Depression & Mental Health Update

    Like I said yesterday I am taking my antidepressant regularly now.  This may sound like something that should just be a thing you do, but having other issues and other medicines that can not be taken at the same time can complicate that.   Then on top of all that not knowing when you will be awake or asleep makes it hard to make a schedule for anything.  I am anemic and I get tired very quickly.  Sometimes only after being up for six hours.  Sometimes sooner than that.

    I have received the advice to use an alarm for my medicines more times than I can count.  I’ve tried.  It doesn’t work for me.  If I am too tired I never wake up to the alarm.  Sometimes I turn the alarm off in my sleep.  I even had an alarm for a while that required me to do three math problems to turn it off.  I had to turn the math level up on it because it turns out I can do math in my sleep.

    However this month I have tried something else that seems to work for the most part.  I take my morning meds with the first meal I eat in a 24 hour period.  Meaning the first meal I eat after midnight.  If I am up past midnight and eat a meal I take my medicine.  And if I sleep through that period and have breakfast in the morning I take my medicine then.  I’ve only missed one maybe two days total this month.  And one of them was because I slept for 17 hours.  *Yay anemia.* (sarcasm)

    But this means I have been taking my antidepressant for more than two weeks on a regular basis and I can feel the difference.  My intrusive thoughts are no longer a constant occurrence.  My sadness is definitely lessened.  I have been getting stuff done.

    And with being able to get that part of my day locked in I have been able to start tackling other important tasks.  In the past I have found morning pages to have some of the same beneficial effects as seeing a good therapist.  It is a practice I have been wanting to do on a daily basis.  It has been sporadic at times. But I have now done a solid week of morning pages.  It really clears my head and gives me time to think deeply on things.  To ask why in a very safe space where no one is going to judge me for it even if my anxiety feels like someone would if they saw or heard it.  It also gives me a chance to do some planning for my day.

    I think the next step now is to get my iron pills in.  I have to drink a lot of water to safely take them, but I also can not take them within four hours of taking most other medicines.  Apparently iron will absorb other medicines.  *That’s fun.*(sarcasm)  But if I take the iron pill regularly I will start to sleep less.  More energy would be great!

    So that is where I stand.  I feel like I am far less depressed, but I am still easily exhausted.  There are a lot of factors.  But I knew that trying to get my morning meds in regularly was the first step and I have been trying to do it for months.  It’s done.  And I feel so much better.

    How are you doing?