littlebird: tried tapering Pristiq - will try tapering Wellbutrin instead

[j1290]

Sorry to hear this, LB.  Sounds like you know all the signs of WD, so you're on top of the situation and can find a solution.   I hope you're able to do so quickly.   Frequent manufacturer switches, yikes! 😖

[littlebird]

29 minutes ago, j1290 said:

Sorry to hear this, LB.  Sounds like you know all the signs of WD, so you're on top of the situation and can find a solution.   I hope you're able to do so quickly.   Frequent manufacturer switches, yikes! 😖

Thanks, friend! A benefit to tapering: I can feel the signs that it's happening against my will. In the past I'd change manufacturers and then say, "I don't know why I feel so weird!" 

 

Now that I've got some rodeos under my belt, it's a different story. "I know what's going on here, hoss." 🤠

 

Partner suggested I start filing complaints every time this happens. Not a bad idea!

[littlebird]

5 hours ago, littlebird said:

My friends, this new brand of generic Gabapentin is bunk. I feel like I'm on a taper with the 50/50 mix and the same dose I was taking.

 

Talked to psychiatrist, her suggestion was to ride it out and hold as long as I have the 50/50 mix; treat it like an unexpected taper. I don't love this cause I don't know exactly how much effective medicine I'm taking and will soon have another forced taper when I run out of the 50/50 mix. I'm thinking I can use a bottle with measurements on the side to do a gradual taper/crossover/whatever to the full dose of the new weird-ass generic.

 

I'm gonna be like John and rate the symptoms. I'd say 5/10 today, manageable (but barely). Thank goodness I know what's going on! Just took another dose and don't have the same relaxed feeling I was getting from my usual dose of the old generic. I'm not as sedated as I usually am after this dose, but I'm nervous as heck. I have things to do tonight and have to go out and be a person, so I don't want to play with an updose (nor do I want to add to medications).

 

I hate this. I don't use that word often, but I'm having feelings about being back on an emotional rollercoaster thanks to a new manufacturer and lack of generic oversight. Heart was pounding every time I opened my mouth in a meeting earlier; feels like anxiety is through the roof. 

 

Is it the best thing to just hold and try to ease my way into this new generic? What if I get used to it and then the generic changes again and I'm sedated as heck? I'm feeling so angsty and anxious. If money were no object, I'd switch to Gabapentin brand name (but also not sure if I could take the days of sedation getting used to a stronger formulation). 

 

Going 😎 through 🤠 it! 😵‍💫

[Addax]

Ugh! That sucks. I don’t understand how there isn’t more oversight or quality demands with generic meds. It’s bonkers. 

 

I’m sorry you have to go through it and experience 5/10 days.  
 

[littlebird]

15 hours ago, Addax said:

I don’t understand how there isn’t more oversight or quality demands with generic meds. It’s bonkers.

It's unreal. Wonder if other countries have more oversight? 

 

15 hours ago, Addax said:

I’m sorry you have to go through it and experience 5/10 days.

Appreciate you! Never fun when a wrench is thrown in the works, but thank goodness for this site and being able to figure it out. Had such nasty body pains last night (first fibromyalgia flare in a while) which makes me think I either bite the bullet and pay for brand name or ask about a compounding pharmacy to make custom Gabapentin pills maybe. 

 

How have you been doing?

[littlebird]

Tried making my own Gabapentin liquid out of some old capsules I scrounged out. Having a similar experience to what happened with Seroquel: after taking a lower-quality/less active ingredient version, it's hitting like a ton of bricks. Trying to power through, might make some more tea. Hoping I can stay awake! 

 

I was doing so well after steadying out on a hold, then this random-ass generic came along... rolling with the punches! Might have to round up a gratitude list later. 

 

Weirdly, I feel a different and more heart-pounding kind of anxiety that was absent on the lower-quality generic. I felt more chill on that, with the occasional heart-pounding moment. Now heart is pounding standing still. Hm.

