In one of my previous blogs, I talked a little bit about how I want to take my mental health seriously and how I was looking for a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy.
Finding a therapist has been really challenging.
I was seeing one last year, but she wasn’t very reliable. She would frequently cancel or reschedule appointments, and a couple of times she told me that she had to reschedule because she couldn’t show up for me.
Eventually she moved practices, and I took that as a sign to look for someone else.
I really didn’t want to start the whole process over again, so I contacted the same office and they set me up with another therapist.
She was good. She was easy to talk to right away, so I felt really comfortable with her.
But pretty soon, appointments started getting canceled and rescheduled again.
I’m a very understanding person, but it was getting to be too much because…
I need a reliable therapist!
Not to mention, my schedule is already extremely busy with medical appointments during the week. It’s really disruptive to clear my schedule for an appointment and then find out—sometimes at the very last minute—that it’s been canceled.
So for now, I’m taking a break from trying to find a therapist.
But the best takeaway I got from the whole experience was this:
I need to make self-care a priority.
Last year, my self-care was all about massage.
I got a massage membership for the first time and found a place—and an amazing massage therapist—that I really liked.
However…
I realized that being forced to get a massage once a month—which sounded GREAT at first!—was actually not that great after all. 😂
I wasn’t getting joy out of it anymore.
So I finished out the year and decided it wasn’t for me.
This year?
MY SELF-CARE IS ALL ABOUT THE STAYCATION!
I’m on my very first staycation of 2023, in fabulous Lake Las Vegas.
It’s only about 30 minutes away from me, but I love it here.
Once you get near the lake, it almost feels like you’re somewhere else—the cobblestone pathways, the architecture, the water fountains…
It really is an oasis in the middle of the desert!
I had treatment last Monday.
I’ve been keeping track…
I go every three weeks, and this was treatment #48!
My regular treatment center is still closed because of the flooding, so I had to go to another location.
It’s a little disorienting because I don’t recognize anybody and things are just done differently.
The nurse was having a hard time accessing my port, which freaked me out. I thought I was going to pass out because she kept pressing on it and finally had to get someone to help her.
And it’s funny how there is absolutely NO privacy in the treatment room.
When they asked how everything was going and how my side effects were, I mentioned that I was having diarrhea.
And the medical assistant yelled:
“SHE HAS DIARRHEA!”
At the top of her lungs.
😳
Thank God for my mask because my mouth dropped open and I wanted to hide.
I was in shock from embarrassment at having my diarrhea broadcast to the entire chemo space.
But anyways…
Half the patients were fast asleep.
So I guess I can live with being known as…
DIARRHEA GIRL.
Again. 🤣
Next time I’ll write about my new support group, which is specifically for people with metastatic cancer, and a class I’m taking called Finding Your Ground.
It’s a six-week course that incorporates yoga and meditation and is also specifically for the metastatic breast cancer community.
I’m excited.
And fingers crossed that maybe this is the universe taking care of me and my mental health. 🙌
Sending you all love…
Until next time!
