Tag Archives: mental health

Still Having Easy Therapy Check-Ins (or A Few New Things To Do)

Posted on February 14, 2024 | Comments Off on Still Having Easy Therapy Check-Ins (or A Few New Things To Do)

My therapy appointments haven’t felt like appointments for a long time. They feel more like a check-in to make sure everything is going ok and I don’t need to change anything. I think I’m on a good dosage of the medication this doctor prescribed and I don’t see the need to change things up. I know there are other medications that I could try that might help me, but every time I’ve added something new I have new side effects. And I’m already dealing with enough side effects at this point so I don’t need to add any more. I’m glad my therapist is fine with these appointments turning into check-ins as well so they can be easy and quick. Plus, they are still virtual appointments, so they are even quicker for me since I don’t have to drive there and back.

I only have appointments every 6 months now, so they aren’t that often. I’m ok with that and know I could always schedule an additional appointment if I felt like I needed one. But since things have been pretty steady for a while, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

I actually brought up in my appointment this week how I feel like I just keep telling her the same thing every time, how things are going well and I feel like I’m on a good path. She thinks that it’s fine that I haven’t wanted to change what I’ve been doing and what the plan has been. But even though we don’t want to change anything, there are some new regulations for controlled substances (which my medication is) that I now have to go through.

Some of the new regulations have been things I’ve been working with. I can only get a month of medication at a time when in the past I could get 90 days at a time. It’s not that bad that I have to go in every month because I have to do that for another one of my medications. But it was nice to not have to worry about a refill for a few months. And now, I can’t request a refill as early as I used to. In the past, I could request a refill when I had about a week of medication left. That allowed for time for it to be filled since it can take a day or two. Now, I have to wait until I have only 2 days of medication left to put in my refill request, and that means that I can go a day or two without it. There’s also a shortage of the medication, so that can add even more delays with getting my refill. It’s frustrating because I know I’m not doing anything wrong, but I understand why there are regulations in place.

And while I was in my therapy appointment, I found out another regulation that I have to do so I can continue getting my medications. I have to go to cardiology to get an EKG to make sure that my heart is ok and there’s nothing weird going on with my medication. I’m not worried about my heart because I know I’m taking everything as prescribed and not abusing my medications. And I’m pretty aware of my heart rate since I wear a heart rate monitor in my workouts. But it is something that I will have to pay for to get done and I will have to find the time to go in to get it done. It’s a minor inconvenience for me so I’m aware that things could be much worse. And I don’t think I will have to do the EKGs regularly, so I’m hoping that I will just do it this one time and then I won’t have to worry about it again.

I’ll have my next therapy check-in in 6 months, right after my birthday. I’m not expecting anything to be different then and the plan will continue to be to keep doing what I’ve been doing. And hopefully, there won’t be any additional regulations with my medication that I will need to worry about. But if there are, I’ll just do what I need to do so that I can continue to make and see progress.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Normal Therapy Check-In (or It’s Still Nice This Are Easy To Get Through) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Therapy Appointment (or Preparing For Potential Changes) Default ThumbnailA Super Easy Therapy Appointment (or Just Doing A Check-In) Default ThumbnailA Super Fast Therapy Appointment (or Having Therapy On An Insanely Stressful Day) Default ThumbnailAnother Therapy Check In (or Someone Sees Progress) Default ThumbnailAnother Pandemic Therapy Check-In (or Hanging In There)

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Back To Back Doctor Appointments (or Still Having Easy Check-Ups)

Posted on August 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Back To Back Doctor Appointments (or Still Having Easy Check-Ups)

Even though it seems like I always have doctor appointments on my calendar, I’ve been very lucky that they usually are very routine and easy. I have several ongoing conditions that I’m trying to manage, and they seem to be a lot more stable now than they have been in the past. This is what I’ve been trying to achieve, so it’s nice to manage things tolerably instead of figuring out what to do next. But even with things being stable and manageable, I still have regular check-ups with my doctors to make sure nothing has changed.

