Lived Experience Forum

[tyme]

Hey there @Mustang67 ,

Welcome to the forums, and thank you for sharing a little about yourself.

I hear it can be discouraging to notice that each time you take a step forward, it feels like you are taking a few steps back. It must be incredibly difficult. Is this something you are able to speak to your therapist/s about?

I also wanted to say, thank you for sharing the coin! Wow! I really appreciate it. I don't think I've ever appreciated coins until I visited the mint recently. 

I was a little disappointed because I didn't get the Bluey coin set....

What are some other things you are interested in?

[Harmonium]

Hi @Mustang67 , I collect coins too. It’s a wonderful pass time. Is your picture of a coin or token? I’ve not seen that one. The Phoenix is a great story and many of the most incredible people I know have risen from the ashes, so to speak. It’s character forming, that’s for sure. Over at the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) they have some beautiful coins and new ones are released every few months. I entered a fair ballot process (EQL via RAM) to win some and was deliriously happy to win the Bluey coin! It really made my day and since then, my interest has deepened. I also look for error coins and it’s a great journey through history. I got a book on coins via RAM. It is exciting for me to receive change now as I study each coin now, looking for strike errors and marvelling over the differences in tone via year. Excited to find a year I don’t have yet for my series collections. Like anything, there is a lot to learn but I feel coin collecting or numismatics is worthwhile because it doesn’t take up much space and you can literally discover cool coins in loose change. Little by little our daily actions become us and I am sure your dedication to wellness and collecting will pay dividends over time and lead to a more contented life. Slowly but surely wins time and time again. 

[Mustang67]

Hi @tyme 

Thank you for your response.

Currently I have a team of mental health clinicians helping me through a variety of different issues. But once I have a depressive episode, I self-sabotage and then cancel my appointments. Which is really the most important time to be seeing them. I am working on it. but my progress is slow.

And I suppose, just like most people on here, you have your good week and bad weeks. Unfortunately, my dad passed away on Christmas day, so all my issues are being exasperated.

But I must say, the weeks that I am not depressed, and start communicating and going on my social media, the support that I have received from people in the coin collecting community is absolutely amazing. So for me, my coin collecting has become part of my therapy.

When I first started coin collecting, I had no idea that when a new coin is released, they sell out in hours if it is a popular one. Unfortunately, if i am depressed, I completely shut down and don't go on any communication devices, so I missed all the email, informing me of the release. So I missed out on them as well. And I refuse to pay the extremely high prices that people then try to sell them for after the release.

My coins and communicating with my daughter is my only interest in life at this stage. 

Most of my life is spent getting therapy or doing some sort of workshop to help me work through particular issues. But the last one I had to stop after just one week, because I changed my antidepressant medication to a different one, and it was not a good time for me. So, I will book myself in when they run the next one. 

My mental health team are encouraging me to attend different activities, and I actually went to a group meditation through SkyLight last week, and enjoyed the meditation, but I had an uneasy feeling afterwards, and don't really want to go back for the remaining two weeks. So I will look at what other activities might be helpful.

I have really isolated myself over the past 5 years, so I when I am around people I don't know what to talk about (besides my coin collection), because I feel like when people ask about me and how am I, I don't want to tell them about my struggles and have them feel awkward or sorry for me. Which is obviously why my mental health care team are encouraging me to attend activates.

[Mustang67]

Thank you for your response @Faith-and-Hope.

Sometimes when you are going through your struggles, but it does help to know that you are not alone.

I must say, after connecting with some people through workshops that I have done, you realise just how many other people out there are struggling with something. So, this has caused me to try to always be kind and non-judgemental, as you can't tell what a person has gone through in life, just by looking at them or having a brief conversation.

And you are right, perseverance and resilience are very powerful tools. I just feel like I am on a roller-coaster ride. And it makes it hard for me to plan to do things with my daughter or family, because I don't know at what stage of my depression cycle I will be in.

But I use my daughter as my incentive to keep on trying.

I even got a tattoo on my arm that says "This too shall pass" just to remind me it will get better.

