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Wednesday, 30 October 2013

The 30 Wishes Challenge

To celebrate hitting 30,000 views on here, I decided to set myself a challenge. I wanted to see if I could come up with 30 wishes for my future. It was a real challenge coming up with 30, but I managed it. Once I'd done it, I wondered if other people would be able to do the same. So to you, reader, have a look at my 30 wishes and see if you can come up with 30 of your own!
  1. Get out of hospital before Christmas.
  2. Never go back to a psych ward.
  3. Be more confident at meeting new people.
  4. Defeat my spider phobia completely.
  5. Conquer my fear of making phone calls - I can make a phone call but I get very anxious when I do, I want the anxiety to go!
  6. Be open about my diagnosis and my identity.
  7. Be able to concentrate on books and start reading more.
  8. Improve my sleeping pattern so that I'm able to get out of bed in the morning and fall asleep at a reasonable time at night.
  9. Get over my food-phobia of onions. Seriously!
  10. Get back to work and off benefits - this one will be a slow one as I will start off with voluntary work and do it for a while before taking the plunge into paid work.
  11. Get paid for something I write.
  12. Linking to the previous two, earn enough as a writer to live off.
  13. Get my memoir published by a publisher (rather than self-published).
  14. Restart Still Here magazine and make it a success.
  15. Have a piece of music published.
  16. Become a formal educator for Time to Change Wales and do at least one presentation for them.
  17. Get a flat and live independently.
  18. Dye my hair, even just once, so I could see what I look like with darker hair. I've never dyed my hair before!
  19. Get a dog or other pet.
  20. Go swimming and become more active.
  21. Run the London Marathon.
  22. Learn to play the guitar and/or the drums.
  23. Get a full motorbike licence, rather than the provisional one I currently have.
  24. Go on the Big Dipper at Blackpool.
  25. Do a bungee jump and/or a skydive. The latter will be quite difficult though, as I'm terrified of flying!
  26. Go whitewater rafting.
  27. Go to New York to visit the World Trade Center and 9/11 memorial.
  28. Go to a football stadium and watch a football match, preferably watching a Manchester United match at Old Trafford (yes I know, please don't judge me!).
  29. See Within Temptation live. (They're a symphonic metal band by the way.)
  30. Get my blog to go over 40,000 hits by this time next year!
Now that I've given my 30 wishes for the future do you think that you could come up with 30 wishes for the future? If you can come up with 30, post them in the comment section below. I just want to see how many people can do this. I think it could be therapeutic for others to do this because writing about wishes for the future is a positive step in mental health. It shows you are looking ahead, believing you have a future, plus a list like this could give you something to aim for in life when you're feeling down. The wishes can be short-term or long-term, but try and come up with 30.

So have a go, see if you can come up with 30 wishes, and post them in the comment section. Apologies about the CAPCHA code, but it does drastically reduce the number of spammers I get!
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous30 October 2013 at 09:30

    This is fantastic, Katy. i dont know you but I love you. Going to do the above then will post it here. Just wanted to tell you how fantastic this is. Found myself crying like a baby. But not in a bad way. In a very good way. The way you do when you feel hope. And inspiration.

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    Replies
    1. Katy Gray30 October 2013 at 11:01

      Wow, Anonymous, I'm so touched that by this message! Your 30 wishes are incredible and I hope you are able to achieve all of them! I think you should print yours off and tick them off as you achieve them, something I'll try and do when I get out of here!

      Katy xx

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  2. Anonymous30 October 2013 at 10:46