And I had 2 of these check-up appointments recently just to make sure everything is fine. Fortunately, both appointments went as easily as I assumed they would.

First, I had an appointment with my dermatologist. These appointments have been pretty easy for a while now. My autoimmune condition has been more stable than ever and I really don’t have to think about it that often anymore. Occasionally, I do have a bad flare-up, but they are less frequent and usually not as many at one time. When I had my appointment, I did have a bad flare-up, but it was only a single location and a single flare-up. In the past, it could be multiple flare-ups at one time and in different locations on my body. When that was happening, the pain took a lot of my focus each day. With how my flare-ups have been lately, I only think about them if I position my body in a way to trigger the pain. It’s such a nice change compared to what I had been dealing with for so many years.

One of the medications I’ve been on to manage it for the past few months may or may not be working because typically it takes about 6 months to see if it’s helping. So hopefully, by my next appointment, I’ll have a better idea if it’s working and if I want to stay on it. It doesn’t really have any side effects so it’s not hurting me to stay on it to test it out. If at my next appointment, I don’t think it’s helping, I might go off of it just so I don’t take an extra medication that I have to pay for each month. But I’m trying to stay optimistic and thinking that I’ll see some positive results when I go back again. And because things are so stable, I don’t have to go back to my dermatologist for 6 months this time. Of course, if something comes up I can make an appointment sooner, but this is a longer time between appointments than I have had in the past.

And a few days after my dermatologist, I had my check-in with my therapist. Again, these appointments have been very simple and easy for a while. They are even easier than most appointments since I can continue to do them as video appointments. That makes it so much easier to fit into my schedule and they take significantly less time now that I don’t have to drive to the medical office and wait in the waiting room. I’m glad this is still an option for me and it should continue to be that way since my therapist used to see me in person and we haven’t always had virtual appointments.

This appointment was very similar to the last several therapist check-ins. She wanted to make sure that I’m still doing ok with my medication and that nothing much has changed with my mental health. The only thing we had to discuss was how I had to stop taking my medication for a bit because there was a shortage and I couldn’t get a refill. That’s not something that can be predicted, so it could happen again. But I’m hoping it won’t because I noticed a significant difference in how I was feeling when I had to stop taking it.

Other than discussing that, there wasn’t much talked about with my therapist which was what I expected. And just like with my dermatologist, my next check-in will be in 6 months so I have a bit of time before my next appointment.

It took time to get to a place where these appointments could be so easy and everything under control. I’m so grateful that I have gotten to this place because it wasn’t straightforward and it took trial and error. And I know that this isn’t necessarily what it will always be like and things can change and I could struggle to get to this stability again. But I’m just going to enjoy that things are like this for now and remain hopeful that when I have both of these appointments again in about 6 months that I will still be in the same place.

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Another Virtual Therapy Appointment (or Preparing For Potential Changes)

Posted on February 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Virtual Therapy Appointment (or Preparing For Potential Changes)

My therapy appointments have been every 6 months for a long time and ever since the pandemic, they have also been virtual appointments. I did some virtual appointments before the pandemic, but they weren’t every appointment because there was a rule that you had to be seen in person every so often. I’ve been grateful they have been video appointments that I can do from home because that makes them very easy to fit into my work day. I just take my lunch break when my appointment happens so I don’t have to worry about much. If I had to drive in and wait for my appointment time, I might still be able to fit it into a lunch break, but it would be harder to do. So keeping them virtual has worked out perfectly for me.

Because of the timing of when these appointments switched to being every 6 months, my appointments are now around my birthday and half-birthday. And the one this month just happened to fall on Valentine’s Day. I found that kind of funny, but I also didn’t mind having my appointment then since I knew it would be a pretty routine check-in.

