manage my anxiety and depression

Went to the psychiatrist last week, and I talked to him about how my anxiety and depression symptoms have been on the rise – isolation, lack of interest in anything, feeling sad and weepy, messed up sleep and eating, etc. He turned out to be really great – asked questions which made me feel like he really wanted to make the best choice for me and not just throw pills at me. At the end of the visit, he said in a very heartfelt way, “You’re such a decent girl!” and then he apologized right away for referring to me as a girl and said that I’m the same age as his kids.

Anyway, he raised my Effexor to 225 mg, but I haven’t gone and gotten the new scrip filled yet. I know that I’m going to have to work up to the new dosage and that it’s going to be very unpleasant because of the notorious “weaning on” symptoms of Effexor – jitters, insomnia, muscle tension and “crawlies.” Etc. But I hope it’ll be worth it.

Right now, my anxiety is what’s really tripping me up. It’s negatively affecting a lot of my goals. Because of anxiety, I procrastinate at work, don’t eat enough, isolate myself from friends and family, ignore my own needs, spend irresponsibly, and let my FlyLady routines go to hell repeatedly. My medication is helping, but I need more than that. My therapy isn’t really helping, unfortunately, which I need to address with my therapist. I need to think of more ways to get this more under control.

but not managed. I started this goal because there are a lot of people who have “manage my anxiety” and a lot of people with “manage my depression,” but they really go hand in hand. I don’t have any deep secrets, except if you have meds, take them. And if you have a bad therapist, fire her/him.