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[lenniel]

Good morning, all!

Thanks for the tip, Psychdiva!  Those things look pretty nifty and I'll try it.  The cats will probably enjoy it as well.  They have taken to the back scratcher with a scary dedication, so all human comfort devices now interest them strangely.  I'll try anything on these headaches, 'cause overdosing on asprin, et. al. doesn't help all that much.  Glad you took time to lounge and read with the dogs, and I hope it was nicely therapeutic?

Can we have a heavy bag for the retreat?  And bring pictures of people we want to practice on?  I'll whip up some rice crispie treats...they're healthy...:) 

Hope everyone feels okay today!

[gourmetless]

Hey all...

I do zoloft for the depression and anxiety, and feel it does *okay*.  Some days better than others.  I think the rheumatologist wants to switch me to something else, but is worried due to the prescription mixed drinks I already have.  I am one of those people who have to have something to look forward to.  I plan celebration days once a month... and manufacture events to make them more festive.  Just the way I try to combat the blahs.

A little achy and muddle-headed today, but doing well overall.  I am trying to ban myself from my bed during the day, and am instead sitting outside with my plants.  I figure sun and fresh air trump sleeping for three hours.

[ms_turtle]

<snip>

OK, so here's my shopping list for our retreat:
  - chocolate bars
  - rice pudding
  - boxes of tissues
  - fleece quilt for each person

Have I left anything out?

But I totally agree about the rice pudding - MUCH better than chocolate sundaes for me! And I will definitely need to bring the Poodle with me; there's nothing like a lapdog for comfort and sympathy. (And actually, he has a chronic illness too; he has Chronic Renal Failure.)

I don't think I'll bring my poodle. He's a little over-protective -- he barks at fireflies and tries to protect us from ferocious bunny rabbits.

I am one of those people who have to have something to look forward to.  I plan celebration days once a month... and manufacture events to make them more festive.  Just the way I try to combat the blahs.

I actually planned a mini-vacation (for all of us) over memorial day that didn't involve visiting family or anything work-related. I have never actually gone on such a vacation my entire life. The kids had a great time, hubby had a good time... it was a complete disaster for me. For the amount of money we spent I should have had a good time d*** it! I cried a lot.

I'll try anything on these headaches, 'cause overdosing on asprin, et. al. doesn't help all that much. 

...they're healthy...:) 

I may with my headaches as well. I seriously thought I was dying of an aneurisym a couple months ago. I thought they were just going to find me on the floor of my lab and that would be that. CT scan was clear as a bell.

Do you like warm rice crispie treats (before you even put them in a pan)? It sounds disgusting but it is so good.

Today... not good. I've spent the morning in bed. Kids are in day camp so after I drop them off, I just go back to bed. I don't have the energy or desire to do anything, but I have to get a syllabus ready for 2nd summer session which starts tomorrow. I've done this course several times so it won't take long. Then the in-laws are coming this weekend. I'll have to hide my medication which then increases the liklihood that I'll forget it. I'll have to hide my self-help books, etc. All this on top of some basic cleaning (vacuuming, kitchen floor) and tidying the yard. Right now I just want to get back in bed. It's not like I'm vegging reading a book or watching tv. I just don't want to do, or think, anything.

I hide all the stuff because if she finds something out, it's like giving a press release to CNN. She's the type of person that feels it's perfectly acceptable to tell wait staff in a restaurant that she's having hot flashes -- and that's just the mild stuff.

blah........

[psychdiva]

OMG, I have poodles too! Ms. P and Ms. T, we might be triplets.

I'm trying to stay out of bed but I can't think of a reason to stay awake. It really sucks that sleep can't be banked and then used later - I could stay awake for the entire academic year with the day-long naps I've been taking this month.

Ms. T, which self-help books are you reading?

[ms_turtle]

OK, the mental image of all of us sitting around with our blankets, comfort food, kleenex, and poodles is, umm, a little amusing. :)

On the shelves:
- A 14-week book/CD/DVD program for anxiety and depression that my mom sent me. Mom meant well, but the whole thing is geared towards fairly simple things like fear of public speaking or going over bridges. I read the stuff because mom sent it to me and there are a few good things.

- Personality Disorders: Towards the DSM-V
- The Edge of Darkness
- The Age of Miracles (sorry MsP, but Marianne Williamson needs to get a better editor. The whole thing could have been reduced by 50% and still got the message across. Nice message though)
- How Psychotherapy Really Works
- Living Well With Depression and Bipolar Disorder
- Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression
- Darkness is my Only Companion.

Some of them I read in their entirety. Others here and there.

[psychdiva]

OK, the mental image of all of us sitting around with our blankets, comfort food, kleenex, and poodles is, umm, a little amusing.

I can imagine the poodles going off by themselves to play while we sniffle.

- How Psychotherapy Really Works

The one by Gaylin?

I like Undoing Depression. The title is overly optimistic but the content is good.

[msparticularity]

OK, the mental image of all of us sitting around with our blankets, comfort food, kleenex, and poodles is, umm, a little amusing.

I can imagine the poodles going off by themselves to play while we sniffle.

- How Psychotherapy Really Works

The one by Gaylin?

I like Undoing Depression. The title is overly optimistic but the content is good.

Yeah, I think the Poodles are much clearer than we are about staying in the moment, enjoying life, ad all that good stuff :)

On the self-help books, I did find a couple helpful, but mostly I like books on general spirituality more. I've read C.S. Lewis, Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul, some of Marianne Williamson's earlier works (and I agree about the editing, MsT!), A Course in Miracles (which Williamson is writing about/from), and others along those lines. I know people who found John Bradshaw's Homecoming very good, but it really didn't do it for me. Oddly enough, by the time I got to my dissertation research I was finding John Dewey's works incredibly healing and inspiring; they truly helped me find a sense of hope again, and I thought I had lost that forever.

