High-functioning depression, that’s me. I can fake it like the best of them. Hiding my true feelings is an art form for me. There are so many ways I can tell you “I’m fine, I'm excited, I’m darn glad to be here.” In some ways, this is always true. Being anywhere is always preferable to the alternative. But being myself in every situation is difficult. And letting … [Read more...] about With Depression, Am I Ready To Tell the Truth to My Psychiatrist? – Part I
Sleep Issues
Why is it So Hard Getting Approval For Mental Health Treatment?
I finally found someone who I can work with and I am told that my insurance will not cover the visits. So I left him and found a counselor that was covered under my plan. After 4 or 5 visits, it was clear that we were not meshing. Well, I certainly felt that way. We did talk for 45 minutes at each session, but talking about my days seemed to be all I was doing. And I did not … [Read more...] about Why is it So Hard Getting Approval For Mental Health Treatment?
Unhelpful Thinking Says There’s No Time, Not Even For Self-care
The recycling must be taken for pick up tomorrow and the trash must go to the landfill. There is no publicly funded trash or recycling pick-up in the rural community we live in. If you want trash pickup at your home, you must pay a company to come and get it. Cardboard and aluminum cans can still be recycled at the landfill. Plastics, glass, and everything else is no longer … [Read more...] about Unhelpful Thinking Says There’s No Time, Not Even For Self-care
Am I Getting Enough Genuine Sleep To Guarantee My Mental Health?
My first thought is to ask how you define “getting enough sleep.” Now I can say I am in bed for 8 hours almost every night, sometimes a little longer. But I am not sure that qualifies as sleep. Most of my nights are a series of short naps followed by short times awake. This pattern had been changing to longer times asleep but seems to have reinvented itself in the past … [Read more...] about Am I Getting Enough Genuine Sleep To Guarantee My Mental Health?
What You See May Not Be What You Get
I see eyes and a mouth ready to eat me if I get too close. That’s what I see as I sit in my therapist’s office waiting for my appointment. Maybe I watched too many cartoons as a child. I see the raised couch cushion forming an upper lip, while the frame underneath becomes the bottom of the mouth. And the tops of the sofa arms, become eyes. But if I go over, all I will … [Read more...] about What You See May Not Be What You Get