Spring

I haven’t been very active in blogland lately. I have been so busy. I won’t go into all the details but life can be overwhelming at times. I try to pare down when needed and unfortunately, one of the things that gets bumped on my priority list is writing. Besides that, I haven’t been feeling [...]

Hmmm…

I wandered into this new age-y bookstore while I was in Seattle. They happened to be having a psychic fair so I decided to have a reading. I know, I know… it goes against everything I was taught at Catholic school. I am a skeptic but what if it is true? What if some people [...]

Values

Lately, I’ve been doing a bit of introspective evaluation. I have been depressed and anxious and can’t seem to rid myself of pessimism and cynicism. It’s not for lack of trying. I feel worst when unable to control my life. That’s part of the reason my morale has been suffering. I don’t feel secure and [...]

Well being

I wrote the following for my work blog but thought I’d repost here because it’s good info for all:
In the US there are pretty strict privacy (HIPAA) laws regarding health records. In addition, a diagnosis of of clinical mental illness would afford you protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So there shouldn’t really be [...]

Support?

I went to a support group meeting tonight for parents and family members with kids like mine. I cannot go into details because I don’t want to break confidentiality but honestly, I left feeling very sad. Someone made a comment about my daughter and I was sort of taken aback. The more I think about [...]

Anxiety

When you were young, did you worry about fitting in?  Or were you one of the popular kids?  Did you wear the right clothes, listen to the right music, and have cool parents?  Did you get bullied but were unable to defend yourself?
As an adult, have you ever offered someone encouragement only to be [...]

Take a breath

I had an interesting meeting with my manager today. He helped me remember that I have a choice whether to stress about EVERYTHING. He also asked me what kinds of things I want to work on. I couldn’t answer that question. Unfortunately, Intel doesn’t have an art department. Anyway, he [...]

And just like that, she’s off

I’ve had a years worth of drama in the last few months.  My daughter–need I say more–is at the center of the chaos that has been my life lately.  Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but I am completely drained: emotionally… physically.  My body aches from the weight of the stress I’ve been carrying.  My [...]

Long winter

I am so ready for spring. Living here in Oregon, it’s so grey and dreary this time of year. I feel drained both physically and emotionally. This happens to me every winter. One bright spot happened yesterday when I was at lunch. The sun peeked out behind the clouds and the geese at the park [...]

Mental Health

Today someone at work posted a message to his blog regarding burn out.  I wrote back to him and I think what I wrote was worth reposting here.  I apologize if this is more information than you’re interested in but maybe it will help someone deal with similar issues.

You are not the only one.  I recently [...]