And for the most part, it was very routine. My therapist made sure that I was still doing ok in general and I did let her know I was getting over a cold so if I sounded down it was because of that and not my mood. She confirmed I was doing ok on my current dosage of the medication I have been taking for years, which I am. And we discussed the new medication I’ve been taking and how it’s been working for me. She’s happy that I’m seeing success with it but was frustrated for me about the medication shortage. But she agreed that there’s not really anything I can do other than to be patient and pick up my refill as soon as it is available.

After my check-in, my therapist gave me a heads up that the medication she prescribes me might have a shortage soon. For some reason, of all the medications that do similar things, all the doctors at the hospital are switching their patients to the one that I am taking. So there will be a higher demand for it than there was before. We discussed what this shortage could mean for me, but hopefully it won’t affect too much if it happens. And if I have to go a week or so without my medication, I would be able to start back at the same dosage I’m already on and I wouldn’t have to worry about starting at a low dosage and working back up. I won’t need to order my refill for another month or so, so there is a chance there won’t be a shortage when I have my refill in. But she wanted to make sure I knew so I could be prepared.

And she also gave me a heads up that I may have to go to occasional in-person appointments again. My next appointment in August will be virtual, but the one in about a year might have to be in the office. She’s not sure if that will be necessary because the policy is about making sure patients see a doctor in person at least once a year, and I do see other doctors in person on a regular basis. So I might not have to go in for therapy. And a year is a long time from now, so a lot of policies could change in that time. But just like with the medication shortage, she wanted me to be prepared for this potential change and not have it seem sudden or surprise me. I really appreciated that.

That was about it for my therapy appointment. It was simple and easy, just like it’s been for a while now. And I guess I’ll just have to see if I’m affected by this other medication shortage in the next few months and if in the future I’m back to going to in-person appointments again. But maybe nothing will change and my appointment in 6 months will be another boring and routine check-in, which sounds perfect to me!

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I Might Have Picked The Wrong Monthly Challenge (or I Guess I Still Have Half Of The Month To Go)

Posted on January 19, 2023 | 1 comment

I try to really think about the monthly challenges that I set for myself before I decide which one to do that month. I usually have a few ideas that are very different and then I think about what I will get out of each one and try to pick the best option. For a while, I think I was doing a lot of challenges that would better myself in some way. But lately, I’ve been focused more on things that will better my environment or living situation.

That’s why when I picked my challenge for this month, I really thought it would be a good plan for feeling more settled in my place and just having a better routine and schedule. I know that things for me can feel like I’m in a rush to get them done or that I’m putting things off until the last minute without intending to do so. So if I could have an idea of what days are best to do certain things, I might feel a bit more stable when I’m trying to plan ahead.

But what I didn’t plan for were things that are out of my control and would affect what I could do and what I wanted to do. For example, with all the rain lately, I haven’t been wanting to run errands if I could avoid it because I don’t like to be out in the rain. Even if I had planned to go to the grocery store if the rain was coming down too hard I didn’t want to do it. I also don’t love driving in the rain and many other drivers seem to not be great at it either, so being off of the road seems like a smart choice. I wasn’t expecting to work extra hours this past week, so when I had things planned to do after work, that was affected by my later hours. And if I’m working until 8pm, I just don’t feel like going out to do other things after work. I’m ready to settle down for the evening.

On top of all this, I haven’t been feeling well and have been working through nausea for the first half of the month. Maybe if I was feeling ok, I would have been up for doing some of the things I had been putting off. But with all of that together, I just haven’t wanted to do a lot of anything. I know that if I had to go out and do something, I would. I had some errands I couldn’t avoid or do another way, so I went out and did them. I wasn’t always happy about it, but I got them done.

Maybe I’m just making excuses for myself because if there were things I had to do, I probably would have done them. But it’s easy to not go to the store and get groceries delivered or put off cleaning because nobody is going to see that my house is a little messy. And I’m aware that how I was feeling affected my mental state and that had a lot to do with things. I really set this challenge this month with the best intentions of getting it done and I’m wondering if I picked the right one. But I also think that maybe because of this struggle, this was exactly the challenge I needed to do and I need to step up my game.

