The Black Dog Thread

[Tjm86]

That's a fair point.  I guess I'm just distinguishing the root causes of such beliefs.  If they are based in certain types of treatment / activity then unpicking them can sometimes be more challenging.

I like CBT (although I find BDT more useful for specific / personal reasons).  It has a sound basis and can be easily applied.  Sometimes though it needs supplementing to get a better understanding of the distorted cognitions that underpin problems.

Perhaps this is where I sometimes find myself troubled by how CBT is currently being delivered.  Short group courses that skim very briefly over the core ideas and teach a couple of simple techniques. 

Not that this is inappropriate in all cases.  Just that quite often it is a bit of a sticking plaster for more complex cases.  Unfortunately right now it seems that this is about as much as many people can hope for.

It seems like we are pretty much on the same page in terms of some of this stuff.  The only real point of departure seems to be how far CBT is effective.  As you say, mistreatment is regrettably incredibly commonplace. 

There are degrees though, some of which are horrendously extreme.  At key formative points in an individual's life this can have significant neurological implications.  In those cases, the cognitions are more resistant to CBT techniques.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Yeah, I'm with you now.  I've had a course of CBT (not the aforementioned Burns method) and I found that the therapist was just flying ahead with techniques without waiting for me to get past the first stumbling blocks.  I often found myself resisting what she was trying to get me to accept, some of which went against beliefs that I either didn't know at that point I had, or did know and had no intention of changing. 

For example, she told me to write down my desires and let 'the universe' deliver - My main thing would be world peace and an end to hunger and ecological destruction, but I don't see the fecking universe doing much about those things.  Sorry to bang on again about my favourite self-help author but I found his  TEAM CBT exercises far more useful in helping me uncover my own resistance to change before attempting to change.

I hadn't heard of BDT before, I'm glad it's working for you.  I'll have a look into it.

[Tjm86]

DBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, is an offshoot of CBT.  Designed for people with a diagnosis for Borderline Personality (Emotionally Unstable) Disorder.

Because the condition involves insanely wild emotional swings, hyper-anxiety and depression it focuses on ways of coping with these aspects as well.  Things like "mood-surfing" come into play.  There is a strong focus on distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness since the condition also often leads to misinterpretation of other people's actions and behaviours.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Sounds interesting, and very useful. Glad it's working for you.

[Jade Falcon]

The ongoing saga of my job.  I'm finding myself being upskilled, using a backup system which is designed for Windows XP.  Its very slow to load, but this is hitting my handling time for calls, and now I'm getting flak for that.

Meanwhile, I have a neighbour who is still being an inconsiderate cocknugget all hours of the day, and my sleep patterns are irregular.  I have been late for the 6th time since I started which means I face a disciplinary in the near future which is not doing my stress levels any good.

The irregular hours aren't helping, and of course having to deal with some absolute gits as customers..

Add to that, the fact that working I feel I'm financially worse off than when I was on JSA and PIP.  I went from paying no rent to paying full whack, I knew I'd have to pay rent of course, I wasn't naive.  Ditto with council tax, fuel costs as I drive up five days over seven, 20 miles approx a day.  I now find I'm not doing so well financially.  There's little prospect for real advancement in a financial sense.

[Hawkmumbler]

Well, i'm doing pretty good right now, all things considered on both a personal and cosmic level.

And I hope, considering this here thread has been quiet for shy of two months now, that all here are doing just fine too.

[The Legendary Shark]

Glad to hear that, Hawkie! I'm feeling pretty chipper myself, at the moment. Here's to the Good Times!

[paddykafka]

To Hawkmumbler & Sharkie: Glad to hear that yer both doing well. Onwards and upwards, as the saying goes.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Aye, I'll second that. How are you doing yourself, Paddy?

[Tjm86]

I'm going to second, (third, whatever ..) the vote for those talking about how well folks are doing.  In particular, that Jade is doing well.

Personally I'm really struggling but only because the latest round of treatment has set off so many landmines it is unreal.

That might need a bit of qualification as a positive though.  I want to deal with this sh**. I need to. Right now this is about connecting past with present.  For those amongst us familiar with trauma, (hopefully incredibly few of us), being able to integrate those experiences and self is incredibly important.

Personally I'm looking at recent experiences from the point of view of "ok, this is difficult but it is nice to be struggling without thinking about putting an end to it all .." Admittedly a close run thing but even said, ...


