So, apparently Thursday is Mental Health Screening Day. Which used to matter to me because it was my job to know these things but this year it occurred to me that I’ve got some mild anxiety and depression issues to contend with and I should go get screened so I can be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act when I need a break from work.
(Yes, I’ve been thinking about this, oh, a TAD!)
So, I find two screening sites in my area and realize, well, I have to be at work during them.
*sigh* 🙂
Anyway, I really am a proponent of mental health — just not always my own. If you can swing the time, go get screened because nobody but you knows how you’re doing inside. I think we’ve all gotten trapped in the “mental illness” stigma but we need to replace it with “mental well-being.”
Depression/anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean you’re suicidal, but if you’ve pulled away from all your friends (*cough*), have gone from being a social butterfly to shutting yourself away from the world whenever possible (*cough cough*) and generally just not feeling overly like yourself anymore and you happen to miss that particular self (*cough* *choke* *gasp*), it’s safe to say that you’re in a position to get yourself well again.
And while talk therapy is in vogue, there’s nothing wrong with popping a pill here and there as a mood stabilizer before getting into any kind of regular therapy program. Even I’m beginning to wonder if blog/retail therapy isn’t enough for me.
I like to think I can do the mind-over-matter thing, and most days, I can. But it shouldn’t be such a struggle on those other days. Hence, if I decide I have to “check out” for awhile, trust me, it’s for the good of everyone, not just myself.
It’s been a long while — maybe ever — since I’ve been acquainted with “happy Goddess,” but “reasonably stable Goddess” is the best I can do these days, and if that means not only letting some things fall off the plate but also smashing a few of those plates off the nearest wall, well, it means I can be OK with eating off paper plates for awhile or just going out to dinner and not worrying about the mess. 😉