Depression open house, a new year's tradition.

Hi, I'm stressed, depressed, and sick of war.

You?

Come on in and sit a spell. Tell me what's on your mind. It'll be a late night, waiting up for the teenager, so let's talk.

3,000 + 600,000

Three thousand Americans and 600,000 Iraqis dead.

We rightly worry about the former but history will judge us on both.

Don't worry tho, next year we'll be using a lot more foreign mercenaries. No security problem there right?

So foreign people killing other foreign people. Like the good old days of the Cold War. Scarcely our problem anymore.

Happy New Year--NZ, Aus, Japan, China, Russia!

Here's hoping we get our collective act together in 2007.

A marriage proposal

My niece got engaged yesterday! Her young man got down on one knee, with roses and candles all around.

That takes care of my June vacation planning!

Too much painful news: how to cope

Re how to handle all this terrible news.

You have to compartmentalize. Most people handle this by glancing at the headlines and then going about their business.

We have taken a deep plunge into learning about what is being done by the government in our name. It's painful.

To keep sane, which I know a little bit about, it is necessary to retreat from this knowledge often. Time to rest, think about children and beauty and life, build up energy for one more foray.

Passion is the driving energy, but we must be able to take a step back and consider things intellectually. This is what we do in surgery at the children's hospital in Russia where I work, where a nearly dead child has her heart cut open in front of us. Emotions? Not so helpful at that moment. Need to focus on what to do.

World's largest eraser

World's Largest Eraser:

What Bush needed to ask Santa for Christmas.

I make a lot of mistakes. On puzzles I can erase and start over.

So that got me thinking about how big a mistake the Iraq War is.

If I was clever I would find a photo of this for you. If I was ambitious I would post this photo here on mcegregious and write a long clever post and oh well just too early in the morning.

Besides, I have no idea how to post graphics on my blog.

New Year's Resolution?

Learning curve...sloping up?

Thanks for your patience as I learn how to run this site.

In particular, sorry for the delay in posting your comments on the previous thread.

Now back to Holiday Mental Health--Or Not--Open House.

Holiday depression open house

I've got seasonal affective disorder and 'tis the season.

What's on your mind?

Christmas survival kit

Get out into the sunlight for 10 minutes a day.

Eat one serving of protein and a multivitamin.

Clamp down on your anger and your despair, they will still be there in January to fuel your work. In the meantime don’t let them destroy you.

Call your mother and your siblings. It’s Christmas.

Vastly reduce your expectations. For me, I am thrilled that I can now solve a puzzle while looking at the answer; a couple of days ago I couldn’t even do that.

Be very open about how sick/different/disabled you are in December. When you make a mistake or can’t do something, explain: “It’s December, and I’m not thinking clearly because of seasonal depression.”

Eat rather than drink.

Hang on with your fingernails til the 27th, that’s the day that I can FEEL there is more light. ymmv

I miss my brain.

Tales of the dark December. We are past solstice but I need a few days to understand that deep down. In the meantime, I miss my brain.

Yesterday, I had difficulty completing a puzzle while looking at the solution.

Today I very nearly put my cup of orange juice into the microwave. Undercaffeination, or December?

Yoo hoo, brain? Lost and found?

In search of Atrios?

Atrios is en route to the New Improved Blogger.
But don't panic, you can get your Eschaton fix
here.

And a Merrygregious to all on this ?sunny solstice.

Me, I'm a radical, just gonna go ahead and say
Merry Christmas!

The Grinch has seasonal affective disorder?

This is the big week for those of us with seasonal depression. I start going down in mid-October, accelerate the week before Thanksgiving, and just live in dread the entire month of December. By the second week in January I start feeling better.

Am trying to get outside, ’sun on skin’ as recommended by a commenter here, to eat protein in place of starch, and to stop worrying about the entire world. Well that’s easy since things are going so well in our nation :o

All 3 kids will be home for Christmas so that’s one joy. Am trying to keep my to-do list to a minimum, like only one thing a day that has to be done. Then trying to rest and not be anxious about everything. It’s hard because I have no defenses and no reserves this time of year.

‘Touchy’ would cover it. I had to stop answering the phone because of being so grouchy.

Maybe the Grinch had seasonal affective disorder….