It's great to hear that so many of us (former Black Doggers) are doing so well.  I can appreciate Jade's frustration and hope that things are erring more towards the positive.

[The Legendary Shark]

My best to you, Tjm. I hope your treatments go smoothly and that you can take them in your stride.

[paddykafka]

Aye, I'll second that. How are you doing yourself, Paddy?

Hi Jayzus.

Well I'm now into my third week of over-holding my tenancy, after the end date of my Notice of Termination of Residency has lapsed. Surprisingly enough, the landlord has not been in contact with me so far. Considering the antagonistic attitude which he has previously displayed towards those tenants* who have already chosen to overhold, I'm all the time waiting for that ominous 'knock on the door'. I can only presume that he has decided to go down the legal route with the Residential Tenancy Board and have me evicted that way. It is a nerve-wrangling time for me, to be sure and frankly, a horrible way to be living.

The efforts of the Dublin City Councillor these last few months to secure accommodation for me have, alas, failed to bear fruit. In the meantime, I've been in touch with DCC's Homeless Central Placement Service. They have referred me to their Senior Citizens Team - talk about feeling old, lol! - and said that I could expect to receive a call from them. That was three weeks ago and, so far, I've heard nothing from them.

I've also been in touch with DCC's Housing Allocations department. Acting on their advice, I submitted a Disability / Medical information form which was filled in by my psychiatrist and social worker, along with supporting letters and documents that I thought might be relevant. The people I spoke to reckoned that it might help in pushing me up the list as a priority case.


But when I rang back to find out when I could expect my next appointment with Housing Allocations, I was told that, because of a backlog in processing the forms, it could be up to another three months before I am evaluated and given a further appointment. And so the anxious wait goes on!

Threshold are also liaising with Dublin City Council on my behalf. DCC gave them a small list of properties from it's Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme, of which I might be eligible for some of them. So I've applied for three one-bed units from the list that I thought might be suitable for my needs. (Given the large amount of personal possessions which I have - which includes almost a thousand books and over two thousand comics and graphic novels - as adequate space goes, a bedsit would just not cut it for me.)

My concern is that, without yet having been evaluated with regards to the form which I gave to DCC, that I will not be considered as a priority case by whoever makes these decisions, and thus that I will be passed over. (Bearing in mind that, as the link below shows, I'm just one of approx 12, 500 other poor sods in the same position - and worse - than me.) I just seem to be bumping into one hurdle after another.

Anyways, thanks for thinking of me Jayzus. Much appreciated. Fingers crossed that something comes up for me. It's not for want of trying on my part. Oh, and I'm still at war with the mice in my flat. If there was to be a movie poster of my life of recent times, the tag-line would read: "Mouse-Wars 2 - This time it's personal!"

https://www.thejournal.ie/homelessness-figures-ireland-6106594-Jun2023/

*This refers to the other tenants who received their Notice of Termination at the same time as I did. Not to the newer tenants who have since moved in and whom he is currently fleecing. (To give an example, the bedsit beside me now costs a staggering €1,650 per month!)

[JayzusB.Christ]

ah feck, Paddy, you've been through the wars and no mistake.  I really hope something works out.  Sometimes I forget how lucky I am, despite my modest accommodation.

I do understand the mouse issue - when I lived on the boat they were regular visitors.  I tried my very best to get rid of them without killing them but finally went back to the old school mousetraps.  Rats were another issue - they chewed up my clothes and my furniture but wwirdly seemed to move out when they realised I was a permanent resident.

[The Legendary Shark]

That sucks, Paddy, as I know from different but similar experience. Waiting for the "authorities" was a waste of time, for me, and my advice would be to start looking in other directions; maybe get a caravan or something. I know what you mean about all your stuff, I lost thousands (literally) of books, comics, magazines, as well as clothes, appliances, tools... the list goes on and was heartbreaking at the time. I'm sorry I can't be more positive but, as far as the "authorities" go, we're on our own.

On the plus side, going through all that made me stronger and less attached to physical things.

[Tjm86]

It is painful to be able to do nothing more than send best wishes Paddy.  The lack of resources and the attitudes of landlords seems to be a growingly familiar problem wherever you are.  It's hard to believe we're nearly to the middle of the 21st Century and apparently going backwards as a society.

Here's hoping that this gets resolved fairly quickly and in your favour.  All the best sir.