The Bathroom Battle

Before you read my post, I must remind you that there are only a couple of days left to get your questions in. Uncle Bradley’s Words of Wisdom will be back this Friday as always.

If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog you know I have issues with showering or bathing. I’m either too depressed to drag my ass into the shower or so manic that the idea of standing in one place while water sprays on me is just too monotonous and overwhelming at the same time.

Today I took a shower. It’s not as big a deal anymore since my meds have me feeling more balanced, but I took it one step further. I actually cleaned the bathroom.

I must be honest here. Our house is not the cleanest place on earth. Maurice works long, grueling hours with his job and my head is spinning too much to take the time to clean. On top of that, the bathroom has always been a place I despise cleaning. But today I decided to defeat that ugly monster.

With a mop in one hand and a toilet brush in the other, I marched straight in there. The sink growled at me, the toilet laughed at me and the shower looked at me with evil in its eyes. I was not intimidated. Within an hour the creature was cleaned shiny and bright.

Usually with bipolar disorder it’s a good idea to have consistency, so I’ve created a schedule for myself. After breakfast and showering each day I do the following:
Monday – Laundry
Tuesday – Bathroom
Wednesday – Kitchen
Thursday – Laundry
Friday – Living room and Bedroom

After each of those I get back to a website I’m designing and work from 12n – 6pm.

This entire consistency thing is kind of scary even though I allow myself flexibility, but it’s one step closer to getting out and living a normal life again. You’d think that’d be exciting, but it’s actually damned frightening.

8 comments on The Bathroom Battle

  1. It sounds really good, Bradley. Consistency can be really tough, so it’s great you’re working that direction and doing it!

  2. Hi Bradley,I applaud you for making your life better for you! I need to do that, make a list. Getting more organized might take away some of this stress I have. Now how do I get my 3 kids to act better? (ha, ha) Have a wonderful day! 🙂

  3. While I don’t like schedules–it must be a personality flaw–I do clean with gusto. And I find doing the laundry to be extraordinarily satisfying and relaxing. Isn’t that scary?

  4. Dear Bradley:If the whole schedule thing works for you, then keep on trucking as they say. Just glad to see you have a positive outlook and are working toward goals and aspirations. I have always believed to make dreams come true; we have to risk dreaming the impossible, and then go after it with reckless abandonment and unbridled enthusiasm.Yours TrulyStan

  5. Bradley~I so understand the fear of returning to “normal”. Especially if you’ve been away from the norm for a while. It’s often easier to give in to mental illness, than to trudge through the morass to health.I find, in my long return to wellness, that I sabotage myself, with fearful thoughts and useless anxiety. I worry that I’ll lose everything that I’ve gained. That I’ll never get any better than I am now.Stranger, I also ponder never being sick enough to go back into the hospital! There is some ease knowing that you don’t have to behave differently than you feel. That you don’t have to even move, if you feel unable.Those times happen for me when I’m going through a rough patch. It generally means I’ve forgotten one of my meds. Or that they need to be tweaked again.I was going to clean the kitchen tonight, as I’m feeling brave. It sounds like we have similar housekeeping issues! As well as Bipolar, med-related weight gain and I’d bet a vanilla shake you and Maurice are not Republicans!Best wishes, Dano.

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