I have used up half the month really not doing anything for this month’s challenge. Maybe I’ll be able to turn things around for these last 2 weeks and end the month feeling successful about what I got done. Or maybe the end of the month will come and I’ll be feeling down about what I picked for this month and wishing I did something different. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

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Finding Some Good In Life (or This Feels Like A Turn Compared To The Beginning Of The Week)

Posted on December 16, 2022 | Comments Off on Finding Some Good In Life (or This Feels Like A Turn Compared To The Beginning Of The Week)

I finally had a change for my week. I hated feeling like the week wasn’t a good week, but I also knew I just needed to get through it and things would be better. I’m not in a great mood and still have some negative things, but I’m so happy that I’m ending my week a lot better than how I started it.

I still have some bad pain and nausea, but that’s my normal and I’m used to this. I know it will get easier over the weekend and at the beginning of next week. And hopefully, by this time next week, I won’t have any of those issues to deal with for another few weeks. And the side effects from my injection are much better now. This is what I’ve been expecting since they usually go away toward the end of the week each week. Just feeling a bit better made a huge difference in my mood. And it also makes it feel like things are on an upswing compared to being in the middle of a frustrating time. I know that I will have the side effects from my injection again at the beginning of next week, but each week that passes brings me closer to hopefully not having any more of these bad side effects. It might be a month or two before I get to that point, but I’m closer now than I was before.

And I just had some silly random moments come up in the past day or so. Some of my friends have shared some ridiculous things that they knew would make me laugh. And there have been some really crazy things in the news in the last day that you couldn’t help but laugh at. I hadn’t had many random laughs like that earlier in the week and I really needed these. I didn’t have a ton of leisure time, but at least these little breaks in my day to look at something that wasn’t related to work made my work time a bit better.

I also ended up having a bit less work to do this week than expected. It was a really busy week because this time each month I have a few tasks that have deadlines. But I was originally supposed to add on another task to cover work for someone else. That changed and the extra work was covered in a different way. I had to modify a few tasks because of the change, but it wasn’t much more than I’m used to doing so that was good. And the modifications I have to do to my work might bring a few new workflows that I can use in the future that might make my regular work a little easier. I’m not sure if these processes will help, but it doesn’t hurt to see what other ways I can do my work.

And as I wrote yesterday, I’ve been working on focusing on what I can control and manage. Making sure I’m eating ok helps my mood and can sometimes help my pain and nausea too. And I’ve been continuing to work on getting more sleep since I know that can make the most difference in how my mood is and how I’m feeling.

Things aren’t perfect for me right now, but they are better. And I think it’s important to recognize when things aren’t going so great since sometimes that can mean that you could need more help than you thought. I have been dealing with stuff like this long enough that I knew I would be ok and wasn’t having a bigger mental health issue. But if I was, I wouldn’t hesitate to get help. And if you haven’t been going through this sort of thing, you might not be able to tell the difference. Mental health can be a slippery slope, especially when it’s combined with physical health stuff. But I’m glad that it seems like I’ve turned a corner and hopefully the second half of my month goes much better than this past week.

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Trying To Not Keep Writing Negative Posts (or Doing What I Can)

Posted on December 15, 2022 | Comments Off on Trying To Not Keep Writing Negative Posts (or Doing What I Can)

I feel like every post recently has been something negative. I don’t like that at all. I know it’s being truthful and honest and I don’t hide how I feel, but I also don’t feel like all the negativity is really accurate with how my life is going. The things I’m going through sound a lot worse than they are. I know a lot of people in my life feel bad for me when I’m going through pain and nausea. And I do appreciate that my friends know that it can be really bad and don’t try to downplay what I go through. But at the same time, this is something I go through every month so I can usually tolerate it. Or if I can’t tolerate it, I have things I can do that help. It might mean I don’t do much with my time outside of obligations, but I know I will always get through the pain and nausea eventually.