[Addax]

8 hours ago, littlebird said:

Had such nasty body pains last night (first fibromyalgia flare in a while) which makes me think I either bite the bullet and pay for brand name or ask about a compounding pharmacy to make custom Gabapentin pills maybe.

Maybe the manufacturer of the name brand has coupons or similar. Seems like they would do what the could to keep their product relevant amongst the availability of generics.

 

I hope the body pains don’t stick around! Yuck. 

 

As far as other countries regulating generic meds, I don’t know.  I think kind of idealize the relationship other countries have with pharmaceuticals and specifically psychotropic meds - so while I think they probably have a better handle on such things, I have zero evidence to base that thought on. 😄

[littlebird]

15 hours ago, Addax said:

Maybe the manufacturer of the name brand has coupons or similar. Seems like they would do what the could to keep their product relevant amongst the availability of generics.

Looked into this, but Kaiser is the insurer and the provider and they're not trying to knock down the price at all or let me source meds from an outside pharmacy or mail order. 

 

15 hours ago, Addax said:

I hope the body pains don’t stick around! Yuck. 

Switching to a homemade liquid kicked the body pains right out again! It was hard to tell at first if I was having life stress or WD from new liquid, but when body starting having pains I hadn't had in ages it was the perfect sign I needed that it was chemical. Here's hoping I can get some money back for bunk generics! So annoyed with all these spanners in the works, but what can you do? Sometimes it is what it is.

[littlebird]

🪴 Got some new seeds recently! Excited to see how they do

☀️ Weather has been gorgeous

🐾 Thorin pointed out feeling closer to his pup, and I've noticed the same. I've been enjoying more cuddles with her

🦋 Planting lots of flowers in the spring has led to lots more butterflies

🎨 I have the opportunity to do more graphic design for work! The creative stuff is my favorite part

[littlebird]

Getting closer to solving the Gabapentin problem. Brand name can't be sourced at this time, but making my own liquid of old capsules I found seems to have alleviated the increasingly bad WD symptoms like crying overly much and having chronic pain flares. 75mg felt like too much after being on the bunk generic, and going down to 70mg has helped a little. Still feels like more than I was on with the bad generic, but I'm wary of making any more changes.

 

So ready to get off this rollercoaster of meds! Just when I was stabilizing, wham, back on the ups and downs. New wrench in the works: can't get ahold of GP or psychiatrist to get the capsules and am running out of capsule-liquid fast. One day, one day I'll be free of the meds and all the issues that come with them!

[littlebird]

50 minutes ago, littlebird said:

75mg felt like too much after being on the bunk generic, and going down to 70mg has helped a little. Still feels like more than I was on with the bad generic, but I'm wary of making any more changes.

Might have to make some more changes. While crying too much was mildly unpleasant, it was also like a sudden rain storm that didn't last long. I'm having the terrible feeling of needing to cry and not being able to. This got better when meds went down, and it's back in force (along with fatigue and brainfog). I'm think 70 is still too high when it's a capsule-made liquid (which I'll be on for at least 2 more weeks). Damn.

 

I really dislike this feeling, the needing a cry without being able to work up a single tear. Spent so much of my life feeing this way, and it seems to lead to tension headaches and stomachaches that ease almost immediately if I can work up a good sob. I'm developing a tension headache as we speak, the tearfulness of the bad generic was preferable to this... emotionally constipated feeling.

 

Is there a clinical term for "feel like I need to cry but can't?" Is that just on the spectrum of anhedonia? I've read it's a common symptom of it. 

[littlebird]

Not doing so hot, y'all. Might have overdone it on tea too... was dragging, so made a cuppa and then the caffeine hit just when the Wellbutrin did and now I'm spinning. Got so much to do so trying to just ride it out. I thought throwing a wedding was a lot, but it turns out it was just good practice for this portion of 2023. 

