Food for thought... 🤔 “Do you want a number of small towns making small mistakes or one large one making huge mistakes?” -- Jane Jacobs on Amalgamation

Remember when we had to just show up at the bloodwork clinic with our req form whenever we had a moment and then wait around in hopes we could be seen? Now we have to schedule ahead of time and show up when we know we'll be seen right away Today's version seems more efficient?

So as a follow up, apparently sticking with daylight *savings* is the dumb choice for mental health. Standard time is the better one. Anyway, all I want is for us to not have to change the clocks anymore.

Did you know this extremely exciting possibility is happening right now? (Needs House approval) 🤞🏻

Not gonna fib, I’m primed for another baker’s dozen years of tweetin’ #MyTwitterAnniversary

I’ve posted an UPDATE THREAD: https://t.co/CrpRzOnSMJ

It's still early days in this journey, but I'm actually excited! I have big things I want to do for my family and my community, and my mental health is key to achieving them. I'm looking forward to what's next :)

I'm going to continue the work of maintaining and enhancing my health routine. I've always wanted this, anyway. I'm going to try to connect with friends and family more often. And I'm going to explore what medical science has to offer, because it's here to help.

This is the most important issue in my life. I'm tired of feeling sad or angry for no reason. I'm still the "me" I know and love, but I want to be the best "me" I can be. My wife, kids, family and friends deserve it. So here's the plan:

What I've learned is that we've come a very long way with medication for depression. There are lots of options today, which can be prescribed for your specific situation. In other words, I'm much more open to it, especially since I've already "tried everything else."

The topic of antidepressant medication came up. My wife is a health professional and has great knowledge and understanding of drugs. I don't, and am wary of medicating--mostly due to an uncertainty of what will or won't work for me, and a fear of side effects.

We discussed the situation (much of which you read in that original thread) with our therapist. It's great for a couple to share perspectives in front of each other, because you speak differently to a third person. Hearing it this way can help the other appreciate your views.

...we reached out to a couples therapist. We'd actually had two sessions with her before The Covid Era. I recommend it to anyone in a relationship, no matter what "state" you're in. Relationships require work no matter what. And the sooner you dig into issues, the better.

I had committed to a weekly check-in with my wife, but we've done a LOT more talking than that. I can't say the mood is cheery, but it's constructive and we're going ok. We have a strong relationship and will get through this. But only if I keep working at it. Which is why...

I learned from a podcast about the science of habits that you can break a knee-jerk habit by quickly following it up with a new habit you're trying to learn. I tried it a bit; it's super hard; probably not applicable anyway. But you can listen here..:

An unfortunate trait I've developed over my 10 years with my (truly amazing) wife has been to get annoyed and snap pretty easily. It's a huge source of guilt and shame, because it's not who I want to be, and I know it makes it very difficult for us to strengthen or fix anything.

To improve my relationship, I've tried a few things: 1) A 'hack' to break my "knee-jerk reaction" habit; 2) Regular check-in conversations with my partner; and 3) Couples therapy.

So, the efforts I've made have been rewarding. Plus, the kids being healthy again and with regular childcare is helpful :) I don't feel "out of the woods", though. I've simply clarified my core issue: my mood is not great and it impacts my relationship and life in general.

Which reminds me: people experiencing depression can still have many positive emotions, which might make it hard a) to tell they're going through something; or b) for them to realize they even have depression. That's why #BellLetsTalk is such an important idea.

The cold showers had the biggest bang for the buck. Often I get super giddy, just like you do when you jump in a river here in NL (any time of year...) I used the Wim Hof app and completed the 20-Day Cold Shower Challenge (which I'm doing again, now):