    30 Wishes Challenge:

    1. Spend less time on this computer.
    2. Be more present to my kids.
    3. Be kinder and stop yelling.
    4. Listen to music and dance with the kids like we used to do.
    5. Bake and cook like I used to. They don't even remember that.
    6. Toilet train my dog...after a 3 yr delay.
    7. Call a friend. Haven't done that in a couple of yrs.
    8. Study for and obtain my driver's license.
    9. Become a citizen of the country where I've lived for 25 yrs. It's about time.
    10. Stop procrastinating and start problem solving.
    11. Get rid of all the piles of papers I've collected and have no idea what's in them.
    12. Tackle the laundry pile in my basement once and for all...a 4 yr accumulation. Maybe 5.
    13. Clean every nook and cranny of this neglected home, and garden.
    14. Learn acceptance of all the things that have been lost, and move forward.
    15. Write letters to my children. Something comforting that they can read when I'm gone.
    16. Take a walk outside.
    17. Brush my teeth every day.
    18. Shower more often, rather than just because I smell bad.
    19. Feel joy again.
    20. Be a better mother so I don't screw them up any more than I already have. It isn't too late.
    21. Become Suzy Homemaker!
    22. Let my bleach blond hair grow out and show those gray hairs I've earned.
    23. Get the walls painted in the house because they are really awful.
    24. . Win the lottery.
    25. Lose wgt so that I can fit into the casket.
    26. Get some psychotherapy. Which is why I need to win the lottery.
    27. Go to bed and get up at what most people consider a reasonable hrs.
    28. Stop beating myself up daily over the past that I can't change.
    29. Find a peaceful place within. Try the meditation thing. As in, really do it.
    30. Learn to stay calm and speak softly. Like the old me.

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  3. Unknown30 October 2013 at 14:01

    1. Be comfortable admiring that I have a mental health disorder. And become comfortable disclosing what disorder it is.
    2. Volunteer for a non profit which helps people with mental health disorders.
    3. Ask for help when I need help.
    4. Get out of my house, and exercise more.
    5. Be stable enough to travel to a different time zone. Or create a realistic plan that allows me to travel.
    6. Help someone who is struggling with their diagnosis or experiences.
    7. Learn to communicate more effectively while in an episode.
    8. Learn to recognize my symptoms and how I can manage them more effectively.
    9. Learn how to break my goals up into realistic action plans.
    10. Learn to love myself.
    11. Learn to forgive myself for my past, and my present.
    12. Go back to school and complete a degree.
    13. Become comfortable being independent, and more self reliant.
    14. Get over my phobia of strangers.
    15. Accept my birth father for what he is and not what I expect him to be. And generally be more accepting of people.
    16. Accept that I am flawed, and accept that being human means being flawed and that can be beautiful in itself.
    17. Learn to speak calmly and kindly at all times, but especially when I am upset.
    18. Maintain a journal for one year, with entries everyday.
    19. Have a pen pal.
    20. Become a better friend to those who have been there for me.
    21. Have a cleaner house.
    22. Introduce organization and structure into my life. And maintain both.
    23. Open a savings account and actually save money.
    24. Be a better partner.
    25. Build my self esteem and learn what makes me insecure and what I can do to stop these insecurities from affecting my whole day/ life etc.
    26. Stop drinking coffee.
    27. Accept that I will need medication for the I foreseeable future, and accept that this is not a bad thing.
    28. Start painting/ have a creative outlet.
    29. Read a book at lease once a month if not more. Participate in my family book club.
    30. Make memories. Take pictures. The good and the bad. I want to remember everything.

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    Replies
    1. Katy Gray1 November 2013 at 10:42

      There's a few here that I could add to my list, thanks for this!

      Delete
  4. Anonymous1 November 2013 at 02:49

    Here is a link to my post that has my 30 wishes on it: http://deadinsidelol.blogspot.com/2013/10/30-wishes.html

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    Replies
    1. Katy Gray1 November 2013 at 10:41

      Thank you for this, and if you want, I'll help you with number 4!

      Delete
  5. A freind7 June 2014 at 14:24

    Thank you so much for your down to earth honesty and articulate insights into your complex condition. I know for sure many will take huge inspiration from your blog and I feel it can only improve your own condition. Self-empowered therapy!
    Concerning the medication side of things there are some good avenues being explored despite the patenting issues and they are promising, for example the use of high dose vitamin C .
    There is also a theory that there exists clusters of receptors in the brain that may provide a clue into psychosis that are closely associated with serotonin. Here is the article
    http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/v4/n6/full/ncpneuro0800.html
    Keep reaching for the light my friend :)
    (have you done a skydive by the way?)

    ReplyDelete