And Gourmetless, I totally agree about planning things to look forward to. Today was a mini-celebration - our brand new Whole Foods store opened today, and MrP and I went and got some nice heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, freshly-baked bread and gourmet olives for a really lovely and decadent little private feast!

[lenniel]

Hi all!  MsP, I'm hungry just reading your list...mmmm....hope you are doing okay today?

I had a nifty migraine for the past two days but it has run it's course and now I feel more conherant.  Thank goodness, because I couldn't understand myself, after a time, let alone my poor boss.  He's used to me, so I probably just seemed odder than usual.

I haven't read any of these books, but I am reading some nice essays on music by Edward Said that I have found very therapeutic, actually.  Probably because I agree with him, though it is noce to read intelligent stuff about music and performance rather than the usual.

I got some great news the other day from my doctor, and I have been given the green light to exercise as much as I can.  My lungs are working better than we thought, which is great, and though I have some limitations, all the tests came back very positive.  This is so hopeful, and means that I am in a remission, of sorts.  Now, if I could only have the butt I had when I was 25 back...

Love the vision of poodles and tea - can I bring my cats?  They are very well behaved and will purr on command. 

Hope everyone is doing okay!

[gourmetless]

Rah for the tests coming back happy!  Woohoo remission

Olives cheese and bread always make the best decadent feasting meal, IMO.  I like to do smoked salmon with a horseradish creme and lemons, olives, good bread, and a cheese.   It is what the gent calls a pick-me-up meal.  I did an experiment some canapes with prosciutto, fig, raw milk bleu cheese, and some arugula.  It was actually outrageously good.

Find the joy wherever you can get it!  I don't tend to read self-help tomes, but do adore fiction, usually denser fiction as well as an occasional popular witer.  That immersion into the world of the author and the characters helps keep my brain active and happy.  A good book can make me forget the woes of the day to day while I concentrate on some one else's problems.  That moment of empathy is recharging my batteries for facing what I got on my dancecard.

Live well and be happy, yaw'l

[msparticularity]

I haven't read any of these books, but I am reading some nice essays on music by Edward Said that I have found very therapeutic, actually.  Probably because I agree with him, though it is noce to read intelligent stuff about music and performance rather than the usual.

I got some great news the other day from my doctor, and I have been given the green light to exercise as much as I can.  My lungs are working better than we thought, which is great, and though I have some limitations, all the tests came back very positive.  This is so hopeful, and means that I am in a remission, of sorts.  Now, if I could only have the butt I had when I was 25 back...

Love the vision of poodles and tea - can I bring my cats?  They are very well behaved and will purr on command. 

Hope everyone is doing okay!

I can't imagine how I left Said off of my list of therapeutic reading. Seriously, I think his work was responsible to restructuring the way I see and experience the world, and it definitely was a major influence on both my master's thesis and my doctoral diss.

And hooray for lung function! I'm having a rougher week than I would like with the asthma, thanks to all of the smoke from the fires nearby. However, we have a swamp cooler, which is very good at filtering out the smoke. So I'm feeling housebound, but hanging in there. And I'm also trying to get enough sleep, since that seems to have enormous influence on my ability to cope with the other stuff.

My Poodle loves cats - much better than dogs, actually - so your cat sounds like a welcome addition to us :)

[tenured_feminist]

Glad to hear about the tests, Lenniel! Haven't been adding much here of late, but I'm thinking about everyone with all good wishes. And hoping that someday the pollen will settle down here!

[gourmetless]

Well, my attempt to stay out of bed during the day was a complete bust.

As usual.  If I nap too long, I don't sleep well at night.

[spork]

I have a massage scheduled for next week, which I am looking forward to.  Unfortunately this LMT is cash only and does not take my health insurance.  I saw one chiropractor in town (also does not take health insurance) who is competent but his technique is not really what I'm looking for.

[lenniel]

Hi all!  Thanks for the well wishes! I am grateful for the chance to continue my reign of terror upon the earth for awhile longer...:)
MsP - I'm sending good sleep vibes your way.  I agree that sleep is the key to a lot of comfort.  I love Said and never knew how much he wrote about music until recently.  He has, as always, great ideas about performance that I think will fit into my work, but also my life as a musician.  The guy was just amazing.  Sigh. 

I hope you are feeling a little better, gourmetless?  Did the nap help? 

Is everyone doing okay in the heat and humidity?  The allergy season has been pretty bad this year, and the humidity does not help.  We are having lots of this, but I think my allergies have adjusted enough that I am only a little snoggy.

The cats are ready to hang out with the poodles, as long as there is plentiful tuna and laps for snoozing. 

[kissa_mau]

Spork: moving is such a pain for finding new places. My husband always has trouble finding a chiropractor again. Now that I have doctors I really like, I am not looking forward to moving next year. I have a great primary care guy, great cardiologist, great neurologist (finally)... even every resident I've seen at the women's clinic has been awesome. The last psych resident was good, but who knows who I get next.

I just had a medication switch that put me to sleep for the entire week. I was asleep in my office, asleep on the sofa, asleep in a chair. I am so well-rested now, but at some point in there I totally lost track of what day it was. But, hey, I'll take the rest!

The whole tea and poodles thing has been cracking me up. I have no poodle, but I will have some tea!