Ah, my life

My insurance set up a session with a behavioural therapist to evaluate me for a wellness/support programme they offer, using life coaches to help with chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and health conditions. We went through my history and medications for an hour on the phone  among other things, she put me through the DASS-21, which measures depression, anxiety, and stress from the last week, as well as a more general health screening algorithm. I've been feeling a little down (it has been a difficult week), but generally feel mostly normal for me. Great news was my anxiety is mild, which is unusual for me and my stress is moderate (normal for me). The scale did kick me out as severe in the depression area. So I probably do not meet the requirements for the programme, and they'll call within 48 hours to let me know plus any alternatives. In the meantime she gave me the new phone number for suicide prevention (988) and told me she the which hospital that handles mental health crises is nearest to me.

Note, I'm not actually suicidal, just depressed, like I have been most of my life. And she caught me on a bad week, one where I found out that I couldn't swing going to my cousin's wedding 9 hours away due to finances and driving anxiety. And I do have a new therapist lined up. But still... I didn't realise I was doing that badly, and I thought this would lead to a seven-week coaching like I did with diabetes last year, and got this result instead. 

New Year's Resolutions

1. Blog more.
2. Read more.
3. Make healthier choices.

That's it.  I'll work on the specific means to do those goals, but those are the over-arching, general ones.

How about you?

I tried to blog last night

using the Blogger mobile application to share an updated picture of the buds on the orchid at work that’s getting ready to bloom, but it just kept saying ‘publishing’ and refused to upload the photo. They’re not quite ready to open yet, but they will be soon—they’ve swollen quite a bit. But I guess I’ll wait till the orchid is actually blooming before trying to post another picture, one that goes through my laptop rather than my phone, perhaps.

After work today I had intended to pay my rent and get my hair cut, but a friend was out of an important medicine and half and half [the latter in not an emergency, of course, but it is a major staple in their house, as it’s used in coffee]. I was going to the grocery anyway, so I went and got the medicine from the pharmacy and then went over to the Tates Creek Kroger to get some food [it has a couple of items I wasn’t sure would be at Chinoe, my usual store]. I dropped the creamer and medicine off and came on home. I can pay my rent and get my hair cut on Saturday, as that’s when the last day to pay the rent is. When I changed out of my work clothes, I got into something comfy but which could be worn out because I am considering going over to use the gym here at the complex. I say considering because there are things around here to do, like some housework—including vacuuming--and I also have some exercise equipment that can be used at home (things like exercise bands, 2-5 lb weights, an exercise ball, etc.) But right now, I’ve had a sneezing fit and want to be breathing a little better before I either go walk or cycle or do stuff here.

I’m also burning up. I came in, got into fewer clothes, turned off the heat, and put the fan in the living room directly on me. It’s only 34 degrees outside, and it’s been snowing all day, but I had the car window down most of the time I was running around this afternoon. I’m not quite sure why, if it’s hormonal or just my normal hot nature, but I’m definitely not suffering on this coldest day of the week (next week it’s supposed to be in the 70s!)

So, anyway, I have some free time tonight. Here’s the plan:

• Blog
• Charge my phone and Kindle
• Put the non-perishable groceries away
• Vacuum
• Exercise, either in the apartment or at the nearby gym
• Fold laundry
• Unload the dishwasher and load it
• Go over some finances and figure out how to handle some debt and look at my budget
• Do some wellness planning
• Study some Latin for a half-hour
• Play the Atari and Nintendo for a half-hour
• Watch a DVD, maybe a ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’ programme [I can fold laundry while I do that]
• Read awhile from a couple of books I have out of the library on my Kindle [or rather, read one and re-read Ursula K LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, a book I adore—I am considering getting the complete series, and I want to see how the formatting looks, as I’ve only read the original trilogy, which I have in trade paperback, and there are a total of six now]

Okay, I think I finally cooled down, and now I’m starting to feel a little chilled. Time to turn off the fan, plug up the vacuum, and do something about my living room.

I'm not sure if I feel better because

I actually spent 15 minutes on the exercise bike, I watched my carbs really closely today, or my doctor upped my Vitamin D supplement to 50,000 IU for a short time, but I've been awake, productive, and just felt much better than normal. Now it's nearly 11:30 and I'm just getting sleepy. We'll see if I can keep this up over the next few days. :)

PS I just measured myself and even though I've lost something like a net 4 lbs in the last month or two, I've lost 2 inches to my waist. That's good. I haven't been dieting to this point, but I've been watching my eating more carefully. The last couple of weeks I've been tracking various things like eating and exercise on SparkPeople.com, which not only tracks things, it's got some good motivation ideas and suggestions, message boards, social networking, the whole nine yards. If you're interested in making healthy changes, it looks promising. Also, it handles the fact that I'm a vegetarian (well, pescetarian, as I do eat fish) diabetic pretty well.

I actually had more fun with this ad than another video I was watching on YouTube

So I thought I'd post it there. A would love it, he thinks Conway is hot. :)

Good news for people on Medicare

Better Benefits, Better Health for Seniors (and people with disabilities on Medicare)

People on Medicare are now eligible to obtain certain preventive services, like mammograms and colonoscopies for free. Click here to find a list of preventive services that will be covered. Seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare can also get an annual wellness exam from their participating physician or health professional for free. Please speak with your doctor for more details.