02 April 2005
dealing with day-to-day stress
The last week has been a bit of a blur and stressful. Some of the hardest things to deal with while you’re under treatment for depression or dysthymia are the normal ups and downs of daily living. Disappointments, obstacles, jealousy, resentment -- all those more difficult human emotions -- can send you right back down that black hole. But they don’t have to.
On Monday we decided that our ferret Gabby needed a vet for a bad tooth (actually, it turned out to be two bad teeth). Our regular vet was out on vacation. What to do? Well, we tried to do our best for Gabby and find ways to make her more comfortable. We hand-fed her soft baby food. We gave her some baby aspirin.
I then tried to contact one of my brothers (a doctor -- actually a reproductive endocrinologist, a.k.a. a fertility doctor) to help me figure out how to help Gabby further. My email to him was bounced as spam! I sent an email from another email address I have. I didn’t hear back from him (he had been on vacation the previous week and was very busy). He was eventually able to get me some antibiotics for Gabby.
During this week, I had to feed Gabby every 4 to 6 hours because she wasn’t eating her regular food. She usually eats kibbled food (similar to cat food), but it was too hard and it hurt her teeth. So I warmed up chicken baby food for her, which she ate very well all week. Still, caring for a sick pet is stressful and sad. It’s hard to communicate to them that their discomfort will end, that they will see the doctor soon.
Aside from Gabby’s problem, I’ve been trying to get my doctor to write me prescriptions for all my medications. I called in on Monday and got a call back on Tuesday that the prescriptions were ready. On Wednesday I went to pick them up. When I got home, I realized he’d only given me two of the four prescriptions I needed: Singulair and albuterol (for my asthma). He didn’t write the prescriptions for Lexapro and Elavil (I take Elavil for fibromyalgia). I called to start the process again. It’s now Friday and I have had no word from my doctor. I’m all right with the Lexapro (my pdoc has given me lots of samples), but I’ve had to take to spacing out my Elavil, which means my fibromyalgia is kicking up.
I’m not complaining. I just want to point out that these are the things of life and they are stressful. The question is: How do you deal with these daily stressors without falling back down that black hole?
One of the things I did was read things that make me laugh. Laughing and smiling can actually improve your mood. Try it. Try forcing yourself to smile when you’re not feeling great -- it can actually make you feel better.
Another way to help deal with the stress is to focus on the positive. I’ve taken to keeping a success journal. I write down five successes I’ve had during the day every night before I go to bed. Sometimes the success is as simple as doing laundry. Sometimes it’s more profound. But focusing on the positive helps. For example, I knew Gabby would get help. I knew she was eating well. I know that if my doctor doesn’t write me a prescription for Elavil (though God only knows why he would suddenly decide he doesn’t want to write that prescription anymore!), I can have my brother write it for me until I can straighten out everything with my doctor.
One of the things that’s helped me keep a positive attitude -- and gave me the idea for keeping a success journal -- was a seminar Eric and I took in February with T. Harv Eker. He’s a motivational-type speaker who has helped me a great deal in dealing with these day-to-day annoyances (which can be enormously problematic for people with depression and dysthymia). These links are to his best-selling book and his audio CD of the book. Don’t let the title fool you -- this stuff is not just about money! It’s about happiness and getting past some of the negative-thinking ruts that we get into as people who suffer from depression and dysthymia. Here are the book & CD links:
That's a start.
Be well.
--Mary
On Monday we decided that our ferret Gabby needed a vet for a bad tooth (actually, it turned out to be two bad teeth). Our regular vet was out on vacation. What to do? Well, we tried to do our best for Gabby and find ways to make her more comfortable. We hand-fed her soft baby food. We gave her some baby aspirin.
Aside: I have several ferret veterinary books to consult and I have a lot
of experience with ferrets (I’ve written countless magazine articles and three
books about ferret care), so I knew how much aspirin to give Gabby. I recommend against giving pets human medications without clearing it with a vet first. Some relatively harmless human medications can kill pets. Tylenol, for example, rapidly causes liver failure -- and can lead to death -- in ferrets.
I then tried to contact one of my brothers (a doctor -- actually a reproductive endocrinologist, a.k.a. a fertility doctor) to help me figure out how to help Gabby further. My email to him was bounced as spam! I sent an email from another email address I have. I didn’t hear back from him (he had been on vacation the previous week and was very busy). He was eventually able to get me some antibiotics for Gabby.
During this week, I had to feed Gabby every 4 to 6 hours because she wasn’t eating her regular food. She usually eats kibbled food (similar to cat food), but it was too hard and it hurt her teeth. So I warmed up chicken baby food for her, which she ate very well all week. Still, caring for a sick pet is stressful and sad. It’s hard to communicate to them that their discomfort will end, that they will see the doctor soon.
Aside from Gabby’s problem, I’ve been trying to get my doctor to write me prescriptions for all my medications. I called in on Monday and got a call back on Tuesday that the prescriptions were ready. On Wednesday I went to pick them up. When I got home, I realized he’d only given me two of the four prescriptions I needed: Singulair and albuterol (for my asthma). He didn’t write the prescriptions for Lexapro and Elavil (I take Elavil for fibromyalgia). I called to start the process again. It’s now Friday and I have had no word from my doctor. I’m all right with the Lexapro (my pdoc has given me lots of samples), but I’ve had to take to spacing out my Elavil, which means my fibromyalgia is kicking up.
I’m not complaining. I just want to point out that these are the things of life and they are stressful. The question is: How do you deal with these daily stressors without falling back down that black hole?
One of the things I did was read things that make me laugh. Laughing and smiling can actually improve your mood. Try it. Try forcing yourself to smile when you’re not feeling great -- it can actually make you feel better.
Another way to help deal with the stress is to focus on the positive. I’ve taken to keeping a success journal. I write down five successes I’ve had during the day every night before I go to bed. Sometimes the success is as simple as doing laundry. Sometimes it’s more profound. But focusing on the positive helps. For example, I knew Gabby would get help. I knew she was eating well. I know that if my doctor doesn’t write me a prescription for Elavil (though God only knows why he would suddenly decide he doesn’t want to write that prescription anymore!), I can have my brother write it for me until I can straighten out everything with my doctor.
One of the things that’s helped me keep a positive attitude -- and gave me the idea for keeping a success journal -- was a seminar Eric and I took in February with T. Harv Eker. He’s a motivational-type speaker who has helped me a great deal in dealing with these day-to-day annoyances (which can be enormously problematic for people with depression and dysthymia). These links are to his best-selling book and his audio CD of the book. Don’t let the title fool you -- this stuff is not just about money! It’s about happiness and getting past some of the negative-thinking ruts that we get into as people who suffer from depression and dysthymia. Here are the book & CD links:
That's a start.
Be well.
--Mary
rearranging the journal
I've rearranged the blog/journal template. I added in the "previous posts" list in the right sidebar. It took a little recoding, but it's done now. I hope these are useful links for you.
--Mary
--Mary
