Christmas alone on 'bed rest'. Any tips?

@LadyMacbethWasFierce

I’m really sorry to hear about your daughter ❤️

Gentle audiobooks, free via the library or YouTube. Great when trying to be restful but also to accompany jigsaws etc. I like following through a series, the characters become familiar and that’s somehow comforting.

Hi OP you sound like an absolutely fantastic person. My heart absolutely goes out to you.

I understand about the frustrations brought about by bed rest. DD1 was hospitalised, sectioned, tube fed and put on bed rest when she was 16 owing to severe anorexia. She was in hospital for 3 weeks and, because I was supporting her treatment, I was allowed to stay with her. DD1 was an artist so she did lots of drawing. I know you say you are not particularly artistic. But what about painting by numbers?

Or, Decoupage
Learn a language
Learn to play bridge. Or chess.
Candle or soap making (not really suitable to do from bed but are quiet home activities).
Research your family tree
Sort family photographs
Make a book nook
Make a rag doll
Choose a topic - local history, an obscure poet, a particular historical event and learn everything there is to know about it.
Clay modelling
Jewellery making

I am concerned to read that you will be left alone. I know you say that you would feel worse if your family stayed behind. But the temptation to exercise when there is no one around to support you is going to be really strong (I know this from experience). What is happening to you is not your fault. You have not brought this upon yourself. You are not to blame for your relapse. You deserve all the love and support and compassion in the world.

I am also really sorry to read of the death of your beloved mother. Grief will have exacerbated your illness I am sure. Again this is not your fault.

My DD1 had 8 years in really well established recovery from anorexia. And recently qualified as a primary school teacher. She died entirely unexpectedly 5 weeks ago (not from anorexia). So as well as witnessing directly the struggles presented by anorexia I also know how intense grief feels like.

I really hope you get to the position of established recovery. But I know how challenging that road will be. Please think carefully about putting some support around yourself.

I have been very moved by your story and I wish you well from the bottom of my heart. I don’t want to intrude, but do feel free to PM me.

I was limited to bed rest for three years recently and would like to add the following.

Duolingo for chess as well as a language.

Online the Japanese game of Go is maddeningly slow to get to grips with.

A clear bird feeder fixed to the window was a delight.

Deleting and cataloguing all my photos.

Also random but #lifeskills learning to wolf whistle took me a solid 5+ hours and a few days to perfect.

Wishing you well it sounds like supporting your Mum and then your loss really took its toll.

Im aurge and an introvert so pretty good at keeping myself amused. Im currently ill myself and supposed to bed resting it I find it impossible to do so, I appreciate it’s not for the same reasons you’ll find it hard, but in case it helps, these are things that keep my mind busy and when I can get totally absorbed for hours and hours and easily spend a whole day doing

Video games like animal crossing, stardew valley, Minecraft.

Embroidery/cross stitch and an audio book at the same time. I love any kind of craft stuff but those two are pretty cheap to start, easy to learn and can be done from bed etc.

journaling or scrapbooking I enjoy too.

Jigsaws.
Lego
jewellery making.

If you feel ok doing so, drop me a pm and if you’re local to me I’m more than happy to give you some of my many surplus craft supplies for you to experiment with. I jump from hobby to hobby so have way more shit than I need.

I’m really sorry you’re having a shit time of it 💐

Do you have any wool? I bought a plastic pom pom kit for different sizes pom poms. It’s productive to do, doesn’t require much concentration and I’m hoping to make a wreath with them.

I'd get some crochet hooks and wool in too, that or knitting is great for keeping hands busy and mind gently distracted and if people who don't get on with one usually get on with the other (lots of easy tutorials on YouTube)

I'm so sorry for all the strain and grief you've been living with and for this sudden relapse. You sound like a remarkable person and I hope you the next few weeks bring you a bit of peace and much healing

Also op just to say obviously sitting still is very difficult for you, but could this also be an opportunity to practice something like meditation, just start really small and short and then let it gradually build up with some guided meditations or beautiful/complex pieces of classical music you like? The more you practice the easier it gets but it is tough in the beginning so have grace for yourself with it.

