New Years Resolutions

First I think I should say that for the resolutions which have an ongoing nature, it's my plan to work up to these goals and turn them into habits by the end of the year.

Which means I don't have automatic failure the first day I don't achieve one of the goals.

Which means I don't have an excuse to give up on a goal.

Climb 20 flights of stairs a day, at least five days a week.
Since there aren't any stairs in Mom & Dad's house, this won't even start until I get home.

Do 3 sets of 20 sit-ups a day, at least five days a week.
Didn't start on this today, but there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do this here.

Eat at least three servings of fruit a day.

Eat at least three servings of vegetables a day.

Eat at least three servings of dairy a day.

Record diet and exercise in a daily log for review by Master.

Do at least one hour of filing or cleaning a day, at least five days a week.
This started out as only filing, but Flar adding cleaning, and then said an hour on either one would be an acheivement in his eyes.

Email Mom once a day.
Did I mention that I offered Flar, the boys, Mom, and Wolf the opportunity to add to my New Year's Resolutions?

See someone about my mood swings.
Mom is diagnosed bi-polar. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe I'm just moody. Maybe a professional would have an opinion about that. Flar is concerned, and doesn't want to see me trying to cope on my own anymore.

Wow. So I put it in writing. That last one is a doozy. Mom had to be hauled off to a hospital while she was claiming to be The Beast, before she got treatment. I suppose I shouldn't wait for that sort of dramatic event, hunh? Perhaps Spydielives has some advice for me about kink/poly-aware professionals in Lexington?

8 in the pool —

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roina_arwen

2003-01-01 10:56 pm (UTC)

Except for #1, those seem like very reasonable resolutions to me. Would climbing from your TV room to the playroom count as 1 flight of stairs? I'm just curious here.

Good luck with #8. Best to get checked out now before they have to haul you away later. ;)

minikin

2003-01-02 01:37 am (UTC)

What wasn't written out was the conversation that went before making this resolution. I was talking to Flar about what quantity seemed like a good goal for the year. And explicitly defined "flight of stairs" as the back stairs in our house, round trip. I'll be counting the steps so that I can approximate my regular exercise when I travel to places that have convenient stairs.

And I also notice that in making the list a bit more organized order, I left out one resolution entirely. Gotta go update that.

holmes365

2003-01-02 05:25 am (UTC)

Try the KAPP website. It may have someone closer who may know someone. Then again, my experience has been that there are therapists out there who are kink and poly friendly and are not listed. Find a therapist to find a good psychiatrist. I have much more faith in therapists than I do in psychiatrists. You don't necessarily have to do meds if you are diagnosed. Remember too that if you do have something it may not be what your mother has. I speak as the daughter and sister of bi-polars. My sister and I are not, but we got our own special issues :) Do some research. Good Luck.

darkwolf69

2003-01-02 09:24 am (UTC)

I'm so proud of you, little one.

spydielives

2003-01-05 01:18 pm (UTC)

I was really lucky to find my therapist through the IBM/Magellan referral service, but I had to teach her everything she knows about alternative choices. In a way, it was a good thing, because she had no preconceived ideas about how the relationships should work. Its all new to her, but she has never assumed that any problems are the result of the way I live, and its still been communication first (she can always tell when I am not communicating, even when I think that I am).

I was not as lucky with psychiatrists - it took a while to find one who will listen to me.

Some other things you might want to think about:

* ask your primary care physician if they have any recommendations. However, stress that you may not be ready for a "magic pill" yet (some doc's are quick to prescribe medication).

* check your insurance -- mental health coverage is very tricky business

* keep a mood journal -- this is an invaluable tool, not only for you, but for any professional involved in diagnosis and treatment of a mood disorder.

http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/mooddiary/detail.jhtml?key=mooddiary

* take the bipolar quiz -- http://209.100.134.178/screening_intro.asp

If you would like names, I would be happy to provide them - both my therapist and my pdoc have offices over near Beaumont Center.

2003-01-05 01:49 pm (UTC)

Thanks. I really appreciate it. I need to call my insurance agent anyway, as I managed to throw Critter's insurance card away in a CVS bag, and I'm going to verify what my policy covers.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a take-when-needed magic pill? But I know it's not that simple. I'll check out the quiz, but Mom says there's no real test for bi-polar either -- she was talking to me about going to get "checked out". I'm wondering if I would prefer going to that first appointment with or without Flar. Sometimes I think my perceptions get skewed enough that it would be helpful for the therapist to hear Flar describe why he thinks I need help in the first place. I always worry about being a hypochondriac, drama queen.

Maybe we could plan to have lunch together sometime soon, and talk about this in greater depth?

2003-01-05 03:13 pm (UTC)

I worried about the whole hypochondriac thing too -- I really didn't want to be on the medications, I just wanted to be listened to for a while [that was why I started therapy in the first place]. My excuse for therapy was Blues depression, which he wasn't dealing with. Eventually he did... and along the way, I admitted my own issues. But the insurance company was convinced I was on drugs when I came into the appts, because my moods were not stable (I was already on Topomax at that point, but not at a stabilizing dosage). Anyway....

My therapist has never met anyone from my family. Blues and I happen to see the same pdoc (DrS is quite comfortable for both of us) but we have not seen him together, except to discuss treatment plans occasionally.

*grin* I feel like I need to add a caveat about medical advice and always seeing a doctor... *grin* Sure, we can meet for lunch and I can share with you what I have -- though I can't claim to be any sort of expert (except in what has/hasn't worked for me).

2003-01-05 08:23 pm (UTC)

Lunch sounds good. What day is good for you? I can pick you up at the office...

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minikin

Minikin's Journal

Routine Ramblings of an Occasionally Interesting Housewife