{"id":1340,"date":"2008-09-05T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2008\/09\/10-things-im-going-to-do-diffe.html"},"modified":"2008-09-05T10:00:14","modified_gmt":"2008-09-05T10:00:14","slug":"10-things-im-going-to-do-diffe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/09\/10-things-im-going-to-do-diffe.html","title":{"rendered":"10 Things I’m Going to Do Differently This School Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently confessed to a friend who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder<\/a> that I get anxious upon hearing the humming sound of the cicadas in late July because I know summer is about finished and it’s almost time to get the kids new shoes for school. <\/p>\n

I mourn the end of summer each year. True, I have had my worst relapses in these hot months.<\/a> But if I were to track my mood since I emerged from the womb, my mood historically is much more stable and toward the happier side in June, July, and August. As a kid my symptoms of anxiety nearly disappeared during the summers–maybe as a result of all the Vitamin D I was getting while basking in the sunlight. Growing up, I packed summer full of great times: swim meets, hanging out at the pool, working as lifeguard (as a teenager), using the cash pool members paid for their guests as beer money (I finally confessed it to the manager, of course). As an adult I can sometimes go back to that “happy place” in my brain by doing the things I did in the summer: swimming laps with a friend, getting a (sugar) cone of mint-chocolate chip ice-cream with chocolate sprinkles from Friendly’s, or both.<\/p>\n

Apparently my kids have learned to like summer too.<\/p>\n

“What is today?” Katherine asked me during lunch today after her first day of preschool. <\/p>\n

“Today is Tuesday,” I replied.<\/p>\n

“No, I mean, is it still summer?” she asked.<\/p>\n

“No. Today is the Fall.”<\/p>\n

“NO!!! NO!!!” She starts screaming. “WHEN WILL IT BE SUMMER AGAIN!?!”<\/p>\n

But the start of a new school year also gives me an opportunity, like the end of December, to figure out what I want to do differently in my life and, more specifically, in my recovery from depression, and to challenge myself to grow in the ways I think I need do. You know how the obsessive-compulsive perfectionist thinks<\/a> … every day is an opportunity to make a list of goals!<\/p>\n

So a few weeks ago I shared the following goals with my therapist, and I’m happy to report I’m adhering to all them to date.<\/p>\n

My Goals for the 2008-2009 School Year<\/span><\/p>\n

1. To shut down my computer in the hours when I’m not working.<\/p>\n

2. To shut down my computer at six in the evening, and not to open it until I arrive at my working hour.<\/p>\n

3. Meditate for 15 minutes everyday before I begin anything else, or (if the kids are up) before I begin my work.<\/p>\n

4. Fit in all my work-related communications during my working hours, not in my personal time.<\/p>\n

5. Go to lunch or dinner with Eric once a week, or do something fun together like kayaking.<\/p>\n

6. Continue regular therapy.<\/p>\n

7. Once a month have a mental-health afternoon when I can do something fun by myself.<\/p>\n

8. Organize day trips with the kids. Be creative with all those afternoon they don’t have school (we’re talking five or six every month).<\/p>\n

9. Continue to research ways to handle David’s anxiety.<\/p>\n

10. Devote at least two hours of individual time with David each week.<\/p>\n

What are yours?<\/p>\n

To read more Beyond Blue, go to www.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue<\/a>, and to get to Group Beyond Blue, a support group at Beliefnet Community, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently confessed to a friend who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder that I get anxious upon hearing the humming sound of the cicadas in late July because I know summer is about finished and it’s almost time to get the kids new shoes for school. I mourn the end of summer each year. True,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anxiety","category-depression","category-mental-health"],"yoast_head":"\n10 Things I'm Going to Do Differently This School Year - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/09\/10-things-im-going-to-do-diffe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Things I'm Going to Do Differently This School Year - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently confessed to a friend who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder that I get anxious upon hearing the humming sound of the cicadas in late July because I know summer is about finished and it’s almost time to get the kids new shoes for school. 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