(no subject)

[rhd323]

So, I confess The Dilbert Blog has become a fairly regular read of mine. Today's entry is about happiness which, according to him, requires success in three areas:

1. Relationships
2. Health
3. Income

Which makes me concerned for myself, a bit. I'm on the fence with the first; my health is alright, I guess, but I'm in terrible shape and have a chronic cough (whee); my income blows. Period.

In other news, I've been incredibly irritable lately. Like, more irritable than normal. (that was for someone like Heather who is very likely to respond with Shauna, irritable? NEVER! But I love her anyways.) I can't quite explain it, but there are few people I'm willing and wanting to interact with over the last several days. *shrug*

Damn, even Geek in the Pink didn't cheer me up. This might call for some INXS intervention . . .

See, I seem to have trouble holding on to good moods. It's like they slip right through my fingers. I was in a great mood (for me) yesterday morning - I'd received good news, was having a good hair day (which eventually transformed into a shitty one), and it was sunny out. Then . . . it was gone. I perked up again in the evening after a phone call I'd been waiting (hoping) for. But by bedtime, gone . . .

Maybe there's a leak somewhere in my brain.

Getting hair done later. Yay, no more roots.

Comments

[jessacord.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Success in relationships, health and income? Some dimensions of those are out of my hands. Depending on the day someone asks, my relationships could either be stellar or trash, my health is good or alarming and my income is great or somewhere below poverty line. As a grad student, I would fully expect that your income blows -- isn't being broke a part of being a student? I was broke through college and for a handful of years after and I didn't do grad school because I was $100,000 in debt (yes, that is the cost of financing an out of state education at the University of Michigan ten years ago. I can't imagine what it is now).

On the bright side: you have two really sweet cats who adore you (when it suits them), you live in an area that is politically progressive and abundant in opportunities for outdoor sports and you are in grad school. Grad school -- and even undergrad -- offers you the opportunity to explore any idea or interest you fancy, with very little consequence for failure. This is your chance to take an art class, go to a lecture on an esoteric topic or spend an entire afternoon in a coffee shop chatting with friends or meeting complete strangers. You can call any of your friends at 1030 or 11:00pm any night of the week to see if someone wants to meet up for drinks or dessert, because everyone will still be awake. You're obviously very bright and you write well too; those are characteristics to which many people aspire and never attain.

But my recommendation for feeling down is caffeine. More caffeine. And I do hope that you feel better soon. :o)

[baristababe.livejournal.com]

Mm. Caffeine. :)

And thank you. (And thank you for the compliment re my writing.)

I shouldn't whine so much. I've just become really frustrated with my moods . . .

[jessacord.livejournal.com]

I had pretty bad issues with depression years ago. I think the worst of it is behind me, but for many years I worried (and still occasionally have one of those panic ridden nights where I stay awake worrying for hours when I had been on the cusp of much needed sleep) that fighting depression would always be like trying to outrun a condition that would never stop chasing me. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, that it does get better. I promise. I had hours and hours and hours of therapy, I changed therapists a few times but I always benefited from going. I don't know what exactly it was that finally turned the tide, because I was really suffering and hurting for years and years (from around the age of twelve through twenty nine) but I know that getting out of bad relationships with toxic men helped. Granted, people who are depressed are the ones who are least likely to leave those relationships, but that alone took years of work. I don't know if I consider myself "cured," since I still have periodic trouble staying motivated and there is a long family history of depression on my mom's side so I'll probably always be more prone to it than the average person, but therapy has helped me become aware of many of my bad patterns and through that awareness I am less likely to fall into them. It still happens, but I try not to get trapped for months or years like I used to.

Bottom line? You're doing everything you can to help yourself. Keep working at it, it really does get better. I'm living proof.

[baristababe.livejournal.com]

Thank you. So much, really. :) It is comforting to know others are experiencing or have experienced similar problems . . .

. . . that fighting depression would always be like trying to outrun a condition that would never stop chasing me.

That's exactly how I feel sometimes, and it can be pretty terrifying. It's hopeful to know you've felt similarly in the past and now feel like the worst is behind you. Sometimes it's hard to keep working . . . keep going to therapy, keep on the medication, keep coping. So, thank you.

[wyntermoonwolf.livejournal.com]

Happiness in those three areas is totally figurative.

1. Relationships. I'm currently single with no potential prospects and currently quite happy with it.
2. I can see how good health can affect your outlook on life. However, there are people who live with chronic pain and don't let it affect them.
3. With the income, I would have to say it's based on being able to provide for yourself and those under your care. That would be considered "success" for me. Some people need to have an excess of money in order to be happy.

[baristababe.livejournal.com]

I know, you're right. *sigh* I was having one of those days . . .

[wyntermoonwolf.livejournal.com]

12:01 AM.

Monday, part 2. It's back and it's pissed.

[kittydelight.livejournal.com]

My sarcasm is out of love! Those three things help happiness, but they don't equate it. I love Dilbert!