Thanks Mouse! I'm glad y'all like my updates.

And Sunrise, thanks for your note.

To answer your question (and sorry if this answer's a tad long):
My actual degree is in English. I had no clue what I wanted to study in school, but I was good at writing so I did that. I had thought I might want to go on to graduate school, but there was never any subject I was interested enough in. So I just started working. I was working at a Kinko's actually in the beginning, just in their copy center. But I started playing around with Web design after I found a book on it and started making a webpage for some friends. Then their computer department needed help and offered to train me on the graphics programs (since I obviously liked computers). And I went from there to other design jobs. So I slowly accumulated a decade (and more) of design experience. So I guess it's time to formally study it. I always did do things backwards. :-)

And that's my career history in a nutshell. I'm glad I found the online program. A certificate will be helpful, the classes are great, and eventually I hope to do the Master's Certificate program too. So I'm hoping not to get laid off again, but I'll have better credentials if I do. (Okay, so it's not a fine-arts degree, but it's still a challenging program -- and the certificiate + my original degree + lots of experience should be enough to give me a better shot at more jobs.)

Okay, that's enough non-therapy-related info. :-) But I'm glad you guys listen to my stories. Life situations definitely affect mental health!!!

But you asked about group therapy: It's going well lately. The last time I felt like quitting I talked about it and the fact that I felt that way. And something about all the responses made me feel different, and now I'm into it at the moment. It's been easier than usual to talk though there are still things that I'm failing to say (I haven't even updated them about my dating again other than a very brief allusion). It's getting better though. A new guy just joined and he asks me questions sometimes that get me talking (he's trying to catch up on all the info I guess). And his own story has been interesting, and thinking about other people's problems is helpful sometimes. I don't know. At the moment I'm positively inclined toward group therapy, but I never know how long that's going to last. Right now I'll say it's a good thing.

I'm dating a guy who is really good at communicating. He's a proponent of therapy also and sees his own therapist. So far I'm doing a good job of saying how I feel most of the time. And even when I screw it up I email him. I hope I can keep it up and do things better this time. At the very least I don't want a relationship to end for the exact same reason as the ones in the past (my lack of communicating how I feel). I'm pretty sure this one will go better though. My fear is that I'll change my mind about how I feel about him (I have a history of withdrawing from people), but it may be that I changed my mind in the past because I wasn't really being myself (that's T's theory anyway). I hope this will go better. I'm very hopeful.

Hope feels great.

Sidony