of character
I hopped up on a rock
And on to his back
Straight away I could feel how keen he was to get going
We arranged ourselves in to a line and headed out
Atulla was riding Sylvester
And also riding with us was Inaja
Who was riding Imp
The beach was vast and completely deserted
Again we were lucky with the weather
From the start
The craic was mighty
Jo was full of the joys
And Atulla also kept us all entertained with jokes and taking the piss out of us
But I must also say
When he needed to be serious
He most definitely was
He had the balance of fun and safety just right
We trotted the length of the beach
Went through the water
Up on the dunes
On the rocks
Then we came to a sort of circular area of beach
And Atulla asked us if we wanted to canter
I did
But Atulla said he would do it with me
So we cantered together around the circle
Charlie was a total pocket rocket
God bless him he could move
Jo tried too
But it didn't quite work out for her
The weather was starting to turn
So we began to head back
We had to wade through the water again
And the tide has come in
So because Charlie was so small
I was up to my knees in sea water
Which the rest of them thought was hilarious
I was soaked and the water was feckin' freezing
But it was all part of the fun
We made it back to the trailer
Dismounted
Led the horses back in
Then we all piled in to the cab
And headed back to the hotel
The trailer was ancient
But we had the best of fun on the way back
Chatting about the trek
If it was even possible
It was better than the mountain trek
Our little holiday was over all too soon
But I thoroughly enjoyed it
And it gave me a fire in my belly to do more and more riding
I left with precious memories
And some beautiful photos
Also the knowledge that I made this happen
It couldn't have gone better
I have a lot more to write
But I think I will leave it there for today
And try and post some photos to go with this post...
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