It’s been nearly a month…

It's been nearly a month since I've last posted on here, my blog. A lot has happened... A LOT. My psychiatrist and I are trying to lower my dosage of one of my medications, the one that I've been on for the longest. After lowering the dose by half, I thought I'd adjust fine because …

How can you tell?

"The day I came out of my depression..." "My depression cycle has ended..." "I don't feel depressed anymore..." I keep seeing stuff like this across multiple blogs. I don't understand it. How can you decipher the moment that your depression has lifted? Is there a particular feeling in your gut or thought in your head? …

Flashback through January

January can be difficult. With the new year, new resolutions, cold weather, and the college semester starting, January can easily become overwhelming. Luckily, for me, I adapt rather quickly to new surroundings & circumstances, and I love the cold weather and Winter! Through January, California was [and still is] being hit with a lot of …

Introverts: The “Squares” of Today

Think about people who received the most attention at work or in school. More often than not, it's the social individual who is the first to stand up and speak in front of a crowd - the extrovert. In a culture that adores the extrovert, where does that leave the introvert? It's important to understand …

A new psychiatrist with a new plan for my future

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." -Socrates A couple of weeks ago, I shared about having to change psychiatrists and my concern for what that would entail. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it'd be. Actually, it was quite …

Patient Abandonment?

Patient abandonment... I just stumbled across this term yesterday, but never really knew that this was such a thing. It can even have legal consequences and malpractice lawsuits. Like many others, I had a therapist and a psychiatrist who worked together to discuss what was best for my mental health treatment. My therapist, who is …

Taking FULL Responsibility

I emphasize full because we often don't take absolute responsibility for our decisions and/or actions.Okay, something happens to you which was out of your control, like a car accident. I mean, maybe it was your fault for being on your phone while driving, but that isn't the actual point. The point is that regardless of …

The [Sometimes] Unbearable Wait to See a Psychologist

Personally, I was aware of this issue for a while. After visiting a psychologist on a regular basis for 10 years, it wasn't news to me that there was an enormous demand for psychologists. But, I only started to feel the scarcity of available appointments during the past couple of weeks. Lets take a peek …

I would fail The Marshmallow Test

I'm sure you've heard about The Marshmallow Test at least once in your life. A professor named Walter Mischel at Stanford University created The Marshmallow Test in the 1960's as a simple, yet effective, psychological experiment about the power of delayed gratification and how critical it is for life-long success. "Success usually comes down to …

Reshaping your thoughts

I was not in a good place yesterday, mentally. I called to try and get into my therapist as soon as possible, but that was useless. The first available appointment is after Christmas. That's the thing with Kaiser Permanente...there seems to be a lack of therapists and social workers compared to the amount of patients …