 

I'm struggling with a lot of anger at Kaiser. I was doing well stability-wise, then these generic changes threw me for two giant loops one right after the other. Currently on a liquid Gabapentin made with capsules and struggling with my third crossover in a short period (old generic->bad generic->homemade). Got a lot of stuff coming up and will have to keep up with having ice packs and meds in my bag, so looking forward to being off these things and kicking the schedule out!

 

Gratitude:

🪴 Been growing some new seeds, looking forward to seeing if I can get some fall and winter flowers going. 

🍪 Bought my inner child a cookie today while running errands

🚲 Rode my bike to run errands in busy parts of town with very little parking, and the exercise/being outdoors was good for me (the distracted drivers and people parked in the bike lane less so - plz don't put cars in bike lanes, we need those to not get hit by other cars)

🤠 Have a reason to get spiffed up a little more than usual coming up!

🏝️ Might also have some beach time in my future

👯‍♂️ Grateful for friends on similar journeys sharing what we learn along the way, just got a screenshot of a book that's very relevant to something I was just thinking about 

🛁 I really needed to take a shower and today life circumstances forced me too, now I feel so much better inside and out!

🐾 Felt worn out, but pushed myself to walk dog and get some nature time and look at a pretty sunset. Glad to have pup to get us outdoors!

 

[Altostrata]

Hello, @littlebird What times o'clock do you take your drugs, with their dosages? 

 

Have there been any dosing irregularities lately?

[Carmie]

Dear @littlebird, I’m sorry to hear that you’re not doing so well at the moment. Thank you for your message on my thread. 
 

I don’t eat sugar, but it made me smile when you said you gave your inner child a cookie😁. Do you do inner child work? 
 

How marvellous to read that you’re planting seeds. I can see your smile now when your plants start coming up. The beach time in the future sounds terrific, it’s my happy place. Hope you enjoy it as well. 
 

Sending you hugs🤗

[littlebird]

On 9/30/2023 at 9:47 PM, Altostrata said:

Hello, @littlebird What times o'clock do you take your drugs, with their dosages? 

Hello Altostrata, thanks for checking in. Schedule is:

10am - 25mg Pristiq

12pm - 67.5mg Gabapantin

2pm - 27.33mg Wellbutrin IR

4pm - 67.5mg Gabapentin

6pm - 27.33mg Wellbutrin IR

8pm - 67.5mg Gabapentin

11pm - 60mg Seroquel

 

I was on track with my taper plan, then in a short time recently got two generic changes of two different meds that threw me for quite a loop. I've found solutions (brand name for Seroquel, switching back to homemade suspension for Gabapentin) that are working. 🥳 Thank goodness.

 

While there have been some rocky days in finding equivalent dosage after staying on a bad/low-quality generic for too long, I've been finding my way with as little rocking the boat as possible. Currently just trying to stabilize and manage the side effects of the unwanted changes before getting back into tapering anything.

 

So really, the only bumps in the med road are unexpected generic changes and supply chain issues. I'm going to be filing complaints about the bad generics and advocating for them updating Kaiser's system to have a flagging system for bad manufacturers. My Kaiser therapist reported her case list is full of people getting thrown for loops by lower quality generics, and everyone I've talked to about this in the company said there's nothing they can do to let other people know there's a potential problem happening with certain brands of meds.

 

On 9/30/2023 at 9:47 PM, Altostrata said:

Have there been any dosing irregularities lately?

I've been doing great (to toot my own horn) at scheduling, bringing liquid meds on ice, pre-making "shooters" of Gabapentin for plane rides (thanks @Fifree) and remembering timing on the go. Work has required a lot of travel and networking events lately, so I'm extra proud of keeping on top of timing/dosage in all this. It's a lot easier when working from home, but I'm making it happen!

 

Speaking of traveling, I had a question about liquid Gabapentin. There have occasionally been times out of my control (long travel delays on work trips, for example) when the ice packs around the Gabapentin can't hold up and the liquid inside comes to room temp.

