PMT, hormones and withdrawal - treading on mood eggshells

It's fair to say I'm not compleeetely on top of things today.The doctor moved me from Citalopram to Sertraline last month (slightly better for any potential pregnancies) and suggested I try and reduce the dose a little (again in preparation for the same). I wasn't sure whether this was a good idea considering I've been struggling more recently - but also felt it was worth another go given a) things have started to be a little easier and b) the doctors are always telling me my old dose was sub therapeutic anyway (pah!).

Hormone smash

It was actually going pretty well until my period hit. Then those hormones smashed into me with a force I haven't experienced for a while. Saturday was a real struggle, slow moving, anxious and crying on the kitchen floor (poor old confused Watson). Sunday was a little better - I felt exhausted and raw but calmer. We went to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year - it was good to get out of the normal routine but the crowds made me anxious and I cried in the bakery afterwards - overwhelmed by food choices for a birthday breakfast today. At least afterwards Al and I could laugh at some of my more ridiculous tearful utterings -  "I just want some nice bread" (sob).

Mood swings

And today I'm struggling with some serious mood swings. One moment I'm feeling calmer. I'm more on top of things and able to see ahead to all the joy in my life. The next it's really black. My chest feels very tight, there's no good memories anywhere and I can't see a way through at all - the mental trickery of depression taken to an extreme. It seems to take almost nothing to trigger the change. I'm treading on mood eggshells and wary of the world. It's tricky to trust in any individual moment.It seems that both medication withdrawal and day to day management of my mental health is massively exacerbated by hormones at the moment. The worst weekend in October was a period weekend too. I need to recognise it and ride it out but it's hard hard hard. Hopefully the worst will be over this month.

Writing, running and cake

Writing things down has helped - but on days like this I only feel myself when running. So I'm going to run and run and breathe deeply and listen to the world and watch Watson chase squirrels and hope I come back calmer - and ready for some birthday cake.