I can’t necessarily control when I’ll be feeling this way, but I have a general idea of when it will happen and how long it will last. Sometimes I’ll be surprised and things start sooner or later than normal or the duration is different from normal. And it’s always a variable about how severe things can be on a particular day. But I’m grateful that at least I can plan a bit for when this will be happening. But between feeling sick and the other not-so-great things going on in my life, I’m really focusing on what I can control at this point.

I’ve been really trying to focus on making sure I take care of myself in whatever ways I can. I’m still not great about getting enough sleep, but I’m making more effort to work on this. I’m making sure I go to bed at the time I should, I just don’t always fall asleep quickly enough. And sometimes, if I’m reading in bed and almost to the end of a book, I’ll stay up later than I should so I can finish the book before going to sleep. I’m trying to be good about what I eat as well, but that’s a harder struggle than most things. But I’m still trying and making an effort to be thoughtful about my meal planning (even if that means my plan is to order food). I’m also making sure that I pick things that I know my body tolerates better than others because I know some food might make me feel worse. This is a bit of trial and error because the new medication has made me have different reactions to different foods, so I don’t always know if something will be ok or not. But I have to keep trying so I don’t get into a bad food rut. And when I do eat something that makes me feel a bit sick, I don’t get mad at myself because I know I didn’t know that would happen.

And I’m allowing myself to practice self-care in whatever way feels right. Sometimes that means spending my free time reading or watching tv and not doing much else. Sometimes that means trying to find a friend to talk to in order to get some feelings out there in the open. And sometimes that’s doing stuff that others might see as frivolous but I don’t really care because they are things I like or that make me happy.

I can’t exactly predict when I will be feeling better or at least more like myself. I have an idea of when the pain and nausea will end, but that’s not the only thing controlling my mood these days. But all I can do is make the most of what I can each day and continue to hope for the best. I know this feeling is temporary and soon I will be much happier and more excited about things. But for now, I’m just going through a moment of a low and I have to allow myself to work through this time.

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Default ThumbnailSleeping Away The Day (or Sometimes The Pain and Nausea Are Just Too Bad) Default ThumbnailSorry For A Quick Post (or Going Through A Tough Day) Default ThumbnailSometimes I Feel Cursed (or At Least I Think I’m Feeling Better) Default ThumbnailJust Dragging On (or Another Apology For Another Short Post) Default ThumbnailFeeling Normal and Less Anxious (or Sorry I Keep Writing About The Same Thing) Default ThumbnailA Low Key Post (or I Guess Things Come In Threes)

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Not Really In A Mood (or I Guess This Goes Along With Not Feeling Well)

Posted on December 14, 2022 | Comments Off on Not Really In A Mood (or I Guess This Goes Along With Not Feeling Well)

Compared to when I wrote my post yesterday about not feeling great, I’m feeling both better and worse right now. I’m glad the rain ended (even though we do need the rain in LA) because my hip is doing much better. But my pain and nausea are much worse right now. The side effects from my injection are about the same right now, but that’s what I was expecting. It seems like they are only easing off in the last day or so that I have them and then sometimes I’ve gotten a break before I have to do my next injection.

I was talking to a friend on the phone yesterday about how I was feeling and I had a weird realization. Other than being annoyed with the pain and nausea I was experiencing, I wasn’t necessarily in a bad mood. I wasn’t in a good mood either. I couldn’t figure out how to explain it other than saying that I wasn’t in any mood. I wasn’t necessarily numb, which I know could be a sign of depression, I just didn’t really have a sense of how I was feeling and I didn’t think I was feeling any particular way.

