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?
Medication
Sensational Ways Depression Sometimes Wins
Some days, there is no fairy tale ending. I wish it weren’t so. But depression and I are locked in a tug of war. Sometimes I can pull harder. And often depression pulls the hardest. Depression and I have been engaged in this tug of war for over 40 years. You would think I would understand the way it works by now. And the more tools I collect to deal with depression, the … [Read more...] about Sensational Ways Depression Sometimes Wins
My Remarkable Journey to Just Be Me
My life has been me and then me as a title. Son, husband, father, writer, manager, greeting card company developer, resume writer, career coach, business owner, fisherman. And this is just the shortlist. After being in the hospital for major depressive disorder, I noticed this idea. It is the idea that I am not good enough just as myself. I am a good manager, father, … [Read more...] about My Remarkable Journey to Just Be Me
Now’s the Time for a Doctor’s Appointment
This time, it is for medication management. My Psychiatrist works at a teaching hospital. So, I see her each visit and often I see a new student, too. My Psychiatrist asks if I mind them being a part of my session. She always asks me in the waiting room or in the hall leading to her office. She never asks me in front of the student. I appreciate that. I always say that … [Read more...] about Now’s the Time for a Doctor’s Appointment
What Depression Doesn’t Want You To Know About Unhelpful Thinking Styles
Predictable, steady, expectable, certain, sure, unsurprising, humdrum, obvious, and foreseeable. That is my life. And that has been my life for several months. I guess it is always something. And depression has clouded my life with generous helpings of unhelpful thinking. A year ago, I was fixated on not being able to get started in the morning. It took five months of … [Read more...] about What Depression Doesn’t Want You To Know About Unhelpful Thinking Styles