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Showing posts from September, 2017

Housekeeping for the Bipolar Woman

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This is what my kitchen CAN look like. My aging dog has been sick for a few days, which can lead to some late nights for me. We're close to the end of this episode, but I decided to give him another dose of the mix he needs to purge the badness from his system. I planned to stay up with him (rather than berate myself for terrible sleep habits as I normally do) so I'm doing dishes and laundry at 4AM in between taking him outside so that he'll expell the evil in his system outdoors rather than in the apartment. I am still hoping to tackle at least part of the living room. I wanted to have guests over for the Packer games this season but right now the living room is an atrocious mess, wholly unfit for visitors. Thursday is the Packers/Bears game, though, and I'm kinda tempted to give up and move what I haven't neatened up to the bedroom just to have people over. I'm holding myself to a standard ("you didn't keep house correctly the first time, you...

Driving with Hypersomnolence

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Me, on a three hour drive, making a pit stop in an attempt to wake myself up. I have a lot of reasons to be tired, exhausted, or sleepy most or all the time - enough, in fact, to be able to tell you the differences between the three descriptors. They are not interchangeable in my world. The symptom is hypersomnolence (too much sleepiness) and it can be a side effect of seasonal allergies, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, bipolar disorder, and several of the medications I take. In addition, it is tiring for a body to have to carry out any semblance of a daily routine while also shouldering several chronic health issues. Finally, someone as introverted as I am gets tired out quickly in social situations. If I'm honest my life is generally one great big exhausted struggle with rest and sleep. By far the activity that is most affected by this is my driving. Sure, I can fake it around town if it's a short trip, but I have cancelled activities with people due to being ...

A Welcomed Return

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...and this is just the beginning. Autumn, bitchessssss. ...and all yall haters, pumpkin spice shamers, and people who chuckle condescendingly when a white girl in a seasonally-colored sweater smiles at the falling leaves can go suck a big one. This autumn-loving white woman has been pretty severely ill for the past two autumns - multiple-ER trip, bed ridden, windows sealed, life-changingly ill - and I've missed the cooler weather and the colors. My soul needs the extra time baking in the kitchen. Autumn used to be my peak geocaching season, and I loved everything about wandering around in the woods, finding rocks and taking pictures of leaves, even if I never made the find. This year I've been learning how to navagate life with the MCAS diagnosis and its various sensitivities. Thanks to wearing my UV-blocking clothing in and out of doors along with increased use of my mask outside I've so far been able to stay out of an emergency zone for the entire month of Sep...