Buy yourself some adult Lego
I like a jigsaw but Lego is so much better!
Have you any interest in genealogy - I can waste hours doing family tree research

You've had a tough time op dear love you. I second crocheting or knitting- I had some bad pain a while back and that was really helpful for keeping my hands busy which worked out some agitation. Eventually I was able to settle enough to do it while watching TV or listening to audio books. I also like how mistakes don't matter because you just pull it out and redo.

Painting/drawing for fun or air dry clay. Maybe you could make something for the others as a surprise when they come back?

Go and meet a friend for a run in the car with flasks or go to a nice coffee shop/ sit by the beach with flasks maybe?

Do you like other forms of self care like face masks/ baths/ hair masks or maybe doing your nails etc a bit of pampering to make yourself feel looked after.

If you have outdoor space what about reading about gardening and using the time to plan something fun for that space to start in spring. I also quite enjoy threads that have Wikipedia black hole ideas on them where you can read about different things others have found interesting.

What about getting some materials to hand make cards and then deliver those to a residential home incase others didn't get any visitors over the holiday period?

Ahem. I did. Sorry OP.

@123456789xyz have you ever used polymer clay? You can make miniature things, , or cute millefiori

Get a Switch and play Animal Crossing!

Pick a subject or subjects that you know absolutely nothing about and go down an internet magic rabbit hole turning yourself into a mini expert on them by exploring websites, radio programmes, podcasts, films, TV programmes.

Try a couple-give yourself three hours before deciding if it's not for you and then move on to another. If you hit on a topic-and the topic that interests you might be a surprise to you-it can be very engaging!

Examples might be:

Trees of Great Britain
The Wives of Henry V111
English Murders of the Edwardian Period
The Paintings of the National Gallery
The Origin of the Universe
Worms
Famous Jewels
Queen Victoria's Love Life
British Fossils
The Pitt Rivers Museum

That's 10 of the top of my head-but topics are almost unlimited. The trick s to pick something that you know nothing about or at least very little.

Also seek clarification on what bed rest actually means in your case. I had a severe illness and was told bed rest, when gentle movement would have been beneficial and this was later clarified by a consultant. It may be keeping hr under 100, short walks and pacing. Or absolute bed rest. But for how long and when can you move again

best wishes and good luck.

Try Ancestry? I have absolutely loved it - I've gone about as far back as I can go now, 1600's, but it's the best money I've ever spent. So interesting and kept me occupied for hours and hours!

Have you got a garden/window boxes/pots? Plan some really nice planting for spring.

I wonder if people have misunderstood what your saying... I get it. I'm recovering and definitely not dieting lol

I’m currently reading Wintering by Katherine May. It talks about getting through difficult (winter) times both metaphorically but also through talking about this time of year. It’s wonderful so far and is helping me reframe how I see fallow times in my life. I have a long term health condition so am quite often confined to home and struggle with it.

I was going to suggest Lego too. I did this recovering form surgery and during chemo. Buy second hand from eBay to keep costs low. Do an audible free trial - easier than actually reading. BBC sounds also has lots of good and varied content. Hope it all goes smoothly for you.

I am almost certainly out of line in saying this, but I can't help myself.
You have for several years been the carer who allowed the family to escape for some days in the sun at Christmas. It seems to me very sad indeed that when your own health collapsed nobody was willing to stay home and give you some company. (Although I concede that I don't know the full context and you may have a host of very annoying siblings and would prefer to be alone!)

I really hope you missed the OP's update!!

This most definitely.

I was on bed rest for a couple of weeks after an accident recently. It was pretty rubbish to be honest but there were some things that were quite fun! I really enjoyed doing nonograms, diamond painting, regular painting, I did a book nook which was fun. Lots of friends came to hang out and chat which was really nice. Netflix was great too. I liked the water sort puzzle on my phone, reading lots and also enjoyed a few documentaries which was a surprise. I had a fab time planning out my entire life on Pinterest 😆 I also had quite a good time doing different make up tutorials. Didn’t matter if they looked awful as I wasn’t seeing anyone! Nice pampering was good too, I developed a very elaborate skincare routine by the end of the two weeks