2017

Welcome to 2017! 

The holidays have come to an end, and hopefully you have come out of it healthy and stable. I did  because I paid attention to self-care. I did not go anywhere other than work, home and the gym, and I managed my sleep schedule. I felt a little stressed a few days ago just in regards to family wanting to get together and getting those last few Christmas presents ready. Other than that, it was one of the better holiday seasons I have been through in regards to my mental health.

Are New Year's Resolutions Really Helpful?

I'm not a big believer in New Year's Resolutions because I feel like it sets us all up for failure. We make really ambitious goals and when we don't achieve them in the timeframe we have lined up in our minds, we feel like failures. New Year's Resolutions have caused a lot of negative self-talk for me in the past. That's why I don't really make them in the traditional sense. I use the beginning the New Year to re-evaluate what worked for me in the past year, and what didn't. I think of changes I can make for this upcoming year to make it a tad bit better or easier.

Intentions instead of Resolutions

My "resolutions" are more small intentions that I set. I prefer the word intention to resolution. A few of my intentions for 2017 are:

- continue to attend the gym regularly, at least 4 times a week. I am not setting a weight loss goal, just a goal to be in the gym.
- continue to see my psychiatrist and therapist regularly.
- continue to take my meds as prescribed.
- continue to manage my sleep schedule throughout the year. I have a tendency to change my sleep patterns when my daughter is not in school. This year, I want to keep on the same schedule even though it means going to bed early when the days are longer. This might make my autumn mood episodes less severe. It will be a good experiment.
- continue to monitor my cholesterol. My cholesterol and blood sugars are high, which could be from diet, or from anti-psychotics. I am having my labs tested every six months, and my GP has me on fish oil supplements along with a diet of no fried food. If that doesn't help things, it will be time to take me off Seroquel which is scary in and of itself.

Be Realistic

You might think those are a lot of "intentions" for 2017, but really, they are small and realistic steps that I will be taking. Resolutions tend to be grandiose and unattainable. Maybe you really do plan to lose 20 pounds this year, and good on you if you do so. You may have a resolution to find "the one" by dating people like mad. If you find your soulmate, then great. But frankly, these types of resolutions are one I see all over social media, and frankly I don't think they are realistic. Earn more money and make new friends are other common resolutions. My question is: if those really are your goals, shouldn't you be working on them throughout the year? If you look at my intentions list above, you'll see that a lot of mine begin with "continue," because it's something I've already been doing.

Weeding Out Problems from 2016

I like to look back at the previous year and find things that did not work out for me. One of those things was (once again) taking on too much at a job that was really far away, about a 40 minute commute. This is a pattern for me. I pick a part-time job with low stress that fits some of my needs, and then I tend to take on more and more for fear for saying "no." This past year, I was a pet-sitter for one family that had horses, dogs and cats. Originally, the job was supposed to be two days a a week while I went back to school. It morphed into 5-6 days a week while I frantically struggled to keep my grades up, and imploded when I came down with pneumonia in August and a nasty ear infection that caused me to have vertigo and be housebound for nearly 3 months. I still work for the family one morning a week, and occasionally if there's an emergency. Since they hired someone else while I was sick for 3 months, I started looking for another part-time job to supplement. I found a pet-sitting company just a few miles from my home, and I have started working there a few days a week. I set my work load limit at 20 hours per week. As I am a good employee, they have already asked me to take on extra work in my first two weeks. My initial reaction was to say "yes," but I paused and said  "no." No. no. no. I have to say no, or I will implode on this job, too. So my problem from 2016 and in years past was lack of no. 2017 is the year of No.

Recognizing the Positive from 2016 to Carry Forward Into 2017

I turned 31 in 2016, and man, did I feel the difference. I was not taking care of myself. I was (still am) overweight, I drank alcohol (not much but still not super healthy), I didn't work out, I tanned in UV booths, and I didn't go to the doctor for anything until I fell seriously ill with pneumonia which had ill effects lingering for 3 months. I figured that 2016 was the year I needed to start taking care of my body. I started working out at the gym and while I'm not losing tons of weight yet, I am getting toned and in better shape. I went in for my first annual physical and found that my cholesterol levels are horrible and my blood sugar is bad, both indicators for heart disease later in life. These could be due to the anti-psychotics I am taking, combined with my unhealthy lifestyle. So, I stopped alcohol completely, and am taking the multiple supplements my doctor recommended to me. I am attempting to eat better. I have stopped UV tanning completely. I am getting my blood checked 2x per year. I went to the dentist for the first time in 8 years in 2016 due to a phobia of dentists, and I got a tooth pulled and my last two cavities are scheduled to be fixed in 2 weeks. So I had positive momentum of taking care of myself in 2016 that I will take with me into 2017.

Hopefully, you are able to look back and see some positive from 2016, which seems like it was largely a bad year for everyone (at least, from my perspective). If not, maybe you'll be able to find out something to do differently for 2017 to change your luck.