Oooh...did you open this to see why Jennifer is sad? Caught ya, you click baiter!😂 However, I am not going to lie. My mental health has been suffering lately. You know what, though? I'm not sad. I wouldn't even say I am mildly sad. I'm off... and I can feel it.... and I can even probably/logically tell you why. It's a myriad of reasons and when they happen over a period of time and build, and you don't notice it at first. But finally one day...BAM! 0.........
This is a common thing in Fibromyalgia patients actually. When I was diagnosed almost 15+ years ago with it, one of the first meds I got put on was Cymbalta, which is marketed as a depression medication. I asked the pharmacist about it because I didn't feel sad. He quickly explained that depression isn't sadness per se. It is a chemical imbalance. When the chemicals that make you happy, help you sleep, and help your body recover are low, sometimes you need a little help from a pill. It's no different than taking insulin to help your pancreas or an ACE inhibitor for your heart. "Anti-depressants" is an easier term to say than "serotonin reuptake inhibitors". Through the years I have learned that I respond better to natural methods than chemical methods and so I no longer take anything for my chemical imbalances. So recovery takes a bit longer than with a pill. Hence the blog post today and my hope that in sharing it might help someone else, even if they don't have Fibromyalgia.
If you read the last blog post, you know that a lot of my issues started after my COVID vaccine. It is what started the downward spiral of issues. (And if you are wondering if I regret getting it, I don't. But that is a different blog post.😏) This process doesn't just happen to Fibro patients by the way. It's a commonality in all. Fibro patients just tend to have a hyper response to these causations than others do. I will share my theory of immune demise as an example.
August 3rd: J&J vaccine given + busy day at Branson + truly concerned about rumored side effects
August 4th: Sick! Like super sick! Like, "I need to get tested for COVID" sick. (I got tested and it was negative.)
August 5th: Wake up and feel ok, just a mild headache and some mild chest pain.
August 12th: See my doctor concerning lingering headaches and chest pain post-vaccine. Diagnosed with post-vaccine costochondritis (while not common, still considered normal side effect).
September 2nd: See doc again about chest pain, put on anti-inflammatory
September 27th: Have a telehealth appointment and get put on Antibiotics for sinus infection and steroid pack to try to knock out chest pain from costochondritis.
October 2nd: Got put on a higher dose of steroids, which FINALLY fixed the costochondritis.
October 6th: Started having symptoms of shingles. 🤦
And here we are...almost 11 weeks post vaccine and I can logically look back and see why I most likely have a chemical imbalance going on that would make me feel off. Health alone has been a crap-tastic storm, but I have had some major stress going on as well. Between putting my cat of 16 years down, volunteer responsibilities, work drama, a crap diet, and lack of sleep, it is shocking that my mental health is as good as it is. We are serotonin junkies naturally. You build serotonin with diet, sleep, and a healthy immune system. When those things are off, serotonin goes down. When serotonin goes down, you feel sad and tired and off. The way to get this back naturally is to rest more, eat right, and slow down. It takes a longer time than popping a pill and you have to keep telling yourself that.
I share all this to let you know that it is normal to have periods of time like this. It is not uncommon to go through lows. It is not wrong to ask a physician for some help. It is a great idea to talk to a counselor and have a breakthrough. I love talking to someone who is struggling and letting them know that this is normal and that everyone goes through things and they are not alone. I love seeing that smile happen and letting them know that they are needed/wanted on this planet and that life is worth living still. Please don't ever let a chemical imbalance get the best of you. Find someone and tell them you are struggling. It is not a sign of weakness. It is a beautiful thing to do.