 

Does this automatically make it less effective and should it be disposed of/replaced? Is there any wiggle room in how long it could stay at room temperature, or should it be considered spoiled if the temperature raises too high? I've had some issues sourcing it the past few months (not sure what's going on with medicine supply chains), so I was a little wary of wasting any of it, but I also don't want to risk making the medicine go bad or be less effective.

 

On a related note, if anyone has any good gear recommendations (tiny cooler/icepacks) to keep the Gabapentin extra super-duper cold while traversing the country, I would SO appreciate it. There's gotta be a good brand out there, right? Are there any magical rigs that could fit in my carry-on and keep a chill for 12 hours or so? Travel delays have been pretty standard recently and it's not unusual for it to take 12+ hours to get from one side of the country to the other with a layover. 

 

There's gotta be a way. Experimented with larger ice packs this time thinking that they'd hold the cold longer, then had to shake a bottle of frozen Gabapentin my hand until it melted back down to liquid at dosing time yesterday. There's gotta be a good system for keeping it cold a long time without freezing it, and by hook or by crook I'm gonna figure it out. 😤

[littlebird]

On 10/3/2023 at 1:45 AM, Carmie said:

it made me smile when you said you gave your inner child a cookie😁. Do you do inner child work?

Yes! I've been doing it for about a decade now, and it's been a game changer in terms of how I talk to myself throughout the day. I tend to go straight to sugary treats for inner child comforting, but could use some other things. Maybe I can make time to get creative or spend time in nature, used to enjoy that when I was little. Do you do inner child work?

 

On 10/3/2023 at 1:45 AM, Carmie said:

The beach time in the future sounds terrific, it’s my happy place.

It's my happy place too! I dream of living close enough to ride my bike over to the beach. Hope you've been well, dear Carmie!

[Altostrata]

5 hours ago, littlebird said:

Does this automatically make it less effective and should it be disposed of/replaced? Is there any wiggle room in how long it could stay at room temperature, or should it be considered spoiled if the temperature raises too high?

 

This is a homemade liquid? A few hours at room temperature shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't let it get warmer than that.

[littlebird]

Just now, Altostrata said:

This is a homemade liquid? A few hours at room temperature shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't let it get warmer than that.

Yup, switched back to homemade liquid after the most recent generic kerfuffle. Thank you for putting my mind at ease about that! 

[littlebird]

Kaiser sent me the wrong med! Oh come on, guys. I lost track of how many phone calls it took to get it, then they whiffed it anyway. I'm not sure if it's worth getting on the horn with the mail order people to try and get the right one, or try again with the poor quality generic. *remembers how bad that generic was* Phone calls it is! It's been hard to get ahold of anyone at Kaiser with this strike happening, but I'll keep at it.

 

Work is really heating up, with more coming down the pike. Not ideal! Quite rude of work to get so busy when I'm tapering. 😅 Still recovering from our most recent conference; making my introverted self be an extrovert day after day takes a toll on my energy levels.

 

Accidentally discovered a life hack for conferences: smoke breaks. Great way to have face time with fellow nicotine addicts and it's one of the few places in a conference folks see me without a mask (convinced this helps, people remember me more when we meet this way than if they meet me indoors in a mask).

 

It's also a nice spot to meet non-smoking introverts who are also taking a social break. We commiserate about how hard it is to be a behind the scenes person in a situation like this, talk about what our work is, then usually end up exchanging cards. 

 

What's been helping:

- taking time for myself 

- listening to music

- spending time with my pup

- talking with folks on here who understand the tapering journey

[Spirit007]

@littlebird

 

How are you feeling after the manufacturer switch? Did you ever adjust and how long did it take? Currently going through the same thing and and wishing you the best. Really unfortunate Kaiser decides to go on a strike and it inadvertently affects you as well. My sympathies go out to you. 

 

when I switched amitryptiline manufacturers for the one that I’ve been taking for almost two and a half years I noticed the very first night. Previous manufacturer got put on long term back order and I think it’s due to supply issues (according to UAB medicine) I was doing fantastic and making steady progress on the 6.25 mg of the previous manufacturer I was on before making the switch so I’m pretty upset. 
 

