Mid-December Monte Report

I suppose that my meds are having some positive impact. The Abilify is meant to help squeeze the lows of depression and the highs of mania back towards a more normal state of mind. Though I don't really experience clinical mania, it does seem as though the lows aren't as low as they have tended to be. I still spend an inordinate amount of time each day feeling like crap, curled up in a ball on my bed, binging on ice cream or popcorn, and failing to accomplish anything productive. And my anxiety level at work has reached a point where we have officially reduced my hours, per a note from my doctor, to a typical schedule of about 25 hours/week -- most likely in the form of two full days and two half days, but with lots of wiggle room for those weeks when I feel up to a longer schedule. It's WAY too early to tell if it is helping, but some signs point towards "yes" -- the fact that my house is the tidiest it's been in a year for one, though that is perhaps more related to the fact that a friend came over last weekend to help me decorate my Christmas Tree (a live Coast Redwood tree!) before we headed off together to the holiday party at work. (There's not much to say about the party, other than that I was very anxious at it -- even with a double dose of Xanax -- and that there seemed to be too many people there that I didn't know, and the karaoke selection sucked so bad that I ended up leaving long before the party ended. But, as I've mentioned to several people, at least now I don't have to wonder if I would have had fun had I gone -- I know for sure the answer to that question.) To some extent, however, I'm keeping myself busy with some fun hobbies -- stamp collecting for one, and also studying about the wildlife of central Washington where my parents will be moving in a few months. (Speaking of which, Mom is still doing pretty good last I spoke with her, tolerating the chemo better than most people, or so it seems to me. Her hair is gone, of course, but the nausea and queasiness is under control.)

That's all for now . . .