Quote of the Day 16 Oct 2015

For one thing, it means that our best route to understanding suicide is not through the study of the structure of the brain, nor the study of social statistics, nor the study of mental diseases, but directly through the study of human emotions described in plain English,  in the words of the suicidal person. Edwin Shneidman The Suicidal Mind

Quote of the Day 15 Oct 2015

To understand suicide we must understand suffering and psychological pain and various thresholds for enduring it; to treat suicidal people (and prevent suicide) we must address and soften and reduce the psychache that drives it.
–Edwin Shneidman The Suicidal Mind

Waking up Early and other things

Waking up Early and other things

I have been up since around 0630. I got about five hours of sleep as I went to bed around 0130. I emailed my neurologist last night because I am running low on my medication for nerve pain. I don’t take it often so the refills have expired. Just got a response from her. As I suspected, I need to see her to get the meds. UGH. I hate dealing with her office staff. I could try and get it from my PCP. I see the NP the 26th so I will wait until then. I have enough to keep me going until then. If she doesn’t give me it, I will make an appointment to see the neuro.

I plan on changing my sheets today. It’s something that needs to happen but it always is a pain in the ass to do because of my back issues. I always throw out the back of my hip when I change the sheets. But then, I can stand too long and it will go out on me, too. I still haven’t gotten it checked out. It has been a problem for me for the past year. I took it out last Thanksgiving when I sneezed. It got better but then I sneezed after Christmas and it went out again. I have been in pain ever since. This time I am going to try and not keep so much stuff in my “office” side of the bed. That will make it easier to change the sheets because then I don’t have to keep moving stuff around.

I also want to work on the story I wrote a few weeks ago. I am loaded with good coffee so I hope it makes me want to write. I am trying to avoid going back to sleep so I had coffee. I won’t be going to the Square because I need to pick up my niece later today. But I need to change the sheets first. That is a priority.

I got a lot of views on my paper on the analysis of the song “How to save a life”. And most of the viewing from countries today have been from Ireland. I like that my blog has international readers. It means a lot to me to have readers from other countries reading my blog. Granted the majority of my readers are from the US. But today, Ireland is the top country. It could change over the course of the day. I love watching my stats because it’s fun. I learn through the search engine what readers brought them to my blog and then I can have a post about the search so that other readers, usually those with Cauda Equina Syndrome, can find my blog easier. My all time most read blog is my Knackered post.

I have therapy again today. I texted her with some things that I thought about. I got interrupted so many times yesterday with family stuff that I wasn’t able to write about it. I had started a blog with ideas and rather than sending it to her, I just texted her because it was easier. It was only a few things and it fit on a text. I hope that we can continue the conversation. After 14 years, it will be very difficult not to be in contact with her if we end. Our 15th anniversary date is in January.

Because I am feeling very hopeless and my therapist asked me to, I have put off the date that I was going to end my life. I feel defeated because now I will have to continue to live when I don’t want to. And because of the holidays, I don’t want to end my life then, which means I will have to see my next birthday. It was something I have been trying to avoid this past year. I wanted to stay 39 forever. It shouldn’t be so complicated, but it is. I hate living. It is such a damn struggle all the time. And the thought that I keep having bowel accidents doesn’t appeal to me for living. I have tried to deal with this stuff the best I could but I am so tired. I get no relief from the daily physical pain I have. I am tired of people telling me I need to lose weight when I don’t have the motivation to or the mobility to do so. I wish I could walk like I used to but I can’t. If I could, I wouldn’t be disabled from work. I know my job was stressful and it caused me to be very suicidal at times, but least it gave me something to look forward to every day. It gave me some purpose. Now I have none of that. Sure, I write but other than this blog, I doubt people would buy my book. It’s really depressing and powerful writing that no one sees or understands. It’s not a hopeful book. How can I write about hope when I don’t have any? I just think my death is the only way out of this misery that I am in.