After having that call, I started to think about that idea more. I think I’m having this lack of mood for a few reasons. I think the biggest reason is that I’m in a rut with a few different things right now. My regular daily schedule is a bit of a rut because I’m not doing much after work. But I’m also not doing much after work because of how I feel. It’s really tough to want to do something after a full day when I spent most of the day feeling off and all I want to do after work is to lay down or rest. It’s hard being in this repeating cycle of feeling off. I was used to it when it was 2 weeks a month and I had a good idea of what the pattern would be. But now, it’s every week and it’s a bit unknown how each week will be. I know this is temporary and hopefully within a month or two I’ll be over this and not spending every week dealing with side effects.

I think also I’m in this weird non-mood because of the holiday season. I don’t hate the holidays, normally I would say I’m someone who likes to celebrate all holidays big or small with weird little traditions. And I’m still planning on doing some of my regular Christmas traditions that I do on my own. But I think it’s more the realization that another year has passed and I feel like very little has changed in my life. I know this isn’t true. Buying my condo and all the changes with my day job situation are huge. But I think I look at the stagnation in my personal life as more powerful than other changes I might have made. I know I had this feeling a lot during the first year or two of the pandemic when it felt like my life was on hold. It feels like the last 3 years haven’t really happened. I can’t believe that I’ll be turning 40 next year. I know I need to let go of some of the ideas I had in my head about what 40 would look like, but it still seems like I’ve gotten stuck in the same place for years. And having the holidays coming up is just another reminder that this year is almost over and I have to think about what I have accomplished and what I want to accomplish.

I also think that I’m a bit lonelier this year during the holidays than I was before. Before the pandemic, I had a lot of friends that lived here and we would do silly things this time of year. Being single didn’t bother me as much because I had other things going on. And now, so many of my friends have moved away, and being single hits me a bit harder. I haven’t hit a wall with dating just yet, but it’s very frustrating to have the same conversations over and over again or to have the same situations happen. I’m ready for something to be different, but there’s no way to force that to happen. All I can do is try to not think about the past when going into a new match or date and believe that this could be the one that breaks the mold.

I know that I’ll be out of this non-mood soon enough (or maybe I should say I’ll be in a mood soon). I have a bunch of factors right now that are just making things not great but not awful for me and I need to let this time pass. And hopefully, once I’m passed this time, I can get into the holiday spirit a bit more and enjoy everything that is out there to enjoy.

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Trying To Help A Friend Again (or I Know I Made The Right Decision)

Posted on September 20, 2022 | Comments Off on Trying To Help A Friend Again (or I Know I Made The Right Decision)

4 years ago, I wrote a post about how I had forced a friend to check into the ER for their own safety. That was a very tough thing to do back then, but I don’t regret doing it. I worried after making them go to the ER that they would stop being friends with me. I know a lot of the mean things they said to me on the phone that night were due to their mental state and they weren’t things they really meant. But I still remember how stressful that night was and how upset I was at the moment. I’m glad that everything turned out ok and my friend has since thanked me for doing what I did. And because it had a positive result and from knowing what my friend said to me after, I did the same thing for a friend this past week.

I was talking to a friend on the phone and I could tell that they had been drinking. They had previously talked about trying to get help because they were realizing they might have a drinking problem, so I was a bit harsh with them on the phone. I might have been too harsh, but I was upset because they said they were going to try to get help and they did the exact opposite thing. But then, they got upset with me and admitted that they were drinking because it was a better destructive behavior than harming themselves.

As soon as they said that, everything around me blurred and I became hyperfocused on the phone call. I knew they wouldn’t say something like that to me without really meaning it. And I couldn’t just ignore what they said. So I was very straightforward and said they needed to get to the hospital now to stay safe. I didn’t give them any options or even an ultimatum. I just said that now they had to go to the ER and that was that. They seemed to hesitate for a second, but I think they recognized that they were not going to be safe at home and they needed to be monitored so they got into their car to head to the hospital. I did realize much later that evening that I should have told them to get into a ride-share and not to drive themselves, but fortunately, nothing happened when they drove. I was on the phone with them the entire time and stayed on the phone until I heard them check in with the nurse.

