Bipolar Check-in #83

@raspberrytorte my blood pressure is much better and I'm lying down now so I feel a bit better. I also took my meds early which is helping. I think all this election crap is causing a lot of anxiety for me and making things worse. Plus my GI stuff complicates the covid. But my mom took another test and she is negative now.

I got that same scam thing a couple weeks ago. And I was expecting a package from USPS in a couple hours. I had to google it and found out it was a scam.

@Blue_Bird I'm so sorry about the dissociating. I know you mentioned cold helps you. I'm not sure where you live but if the weather is cool/cold outside can you sit outside somewhere for a bit and see if that helps? Failing that, do you have an ice pack or even just hold your hands around a glass of ice water. I dissociate and have high anxiety/panic a lot, and cold temperature helps me a lot but most especially when I sense cold in my fingertips.

I'm sorry about the dissociation. I dissociate most days too though when it happens I try not to focus on it at all and go about what I'm doing though it's easier said than done if I'm driving and dissociation happens. But I find if I focus and think about the dissociation that just panics me so it's best not to think about it. Another weird thing that sometimes helps me is to put music on and sing out loud to the songs (though I do NOT have a good singing voice!).

I'm just curious. How long have you had problems with dissociation? I've had it since childhood, at least as long as around age 8 or 9 I remember dissociating (though of course I didn't know anything about what it was back then).

@raspberrytorte Ugh! I did fall for that exact same scam. Next thing I knew I had a $500 charge on my credit card for some online clothing store I never heard of. Thankfully, I got it resolved and the account closed without paying that charge, but it's a pain to change all the online billing info especially for automatic charges on the card.

So I didn’t start dissociating until a few years ago. My anxiety was always bad even as a child. Around 18-19 I started having panic attacks after I sometimes I wonder if the dxm use contributed to me developing panic attacks and dissociation. Cause while I always had anxiety I never had panic attacks or dissociation before that. So my panic attacks started around 18-19. My dissociation started maybe 6-7 years ago so like around when I was 23-24.

I do have cold packs I bought specifically for this. I always forget I have them cause my freezer is on the bottom so I forget they’re even there sometimes. lol. But yeah they help. I ended up watching a show for a couple hours after painting and started cooking/preparing dinner for later and I feel a bit better now. Cold definitely helps though. I live in upstate NY so it does get cold here. I try to make sure I get outside in it cause it’s really good for me.

The horrible therapist has been reported officially now! My case manager did it and included all 9 of the complaints I wrote!