Over the years, I have written pretty openly about my weight loss journey. I have alluded to other aspects of my life, but it hasn’t been until recent years that I really started to share more and more aspects of life. In the last year or so, I have mentioned my emotions and mental state a bit more.
I talked about my feelings a bit back in July of last year in this post where I talked about everything going on and how it was overwhelming to me. I talked about being a mess for a few days. What I didn’t mention was that the few days were more like a month of battling tears, anxiety and depressive feelings. I knew that my feelings were all situational and that when things with my job and everything else straightened out that everything would right itself.
Life started to get back to normal and I slowly started to feel a bit more ‘normal’ and not quite so sad and upset That didn’t last long because by the end of November I was writing about a panic attack that I had. I just couldn’t get a break. I pushed through everything and kept going. These feelings would fade, right?
It’s been over a year now since I first started to allude to these struggles. Some of the situations have righted themselves but they just created new ones in their place. My insecure job from last July became secure again….for three months then it became insecure again for another 2-3 months. Then it became secure but my new team/position is highly stressful and made worse because I am learning the job but expected to know it all irregardless of the fact that I just joined the team. And that is just one of my life examples.
I am struggling. Big time struggling. Tears are always just beneath the surface. I am struggling to put one foot in front of the other. Life is just hard right now. The other day I came up with the perfect analogy. I am like a juggler, juggling 24 balls in the air, but I feel as if the balls are all falling to the ground. I pick them back up as quick as I can and recommence the juggle but inevitably they fall back to the ground as I fail. Kind of ironic since one of my biggest fears is the fear of failure.
Seriously, I feel as if I. am even failing as a dog mom. Sure, the dog is walked for potty breaks, the dog is fed. She is loved. But she and I are in a battle for dominance and while I jokingly say out loud that it’s neck in neck, I honestly think the dog is winning. (This is a big Newfie trait …the battle for dominance as a puppy, the selective hearing,…and this stage goes from 6 months to up to 3 years of age. Once we get past this stage, we should have the ‘gentle giant’ as adult newfies are known). Have you ever tried to control a 90 pound stubborn dog/puppy that is fighting your authority?
I’m obviously failing at weight loss. Sure I’m slowly trending down…but I’m not setting the world on fire with weight loss. I mean, at this rate I may reach my goal….in about 10 years. Take your pick, am I winning or failing?
Tears are constantly just beneath the surface as the balls that I’m juggling drop again. I’ve tried to pare down to the bare minimum life responsibilities. I’ve cut extraneous things (quilting, dollhouses, YouTube, etc) to try to ease how overwhelmed I’m feeling. But nothing is working. I’m struggling. I feel like it’s been ages since I actually laughed, a real laugh. I worry that my depressive mood will drive a wedge between Jason and I. Our relationship is ok and is thankfully NOT a cause of stress…but the worry that my feelings and depression will harm it and just causes me more panic.
I’ve been so depressed and
I don’t have an answer or a solution. And honestly this has been a difficult post to even write to really out my feelings and struggles out in the open. But this is life. This is part of my weight loss journey. (Stress eating at its finest the last two mornings with homemade pancakes.) I’m not giving up though. I’m going to keep posting here. I’m going to keep trying to lose weight and continue to try to push through this sadness. I’ll make it through this storm cloud. The sun will once again shine on me.
I'm sorry you're going through so much right now. You have a lot on your plate and mind.
ReplyDeleteFor me, when I feel overwhelmed with all the problem solving I have to write down what I think my obstacles are and hoe I can overcome them. The emotional eating is just a sign that other things in your life are out of balance. That could be biological things such as hormones, too. I know we are the same age and the closer I get to menopause the more blue I get certain times of the month, and it really messes with my sense of worth.
You know when it comes down to it, you are loved regardless of if your weight is up or down. You are so helpful to others and loving, that's what matters.
I wonder if Rose is on to something with maybe needing to talk to someone. You have SO MUCH going and you are right, you are constantly juggling. Between life, job, mom, bills, home ownership, and pets you have a FULL PLATE. Your mom alone is enough to warrant needing to have a person to speak to. Plus if you have contact with that negative person in your life you have mentioned (unless it is your mom then never mind) that brings you down that won't help either.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI have a girlfriend going through lots of stress at the moment. And I remembered when she was crying on my shoulder about what my grief councillor I used to have said to me She told me to buy a journal and put it beside my bed. On awakening she asked me to write down my thoughts for the coming day, how I feeling, what I hoped to achieve. And before going to sleep write in it again. I can honestly say it helped me. In stressful times I still do this.
Depression is very difficult. From this post I can tell this has been going on too long. It may be time to speak with a professional.
ReplyDelete