While I was staying on the phone while we were driving, I could tell something in their attitude had changed. They seemed a lot calmer, but that didn’t change my mind that they needed to be watched. But they were acting a lot more reasonably and not as rash as they did before. So I had some hope that maybe this wouldn’t be as severe of a situation as things were several years ago.

And that feeling was right. They were monitored and checked by doctors, but after a few hours, it was deemed they were able to go home and be safe. And I agree with the assessment. Even as they were getting to the hospital, I started to wonder if I was overreacting and maybe I was thinking of what happened in the past and misjudged this situation. But I also knew that I would rather be overly cautious and ask someone to go to the hospital to be looked at than to find out that they did something irreversible because they were alone and not safe.

I think because of what happened in the past, any time I have that gut feeling that someone isn’t safe being home, I’ll probably react this way. Maybe other people wouldn’t immediately think that their friend needs to go to the hospital, but I know I made the right choice in telling them that. I’m glad that everything ended up ok and my friend is alright, but it was a pretty scary and upsetting night. And I’m glad that again I could be there for a friend who needed help and that they were open to hearing what I said and took the steps to get help for themselves.

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First Therapy Appointment At My New Home (or Seeing What Other Options Are Out There)

Posted on August 17, 2022 | Comments Off on First Therapy Appointment At My New Home (or Seeing What Other Options Are Out There)

Because I only see my therapist every 6 months or so right now, my last appointment was before my move. I knew I was going to be moving and the renovation had started when I had my last appointment, but I didn’t know when I’d be moving in and didn’t know that the renovation would take as long as it did.  Realizing that the last appointment was before I moved makes it seem like it was forever ago, but it was only 6 months ago. But a lot has changed in those 6 months.

I don’t know if this will ever change back, but my appointment with my therapist this week was another video appointment. I’m actually ok with keeping them video appointments so I don’t have to worry about taking time off of work to drive there and back. And since they are pretty basic check-in appointments, I don’t think I need to be there in person for anything.

And as always, my appointment this time went pretty smoothly. We talked a bit about my move and the renovation. I also showed off my office space a little since it’s very different on camera than what my living room looked like before. And she agreed that even if you are only moving a few blocks away as I did, moving is still very stressful and exhausting. I feel like I’m finally recovering from moving, but I also still feel like I have so much more work to do.

And I was honest with her that my food wasn’t so great during the stress of moving. I think she understood and I explained that I have been working to get things back to normal for me and not let the stress get to me the way it did during the move. I don’t have a scale right now, but I can tell with how my clothes are fitting that I’m back to what my weight was before or perhaps a bit lower. I am debating about getting a scale again because I do see the pros and cons of having one. For now, I’m ok without one and I think that’s ok since I’m using clothes to be mindful of things.

As always, the main part of my appointment was to discuss my medications. I’m good with the medication that I’m currently taking and I do feel like it still makes a difference. It’s not a miracle cure that makes everything easier for me, but it is a helpful tool. But I wanted to ask about some other medications that I’ve been hearing about more that can help as well. I know there are always new medications out there and some are weird off-label situations, but the ones I’ve been hearing about are FDA approved to help. The main downside to them is that they are medications that have to be injected. They come in injection pens, so that makes it easier, but I still hate needles no matter what and I don’t love the idea of having to give myself shots. But I’m also willing to try what is out there to see what might work.

So I brought up the new medication options out there and my therapist agrees they might help. But because they are more focused on weight loss or weight management and not treating an eating disorder, she could not prescribe it to me. It would need to come from another doctor who specializes in that. So she put in a referral for me to meet with someone in the bariatric department. I know they will probably discuss weight loss surgery with me, but I’m really not interested in surgery. I’ve heard too many negative side effects and I don’t know if there would be anything that changes my mind. But this department also deals with medications that help with weight, so whether it would be one of the medications I heard of or something else, maybe I’ll start something new soon that will help me more. As I said, I just have to try and see what works for me and this is another step to do that.

