Mid-August Monte Report

Good news to report in this edition of The Monte Report: I'm actually feeling pretty good! Yes indeed, the past few days have been better than any I've had in the past few months, as far as I can remember. Not that I'm doing fabulous or anything, I'm just not feeling depressed like I usually do. I wish I was able to understand why I'm feeling better, though. It may have something to do with my (former) boss -- he's been on vacation this past week, and at times he has a way of triggering my depressed thinking. So, as much as I like the guy, it may be good for me to have a break from him. Or, maybe, he has nothing to do with it.

It's going on a month since I moved into my downtown apartment, and I'm really liking it. I still need to get a washer & dryer, a couch and/or a recliner, and a large area rug for the living room. But I'm more or less finished with my unpacking -- as finished as I'm going to get. I still feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have in storage, but a friend has been helping me sort through my stuff. (We're starting with books and have skimmed out a hundred or more to get rid of.) It feels good to be making progress in that direction.

At work, I'm feeling more confident about applying for the teller supervisor position when it opens up (which is probably about eleven weeks from now). I'm feeling as though I can actually do the job half-way decently and to enjoy doing it at the same time. That's a good feeling too.

Here are some more snippets about "attachment" from Dr. Allen's Coping With Depression:

"[S]ecure attachment not only provides a feeling of emotional connection but also promotes individual autonomy by encouraging exploration of the wider world. . . . [M]uch of our exploration is social exploration, which ultimately allows us to form a range of supportive relationships . . . In times of distress, reunion with the attachment figure calms distress and dampens excess physiological arousal. Moreover, repeated experiences of soothing contact are crucial in promoting healthy development of the nervous system and other organ systems."

I like what he has to say about attachment relationships. The relationships that I have in my life are so important to my well-being, and it's kinda neat to read his explanation about why relationships are so vital to our psychological health.