I made the switch 22 days ago. First 5 days were awful followed by another 5-6 days of worse days then some ok days and then here we are being shocked back awake unable to fall asleep. My heart rate was in the 70s and now I’m sitting in the 110s. 

[littlebird]

Hey @Spirit007! Sounds about the same for me, a few days of feeling ok, some days getting worse, then evening out eventually. Although the Seroquel was such a low-quality one that it never evened out and I had to switch to brand name. Hoping I can make another form of generic work, it would save me $30 a month if I can!

 

Have you found things have started to get better or found anything that helps?

[littlebird]

Things I thought were baked in to me but seem to have actually been med side effects:

💊 Frequent panic attacks 😬

💊 Hopeless depression with frequent passive SI

💊 Anger issues

💊 Near-daily headaches

💊 Constantly feeling like an outsider looking in 

 

I thought I'd destabilize myself getting off these things, but on the whole it's the opposite. Sure, I have waves and sometimes feel overwhelmed when WD and life circumstances perfect storm my ass. Still, when I look at my day to day life I am doing SO much better.

 

Haven't filled out one of those "put your symptoms into numbers" things in awhile, but my whole adult life I always did the maximum numbers on the anxiety scale. I was also on activating ADs and at times ADHD meds. 

 

Now, looking at the GAD-7 scale, for the first time since filling one of these out, I wouldn't select the max for "feeling nervous or on edge," "trouble relaxing," or "becoming easily annoyed or irritable." 

 

Who knows, once I get less of this polydrug cocktail in me maybe I'll go lower in all areas. I do tend to worry, quite a bit, as my parents and their parents did before. Perhaps "expecting the worst" is some generational trauma I can break in this lifetime. Working on it!

 

I kinda want to go back to every single psychiatrist I've seen (if I can remember them and where to find them) and get my medical records. I'm curious what I filled out as a teenager before meds, and how it changed. Might be intensely painful, so maybe that's a project I kick down the road.

[littlebird]

Went down a bit of a rabbit hole looking at other forms I've filled out in waiting rooms, and I think my depression score is better since being on lower meds. Was looking for a PTSD one I've filled out before and found a childhood PTSD diagnosis tool that really got me thinking. WARNING, maybe don't click on this if you have childhood trauma and you're in a sensitive place today? Okay, here's the scale.

 

If someone had sat me down with this one as a kid, I'd have scored so high. I didn't get the PTSD diagnosis until I was close to 30, spent most of my life thinking I had "treatment resistant depression and anxiety." I've been carrying this stuff a long time, and have only been working on trauma a relatively short decade after that diagnosis.

 

Hmmmm feeling lots of things. Sad for all the kids who also got a rough start in life, hopeful that trauma is talked about more and people can start their recovery journeys with a lot more tools. 10 years ago, the most information I could find online about PTSD was through Veterans Affairs. We've come a long way in recognizing a lot more about this issue, and ways to treat it. 

[littlebird]

🍀 So grateful I listened to my gut that I was being overmedicated and kept advocating for years to be on less chemicals! I'm doing SO much better on less meds, can only imagine how much better life will be on the other side of these.

🥰 Got time with people I love this month, feeling so grateful for that.

❄️ Combining families for the holidays, it's great to be able to do that and have one celebration with everyone.

🌈 Accomplished a goal that has been much harder than I thought it would be! There are many more goals on the list, but I'm allowing myself time to celebrate this win.

🐾 My pup has had a pal to play with, it's been cute to see them together.

📊 Super duper grateful for my job, and that I've held it down during the hardest year of my life circumstance-wise. Haven't gotten into all the life stuff going on here, but it's been a spicy 2023 and I'm proud of myself for keeping up the work.

🤝 Since tapering, I've been more motivated to reach out to friends and have been feeling more connected to them emotionally. So grateful for this positive change! Life is better with community.