After my therapist set up the referral for me, we set my next appointment with her for 6 months from now. Maybe I’ll have some big updates or changes if the referral appointment goes well. Or maybe I’ll have progress another way in 6 months. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens and continue to try the best that I can as long as I can.

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I Underestimated The Stress Of Moving (or I Know This Is Temporary)

Posted on April 21, 2022 | Comments Off on I Underestimated The Stress Of Moving (or I Know This Is Temporary)

I have some friends who have moved several times in the past few years. Some people have moved almost once a year and some have moved maybe twice in 5 years. For the friends who have moved somewhat regularly, it seems like they have a pretty decent packing and moving plan in place. Maybe it’s because, for many of them, they were moving a far distance so they had to do it all at once (like moving across the country where you really can’t go back and forth). Or maybe they did more research on how to be smart when moving or they are just more organized. I’m not sure why it seems like some of my friends are pros and moving and I’m learning that I am far from a pro.

I know that it’s been 12 years since I’ve moved so I also haven’t had to do this in a long time. And when you’ve lived somewhere for so long, you get a lot of things and you have everything in a particular place. So having to adjust where things are or decide what to take can be very overwhelming. And as I’ve written about quite a few times on here, moving has been so stressful for me and I don’t think I was really prepared for it.

I think that each stage of moving has had its own type of stress and it’s been building upon each stage. At first, when I was just going through my things and deciding what to get rid of, that was stress I’ve gone through more recently and it was a bit more manageable. Coordinating movers and everything that comes along with moving was something I had done before, but not for such a long time so I really didn’t have a plan in place for that. I just reached out to multiple places that were recommended either by friends or online review sites and compared what each offered. I ended up going with one of the cheaper ones because I knew I wouldn’t have a lot for the movers to take.

I think almost all the moving companies I looked at had a 3-hour minimum, and I knew that I wouldn’t need all that time. When the movers were at my old place over the weekend, they even kept asking me if I had more that they could take for me. I started giving them random things that were easy to add to the boxes they were using. But I was pretty unprepared for being able to give them more boxes. I’ve been using banker boxes for the move and I usually fill them to the point where you can’t put the lid on them. And if they couldn’t be closed, the movers couldn’t take them for me. Of the 3-hour minimum, I barely used 2 hours to move the big pieces of furniture and other things I could give to them.

And now, I’m in the phase where it feels like there is a time crunch to get everything out of the old place and into the condo. I know I have about a week and a half left and a lot of things are being picked up by friends or charities so it won’t seem as bad soon, but it feels like I have so much left to move out of there. I’ve been trying to move stuff every day, but it doesn’t seem like I have made that big of a dent yet. But I know that’s probably my mind playing a trick on me.

I know that as soon as this month is done, the moving stress will have to end. The unpacking and organizing of the new place will probably still be happening and causing me stress, but at least everything will be in one location at that point. And because I have reorganized my old place several times, maybe that will be stress that I’m able to handle a bit better.

I’m trying to manage the stress of moving in the best (and hopefully healthiest) ways that I can. And the biggest thing that I think is helping me is having a very regular routine. I still have to work every day (which is also stressful since I wish I could be working on the move during the day but I can’t). And I go to my workouts in the morning. I also still have the regular evening things that I do throughout the week, although just like work, that is making me stress a bit since I know I could use that time for moving stuff. As much as I’m trying to manage how I’m feeling, I also can feel the effect that the stress is having on my body. It’s tough to not get stressed about that too, but I know there is no point in worrying about how this is affecting me.

I can’t imagine how I would be doing with this all if I didn’t have my regular routines keeping me grounded. Right now, that’s my sanity even though it does cause me a bit more stress because my time is being used for other things. But I can’t wait until this time is done so I can be past the stress of moving and can get back to the regular stress that I’m used to in my day to day life.

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