Moving Right Along

This morning, I caught the tail end of a story on NPR about managing medical care when you have a chronic condition.  To say that managing medical care (coordinating between insurance coverage and multiple doctors) is no picnic is an understatement.  This is a story to which a lot of us can personally relate.

Living with Major Depression is *absolutely* no picnic, but it is chemical and biological in nature, which allows me to accept that it is not a character defect.  The de-stigmatization of mental illness is a personal passion--trust me when I say that I have been discriminated against on the basis of my condition, many times over.  A combination of medication and CBT (a specific type of counseling) is the best combination of treatments for me.  Unfortunately, it's very difficult to keep the CBT going on a consistent basis.

When a person has migraines, they begin to know their triggers inside and out...making sure that allergies are addressed (avoiding allergens altogether or taking medicine for them), sunglasses are used in the sun and adequate water is taken with them everywhere that they go.  Similarly, when a person has Major Depression, triggers are known intimately.  I avoid certain types of plots in movies and TV shows.  When major life events are about to happen (family surgeries, graduations, weddings, births, funerals), I have a "to-go" kit of things that help.  Knitting is a big item in the kit, as well as coloring books, novels, and music.  I try to remain aware of emotional eating and drinking, and I keep a journal close by.

The past few months have been rife with major life events.  With that in mind, I am swimming right along and moving right along with the twists and turns of fate.  My most recent efforts have centered around finding a new counselor...something I have been working at for almost a full year.  Finding and keeping a counselor is very difficult when one lives in the North Country of New York.  I've had counselors retire, change practices and insurance coverage, move out of the area, and my personal favorite---drop me entirely without adequate notice or a plan for continued care.

I am lucky to have a wonderful family--a supportive spouse and two understanding stepsons.  Without their love and support I would struggle a lot more with the issue of continued care.  However, the expectation in this region *should* be one of consistent and continued care, without the added hurdles of spending hours on the phone attempting to coordinate services.

Be well, fellow Introverts.