I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was okay, although we had something of a family crisis.
My cousin's 26-year-old daughter is riding her bike down the Pacific Coast, which is a ride I did in graduate school (nearly 20 years ago now, yikes!). She's been having trouble, apparently because her only bicycling experience up to now was in Louisiana, and her bike doesn't have a granny gear. (The granny gear is the lowest, smallest chain ring on the front, that allows you to climb steep hills.)
So she got to California and the hills got steeper and she was basically just walking her loaded bike up these hills. Which is awful. She called my brother (who rides competitively) and my sister, and we ended up sending my sister & BIL up to meet her with my touring bike and my sister's road bike, both of which have the proper gearing.
The funny thing is, I've never met this girl, but she's my cousin's daughter and now she's riding my bike down the coast. Hopefully everything is working out okay, and we'll see her in a week or so when she arrives in the Bay Area.
I'm really happy to have helped, but kind of astonished that she took on this ride without knowing enough about bikes to know she needed better gearing...
Moving van driver (a woman!) is talking on the phone in my earshot and plans to deliver our stuff Friday. Ugh. I was hoping for Wednesday.
She smells so thoroughly of cigarette smoke that the house itself smells like someone's been smoking in it! He husband, who is actually moving things, thinks he is very funny. He is not.
(Did you think I was nice? I am not feeling very nice today.)
How can I tell if I'm having a nervous breakdown?
How can I tell if I'm having a nervous breakdown?
If you can ask, you're probably "merely" having a terrible day.
Sorry?
Ugh, flea. Much moving~ma.
Allyson, if you have the wherewithal to ask, probably not? But it's a good indication you might need to talk to someone if you're asking.
I don't know. But I don't think there's actually a clinical definition of "nervous breakdown".
So maybe if you think you're having one, you might be?
I love the Catch-22 responses.
Hang in there Allyson. Do you need to take a break and take a walk around the block?
There was a great piece on The Hairpin recently about someone's nervous breakdown. Either way, sorry, and good luck, Allyson.
Ugh Allyson, is there a way you can open space in your day to take care of yourself? Whatever that would look like, go home from work early, reach out to someone.
Allyson, if you have the wherewithal to ask, probably not? But it's a good indication you might need to talk to someone if you're asking.
This is probably true. But speaking from ugly personal experience: are you refusing to make decisions about things that will have horrible consequences, and just "letting things happen"? Indulging in self-destructive behavior, be it physical or emotional? Those were the warning signs for me, and I wish I had talked to someone sooner than I actually did. Things are good now, but there were a rough couple of months.
Anyway, if you're worried, you need to talk to someone, darling lady.
