A good anniversary and an octopus
It’s been a year since I was in the hospital. Although there were nearly five years between my second and third hospitalization, last year, in the space of six months, I had two brief inpatient stays and spent seven weeks in a partial hospitalization programme, which I completed last June. I’ve also gone exactly sixteen months without cutting myself, which doesn’t really seem like a big deal because I pretty much quit and have only cut myself three times in the past six years, anyway.
My mood has been fairly stable lately, and, for a change, it is holding steady at “Very Well, Thank You” rather than “Rock Bottom.” So of course I’m being dogged by insomnia again. You know that saying, “It’s like putting an octopus to bed?” As soon as you’ve got one thing under control, another tentacle pops out from under the covers. It’s always something, isn’t it?
June 9th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
It sure is, isn’t it? Still that’s kind of a great anniversary to celebrate!
June 9th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I don’t mind insomnia so much as waking up EARLY and not being able to go/fall back to sleep.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
That’s great Polly! I actually think it’s an enormous accomplishment that reflects personal effort. I hate to sound trivial, but really–Good job! I think it takes a lot of work, more than most people understand to say you have these anniversaries. Continued good health, and yeah, insomnia is annoying, speaking from experience here. ugh.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Insomni-ugh! You’re right, it’s always something. I’m having a bad time trying to sleep too. Sleep is so important for keeping a stable mood.
Congrats on your anniversary. I don’t think a lot of people realize how much these little victories mean. I think it’s better than a birthday.
June 14th, 2007 at 1:48 am
A year out of hospital and I was only just starting to function normally again (with quite a few blips). Congratulations, especially for riding out the ups and downs of the last few weeks.
Know what you mean about the octopus too. Wish I could just cut off a tentacle or two! And I’ll be able to do just that soon - the end of this job and exams is in sight…
June 20th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Congratulations on your anniversary! That’s a huge milestone in my opinion. I celebrate my hospital free anniversary every year at the end of August, seven years this August. Sometimes I want to send Sheppard Pratt a Thank You card, saying thank you for finally teaching me that no hospital will ever do anything except make me worse. Do you think they would appreciate the sentiment?
July 3rd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Congrats on not cutting yourself! October 8 will be the one-year anniversary since I’ve been in the hospital and so far, it’s been seven months since I’ve had a mixed episode. It’s a great thing to reach such a milestone.