[Spirit007]

On 10/10/2023 at 4:14 PM, littlebird said:

Hey @Spirit007! Sounds about the same for me, a few days of feeling ok, some days getting worse, then evening out eventually. Although the Seroquel was such a low-quality one that it never evened out and I had to switch to brand name. Hoping I can make another form of generic work, it would save me $30 a month if I can!

 

Have you found things have started to get better or found anything that helps?

Haven’t found anything that really and truly helps. I can feel fine for a certain amount of time then one night be unable to sleep with chills, tingles throughout my body and high heart rate where I need to take 2.5mg of ambien to sleep for a bit then feel off for a couple days again rinse and repeat. 
 

Hoping tonight’s better after last nights anomaly/episode but I think it felt less intense compared to the last couple times this happened so stability may be achievable. 

[littlebird]

On 10/13/2023 at 6:21 AM, Spirit007 said:

I think it felt less intense compared to the last couple times this happened so stability may be achievable.

Love to hear it! The more I'm off these things, the better I feel. Even when life serves a heaping helping of tough stuff, my nervous system is so much more stable on less meds. To stability!

 

I keep thinking about times in my life when I felt off the rails in various ways, then connecting the dots to a med change that had just occurred. Been polydrugged my whole life, and I seemed to find most doctors were into the "let's add more" so there have been many, many changes over the years. 

 

It's kinda mind-blowing to have this hindsight realization that so much of what felt like it was coming out of nowhere were side effects that stopped when the med did. Hindsight is definitely 20/20!

[littlebird]

I wish there was a way to separate the world/my life circumstances from my present experience for just like 10 minutes so I could see what's a response to something exterior and what's med-related. 

[littlebird]

Noticing more and more how Pristiq throws me for a loop in the mornings, but there's nowhere in the daily schedule for IR to go and I gotta get Wellbutrin out of there first to make room for it. Which kinda sucks, cause when I was tapering that I realized in hindsight how much it was helping with focus and motivation.

 

Feeling some feels about having been made to be dependent on these chemicals and how difficult it is to get off of them. Might be a good time for a gratitude list:

 

💙 Grateful for my partner, every day for so many reasons I thank all that is good for our relationship

🌱 My autumn plants are doing well, might try growing some new things this year

💐 Been growing some wildflowers, which have been attracting pollinators

☀️ Sunshine is so good for my outlook! Happy for good weather

🌈 Grateful for community, we truly are social animals huh? I lone wolfed it for too long!

😷 Had to travel for work and whatnot recently, which makes me grateful to be back around people who also still mask

😻 So glad I started having a compassion journey in my trauma recovery, life has been activating recently and life is better with self-kindness

🎵 Not sure why exactly, but after starting tapering I started listening to music more. So good for the mood!

🎧 On that note, grateful for healthy distractions at times while getting through the waves

[littlebird]

Kaiser sent some generic Wellbutrin that has the same color and numbers as the generic I've been taking for years... only the size of the pills is smaller, the coating is shiny now, and when I opened the bottle it smelled like rotten eggs/sulphur.

 

Sooooo even though it's the same manufacturer, something changed in formulation. Finding myself really nervous about taking them as I've had so many generic changes already in recent months. Luckily I have some of the old generic left before that happens.

 

If money was no object, switching to brand name for everything would be the easiest solution. Open to money miracles! Would love for tapering to get easier and that's the simplest way to make it happen. 

[j1290]

Yikes sorry to hear that, LB. Hoping for a smooth changeover to the new pills!

[littlebird]

1 hour ago, j1290 said:

Yikes sorry to hear that, LB. Hoping for a smooth changeover to the new pills!

The only constant is change! Might talk to partner about budgeting in name brands, it's affected me quite a bit recently. Then I think about years of name brands as I untangle the poly-drugging and how much it'll add up and think I should just suck it up.

 

Either way, embracing the suck! How is your Monday treating you?