Kindest regards

Mustang67

[Faith-and-Hope]

♥️ @Mustang67 

[Mustang67]

@Harmonium Thank you for your reply.

I saw something on the news once about how coins in your change could be worth more than face value. Which peaked my interest. So I started writing a list of what coins I should be looking out for. While doing my research, I came across people who do noodling to find these valuable coins. So I thought wow, this could be fun. But on my first trip to the bank to withdraw some coins, I was told I could not withdraw rolls of coins because I didn't have a business account and that I could only withdraw a maximum of $50. So I was put off by this. In other states they can withdraw hundreds of dollars in rolls to noodle through. So it has put me off of "noodling", but I always check my change. I am hanging out to find a wavy 20c coin or a rotated coin. And of course the $1 mule coin. I even purchased a microscope that plugs into the computer where you can look at the coin in detail and take photos. I have found some 2c coins that are missing the SD initials. I am looking forward to starting to go through the coins that I have collected so far. My aim was to be able to collect the best quality of coin for each denomination for each year they were minted.

Obverse side of coin

This is the obverse side of the coin

It is Niue Legal Tender

Congratulations on being picked the ballot process. I am familiar with that. But unfortunately it hasn't stopped people price gouging and being able to buy multiple coins. And then the actual collectors miss out.

When I have an depressive episode, I shut the whole world out and don't check emails or go on social media, so by the time I found out about the release of the Bluey coin, it was too late. And I refuse to pay the hiked up prices that people sell them for after the release.

When the $1 Olympic & Paralympic Team coins were released, it was the same. But I ended up finding a Baby Shop on line selling them. Who would have thought that would sell coins? And they were sold at the RRP.

And today I knew that Woolworths started the release of $2 Olympic coins in people's change. But my depression is coming back, and I just didn't care. I know I will regret that decision when I am on the other side of it. Last year I found you had to go to Woolworths as early as possible in the morning to have a chance of getting the coins. 

I was lucky enough to win a 2012 $2 Red Poppy in a coin dip on Tic Tok. That was the only way that I would be able to get one of these. Lol

[Mustang67]

Hi @WellnessLens 

It is always awesome to see someone that has several different issues, turn them around and find a career that uses all of your skills that you have to offer. And I am so glad that you are sharing your ability to turn your life around with others in the community. 

It gives other people, like myself hope, that these issues and illnesses can be overcome when you do the work on yourself to find the coping strategies that work for you.

[ArraDreaming]

Hi @Mustang67
I am arradreaming
I am a male 29 and I like 4WDs, bikes, skateboarding and being with my family

[tyme]

Hey @Mustang67 ,

How's it all going? Any new coins? What's happening on your side?

[Explorer7]

By choice, I stopped working in 2016.

After 18 months I fell into clinical depression, mainly due to running out of purpose and meaning.

While I was depressed I considered various ways of killing myself. What kept me going was the love of family, plus: my GP, who provided me with mental health care plans; psychologist; psychiatrist and psychotherapist; and an antidepressant. I also volunteered with Lifeline during this time. Being on the phones helped put my own wellbeing into perspective, and the training Lifeline provided me was excellent. In a round about way, as a result of my depression, I also came to study and become a qualified Life Coach. The training here was excellent and highly relevant to my condition.

I eventually came out of the other side of depression.

I'd never voluntarily suggest becoming clincally depressed but having come out of it, I feel thar I'm mentally stronger for the (insidious) experience.

Quite a while later I felt myself slipping into depression again. At least this time I could recognise the warning signs.

I reached out for a mental health support group, and saw my psychiatrist again.

That was over two years ago.

I didn't relapse and, with the agreement of my psychiatrist, have gone off my antidepressant medication.

To maintain and further develop my mental health I've recently become interested in the concept of "wellbeing", what that means, and hearing from other people about what they found has helped them with their wellbeing.

There's a thread that @Shaz51 started about this, a while back, here https://saneforums.org/t5/Looking-after-ourselves/8-Dimensions-of-Wellness/td-p/1074012. It's still going after over three years and 300 replies.

I've very pleased to have joined the Sane community.