first, there is some movement on the fat front. movement away from me, which is good. but i’m not allowed to know how much movement until end of this month. In the meantime, it is very interesting to feel parts of me shifting around and not being there anymore, or not being as big as before. I can tell this because i am able to pull up the waistband of my underwear to just below my bustline. When I can get the waistband up and over the boobs, real progress. And a trip to Walmart for different underwear, I suppose.
For now, though, I wanted to go through my disorder repair toolbox — I need to cowboy it up a bit, I think, given the Paxil withdrawal experience and learning how to live life with GAD in new and fun ways. I’m thinking about what stuff needs to be added, but here is the list of the most frequently used items:
1. Mo: The best and biggest tool. He can be the best person on my planet one day, and then the biggest moron the next day. Heart pounding cardio and hypnotic rhythm. Self-confidence and humility. Fresh air and dirt. Cuddles and nods. Physical strength and wimping out. Powerade Zero and peppermints. Slender legs and helmet hair. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. or deseat. which is on the way to de ground.
2. Deep breathing exercises: These are for anxiety and they work. I am learning pranayam from my co-worker. It is a set of peaceful, meditative breathing exercises that improve the flow of oxygen and reorder my chakras or something. I suppose. I am not 100% convinced of chakras but I do feel more reordered somehow after I do deep breathing. I also feel more anxiety from doing deep breathing. This is another Murphy’s Law, or maybe a Catch-22. When I do deep breathing I feel like I am doing something good for myself. But the fact that I need to do deep breathing means there is Something Wrong, which the Heebie Jeebies read as a Welcome mat. I think I just need more practice. And perhaps a half hit of # 9.
3. Cigarettes: These work well. They are especially effective at counteracting both the benefits and the stresses caused by #2. And Yeah Yeah, I KNOW. I am just not going there until [1] significant fat loss, to make room for what I am going to gain back when I quit and [2] the 100%-off-Paxil date plus a yet-to-be-calculated probationary period. In other words, not in the very near term. Get over it.
4a. Music. Old skool R&B, classic rock, blues, Latin and classical. Stuck in the 70s mostly. Except for Chopin, who wrote Nocturnes while he was stuck in the 1800s. The Nocturnes were my favorite pieces to play when I studied piano. This was before my planet invented horses.
4b. Old Movies. 1930s-50s. Film noir, crime/mystery, Hitchcock, Bogie, gangsters, westerns. Roy Rogers and Trigger. Another sickness of mine — I have collected 88 of the total 90 movies that Roy Rogers made. Also have CDs of all of his early radio performances and releases with the Sons of the Pioneers, before he became Roy Rogers and got Trigger. Don’t get me started on this topic, btw.
5. Knitting needles and yarn. To keep my hands moving — moving my glasses from my nose to the top of my head and back, back and forth until the glasses get Put Down Somewhere and then … you know this part already (see headaches).
6. Chopsticks: These are sticks like knitting needles, except they are prettier and fun to eat salad with. So, good for both mental and physical well-being.
7. Lily, Lulu, Rainy, Stormy, Ody, Roushone, Dudie, Tinkie, Pootie, Phooey, Babalooey and Izzyboo. Having furry ones at home to care for helps focus me on other things besides mild vertigo, brain zaps, housework, and my newly developing anxiety about doing deep breathing. (see #2).
home
8. Job: On a good day, a good anxiety fix. On a bad day, still a good anxiety fix due to throwing things and screaming expletives. Although sometimes, rarely, throwing things and screaming can sometimes make me feel a wee bit out of control, which can cause an Episode, most times throwing things and screaming make me feel utterly normal and happy about life.
9. Xanax. Duh.
10. My Bible. Ditto.
11. My Book. This is actually just My Storyboard at this point. But it is a real storyboard taped on my real wall with real things on it that contain the whispers and nudges and glimmers of possibilities of a real mystery novel. If ever I learn to write like a real writer.
Life in the Fast Lane on a Dirt Road 