Oh, hey! New thread. Niiiiice.

Or just go to my GP and start crying? That seems a tad melodramatic, but OTOH melodramatic is how I'm feeling these days...

It's what I did. And she was the one who referred me to a shrink, who recommended a therapist, yadda, yadda. I found that easiest because it meant everyone was in the same provider network and it made the insurance labyrinth easier to negotiate.

Or just go to my GP and start crying? That seems a tad melodramatic, but OTOH melodramatic is how I'm feeling these days...

This is what I did, too. When my GP walked into the room I burst into tears, he listened to my ramblings then gave me a prescription and recommended several counselors.

{{{meara}}} much ~ma for you.

Why isn't the universe playing nice! How many times do we have to tell 2008 to BEHAVE!

I'm this close to saying that we are no longer going to have a little party after the elopement because it's becoming too much of a problem.

Dude, do it. Or lay down the law that you are not planning a single thing until after. Or else let him do all the party planning, if he doesn't think the stress is any big deal.

ALL the party planning -- not "oh, I'm going to let the boy pretend to be involved tee-hee-hee", which way too many women fall into. And if you want to do it, great. But if you really, honestly don't -- don't let the world foist a thing on you when you don't want to have one.

You are not eloping so that you can have two weddings.

Or just go to my GP and start crying? That seems a tad melodramatic, but OTOH melodramatic is how I'm feeling these days...

I went to my doctor intending to be all rational about it and wound up doing the above. A certain Buffista, who shall remain nameless, had the reaction of "Good. Now your Doctor knows what a mess you are."

Just tell your doc. However it comes out it comes out and you figure out what to do from there.

I have told them that we'll let them know when we figure out what we're going to do, but now I'm getting weekly e-mails. And of course no one is bugging TCG, so he doesn't understand why I'm getting so upset.

OK, this is a fun one! When they ask say "why don't you ask HIM!!!" and burst into tears/forward him the email.

Fun in a slightly evil way, but fun.

t HAPPY BIRTHDAY'S Scrappy

t burns sage and stuff to de-Ted McGinley Meara

Um... writing down all your symptoms, feelings, stresses, etc. before going to see the doc is a great thing. One of the times I went to the GP for depression, I just sat there dumbstruck with tears welling in my eyes when he asked what I had come in for. Wisely, he asked, "Depression?" I nodded and handed him my List. He went over it, said, "Wow," and got to business.

Alternatively, printing off a self assessment such as this one: [link] and filling it in is another great way to start the conversation with your doctor.

::sigh::

So my mother went with my father to the family lawyer today so dear daddy could file for divorce from his current wife. Yanno, the one with whom he cheated on my mom thirty years ago while THEY were married and then subsequently married after he and Mom's incredibly bitter divorce?

She said to Maria (my sister), "I do wish your sister would be more understanding about this. I wish she could be happy for me."

And she mentioned that she thought it would make a good story for me to write.

Dude, I don't write science fiction.

It's a pity you're not Cuban, meara

Heh. If I was Cuban, would I get to eat tostones more often? My mom made them and flan for me when I was growing up, but not often enough...

S/he can probably prescribe some drugs (some will, some won't, and some will write scrips for things you've taken before but not other things, and all can refer to a psychiatrist

Mmkay. Have not done the drugs before, but sounds like when I get back to town will call my GP. And look up the plan (sadly, the current insurance plan is kinda ASS). Is the cheap AD one that makes you gain weight? Or makes you anti-sex? I am v. anti both of those things. But very pro the idea of "if I lose my insurance because I lose my job and need drugs EVEN MORE, I could still afford them"

Barb, your parents make my head spin. Damn!

meara, if you *didn't* feel like you were falling apart, I'd worry about you. The past couple of years have been VERY roller-coaster-y for you.

I second (third, fourth, etc.) everyone's suggestion of going to your GP first, as long as you like your GP. The fucking ironic pisser about mental health care is that, when you truly need it, it feels like scaling Everest just to get an appointment set up.

ION (and I don't mean to be all me me me), I just got my picture taken for the billboard. Everyone was nice and helpful and the photographer kept telling me I looked fantastic and was posing like a pro. We did the shots outside, because the evening light was lovely. I wore a blue v-neck sweater that all y'all have probably seen on me (or, at least, seen me wear in pictures) a million times before, and the hair/makeup woman blew my hair out straight, which looks good but SO WEIRD to me, since I'm used to letting it go curly. Makeup was more or less what I normally wear, with the addition of some taupe-y eyeshadow and some lipstick.

They're going to e-mail me some of the pictures in the next couple of weeks, so I can post them then. And when my big giant head is up on a billboard, I'll *obviously* take pictures of that, too! (And, of course, post them.)

(And, okay, I took one picture of me with my own camera, doing the hold-camera-at-arm's-length trick: [link] I *swear* that I didn't do any Photoshop-fu, other than getting rid of the double-chin that inevitably results when I do the hold-camera-at-arm's-length trick [i.e., when I say I didn't do any Photoshop-fu, the color -- including my eyes (which, WOW) -- is straight out of the camera].)