[littlebird]

Having a bit of a Monday, maybe some gratitude might help:

 

☀️ The weather is just A+ perfect, so lovely to work outdoors

🌱 My wildflower garden is coming along! Thinking about seeding some vacant lots in the neighborhood while walking the dog and getting a pollinator haven going

🌺 I washed my hummingbird feeder and had it drying in the dish rack, the bravest lil hummingbird warrior who claims this territory came into my house through an open window and hovered around the feeder like, "Hello? Fill it up and put it outside!" 

🦋 Loving all the butterflies and moths I've been seeing since planting flowers

🍾 Friends and loved ones had some happy events to celebrate, happy to cheer on their wins! 

💊 A family member was recently diagnosed with something pretty intense, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear how far medicine has come in treatment for it. Psych meds have made me cynical about western medicine and it's good to hear there are areas of healthcare that have good news

[littlebird]

🥰 Grateful to @Carmie for inspiring a gratitude practice, it's been extremely helpful

💊 Happy to be figuring out meds and not feel doomed to live and die on psych drugs. It'll be a long process, but it's a worthwhile one. Thank you to everyone also on this path!

☀️ After spending some time in a number of different climates, feels good to be back home. The weather is just right here!

🌤️ On that note, happy to be writing this outdoors! Had to spend too much time inside recently, been soaking up outdoor time

💛 Seeing some friends this week, looking forward to catching up with my loved ones

🧽 I've been making an effort to clean dishes out of the sink before bed, and it's been nice to wake up to a cleaner kitchen in the mornings

🖼️ Feeling more inspired to get creative, haven't taken action yet but I'm getting ideas which is a good first step. Goal: make time to be creative just for fun and not on work projects. Will report back, trying to be accountable in making time for that

🔑 Taking the best Kaiser class I've ever taken from them. Enjoying the material and it's nice to talk about recovery with other people who have PTSD. Also really enjoying the facilitator, far and away the best one yet.

🔆 I got a new tool for work, and I'm looking forward to learning how to use it and get creative in utilizing it in various ways

🤝 Grateful to have psychiatrist and therapy appointments coming up, I could use a check-in with both of them. Super happy to be working with people I vibe with who are on the same page about what's best for my treatment plan.

🍁 I am making an effort this autumn to enjoy the season more. I have unhappy associations with it, and that can change! This year, I'm making a concerted effort to find things I enjoy about this time of year: sweaters, boots, fun coats, harvest imagery, autumn colors, pumpkins and gourds, cozy soups/teas/hot cocoa, silly/light-hearted Halloween stuff like cute ghosts, people having fun getting creative with costume plans

🤩 Perhaps in part thanks to this gratitude practice, I've been trying to see the bright side in even trying circumstances. Been finding some blessings in disguise that way!

[littlebird]

Having a lot of anxiety these days, but honestly it's probably more life-related than WD. Probably?? I wish there was a surefire way to tell! I feel like getting back into a meditation practice would help me sort out what's going on internally. 

 

Side note: was just reading some research on how the newer covid variants are attacking the prefrontal cortex in a nasty way, so here's a loving PSA to take precautions to avoid compounding your WD with neurological damage. 😷

[littlebird]

🌱 Houseplants sprouting new leaves is one of my favorite small joys in life

🥰 Friends

💫 Hope

🤝 Having a therapist I vibe with

🌈 Living my dang truuuuuuuth yo, consequences and biases be damned

🦊 Just the coziest layer for incoming chilly weather

🎧 Noise cancelling headphones!! A must for city living 😎 indoors only of course, head stays swivelin' when I'm walking outside

🛏️ So grateful to have a roof over my head, a warm place to sleep, clean water, and food. Gotta stay grateful for the basics!

💨 Loving having an air fryer, replaced our toaster with one after it broke and it's the best! Worth the hype

☀️ Sunny weather keeps rolling in! Feels really nice

❤️ Glad I'm more encouraging to myself these days, just gotta keep at it!

[Angus]

@littlebird I really enjoy your gratitude posts☺️- they are so encouraging! Keep it up😊.