Winter coming (and other stuff)
Mid-winter is fast approaching in the Southern hemishpere. The Winter Solstice is just over a month away now - something I look forward to, as I prefer longer days, and after the Solstice days start getting longer again.
I would say that I do suffer from a form of SAD (Seasonal Adjustment Order). Moodwise my calendar year always follows a familiar cycle. March/April are usually the best months and September/October the worst. I definitely prefer summer to winter, but moodwise there seems to be a lag-effect with the joy of summer kicking in right at the end of the season, and visa verse for the downs of winter.
It has become so predictable now that I plan my years around it. In the first half of the year I've really got to push my business (which i did), as the energy usually runs out by July. This year I also used March to reduce my meds. I halved my Prozac intake from 40mg a day to 20mg a day. It has been so successful that I will never go back. Even if the Black Dog bites hard in September.
Next year when the good times arrive, I'm planning to ditch my Omega 3 supplements that I am taking. You can only ditch one thing at a time and if I'd done both Prozac and Omega and failed I would not know which was the culprit. The principle reason I'm keen to ditch the Omega 3 is that I'm on a major body-building and weight-loss mission at the mo, and I suddenly realised that the little daily Omega fats capsule must be packing a shit load of kilojoules. I'd rather eat fish (and at least satiate my appetite.)
My long term goal is to get off all meds. I've aleady cut my Lamictal by half (last year), from 220mg to 120mg. So hopefully in about 3 years time I'll be 100% med-free. It will be the first time in nearly 20 years...
I just love reading your blog... brings some comfort to my own distorted life ha ha! And good on you for cutting down, thats pretty heavy. From what I read- you seem like an incredibly awesome guy, on both poles.
ReplyDeletethanx kindly :)
ReplyDeleteNot sure if this is a mistake, SAD (Seasonal Adjustment Order), or a positive slant on Disorder. Summer is coming here, on the back of the wettest April since records began over a 100 years ago. I need the sun for sure. An old joke about a disgruntled employee who complains about his pay and conditions is told by the employer, "Do you see any bars on the windows?" In my case the response would be, "Do you see any windows?" I have no natural light in my office space, an ex-server room!
ReplyDeleteHey Bi-polar guy
ReplyDeleteYour honesty is refreshing. Keep up the good work!! But, didn't you ever find that prozac actually induces mania??? It did for me and the doctor said that was common. Don't blame u 4 giving up the fish oils, meant to prevent pscyhosis I know... but theyre so revolting. Think I'll take my chances! I consider my bi- polar to be a gift at times, especially in creative endeavors, I love painting, and my best work was done while flying high :-) Good blog!