Are you ready for my December check-in? I hope everyone has been adjusting to the business-as-usual pandemic ambiguity that has characterized our country since early this year. I hope that if you haven’t already, you have at least scheduled your booster. God knows I was glad to have received it prior to heading to Macy’s on 34th street to do some Christmas shopping. One can’t escape the threat of germs and viruses this time of year. Unless of course you’re Amazoning your way through this holiday season. (Sensible)
To think we would still be getting tested in advance of attending holiday parties and traveling cross-country by this time is something that apparently even twenty-first century medicine couldn’t have mitigated. But here we are.
Speaking of modern medicine, shout out to big pharma for the production of SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) that have been realigning my brain and giving me clarity again. Particularly Zoloft. I am very thankful for that.
Remember my meditation on self-care and mental health? Well, consider this a more intimate follow-up to my non-solicited advice about managing stress and anxiety in everyday life. Living with a semblance of normalcy has never been more important for me these days, especially after coming out of a severe episode of anxiety-driven panic that characterized my October and early November.
The trouble with mental health issues is that there is sometimes little evidence to indicate why they occur in the first place; they just do. This is true, in my case. Panic disorder showed up at my door one day and thought it could stay.
If this is news to you, please don’t be upset or alarmed. I am doing well. But if I can say anything to anyone struggling with anxiety, address this head on. Mental health should be taken very seriously. If we don’t have it, what do we actually have? You can’t put a price tag on feeling good. And if there’s anything of a Christmas gift I’ve given myself in the year 2021, it’s the reinstatement of feeling good.
Cheers to all. I hope this finds you well, happy, and healthy.