Last night I was writing in my new journal. I was describing what I am saying right now. I might have to go into the hospital because I feel like I am going to snap. One more trigger and I am afraid I might go into constriction and then I will attempt to take my life. But I really don’t want to go there. Just the thought of the bullshit and my meds being split up because they don’t have the right tablet dose keeps me away. I take 12 pills a night. Last time I was in the hospital I had to take almost 16 pills. It was the same medication, but they didn’t have my BP med in a 40 mg tablet so they split it in 10 mgs tablets. That is four pills I had to take. I don’t know if they will have my other BP med in the dose. I would hate to take fucking another 4 pills for that, too. But there is no treatment while you are in the hospital. You just go to groups that are for arts and crafts, mostly. There is no psychotherapy going on in any of these groups or even in the meetings with your case worker. It’s just an adult babysitting system. Someone checks on you every 15 minutes and you talk with staff, which turns out usually to be better than talking with your case worker and psychiatrist. If I go to the unit I was before, that is how it is. If I go to another unit, you just get 15 minutes with the “team” and that is all. Sometimes you meet with your staff person, sometimes you don’t. It sucks. I rather just stay outpatient and struggle than be inpatient. Least I can have my electronics and not be watched.

Sunday Blog 7

I woke up really early this morning from a weird dream. When I woke up, I was very sweaty. I stay up for a little bit before going back to sleep. I really didn’t sleep with the blankets on as it was still warm in my room. I had another weird dream and when I woke up, that was it. I was up. My sister was helping my mother clean the kitchen as it has been a while since everything was dusted. The smell of the cleaning product they were using didn’t agree with my nose so I stayed up in my room till they finished. I really wanted coffee but my sister was cleaning the stove as well so I couldn’t use it just yet. I hated waiting to use an appliance in my own home.

I have been in a grumpy mood since getting up. I don’t know why I was grumpy other than I wanted coffee and couldn’t have it just then. I went on Twitter and they were having a suicide summit talk. Things got really interesting when I saw that Jobes was one of the speakers. I think I retweeted all the tweets that had his presentation. He was talking about CAMS and other treatments, specifically DBT and something called CBT-SP as an evidence based practice in the prevention of suicide. I don’t know if he has published this stuff yet or if its in press. I will have to do a pubmed search to find out. Of course, the problem is getting the articles afterwards, especially if they are not available for free.

I miss doing suicide research. Course, I only follow Jobes because I love CAMS and think it is easier to learn than CBT and DBT. The problem is changing the clinician’s attitude toward suicide so they can practice these evidence based treatments without resorting to the hospital all the time.

I am undecided if I am going to watch the Pats game today or just listen via Twitter. I really want to take a nap as I am getting sleepy. I haven’t eaten much today, just a bowl of cereal and a glass of Ovaltine. I wish I put more Ovaltine in it because I was looking for a chocolate malt kick and didn’t quite get it. Maybe I will have that for my supper. I don’t have much of an appetite today because I am so down. I really need to clear my bed off so I can change the damn sheets but I have no energy or motivation to do so. Every thing today just feels so slow. I just got a notification that my prescriptions are ready at Walgreens. I really need to pick up my blood pressure medication as I will run out soon and because tomorrow is a holiday, I don’t think they will be open. I really don’t want to get dressed but I can’t leave the house in my PJs either. I am not one of those people that can do that. I have to wear real clothes to go out, even if it’s sweatpants. I also want to get the sweet and salty Combos snack. Might as well have some junk food if I watch the game.

I swear waking up at 0400 did me in today. I should have stayed up rather than go back to sleep. And then I get shit for sleeping late. I swear my family thinks all I do is sleep when I am in my room. I wish that were true but it isn’t. I am 99% on my laptop and the 1% is probably reading a book or journaling. I usually don’t go to bed until after 2000. I might take a nap around six but I try not to because then I might be up till midnight or later.