Political Tuesday or Mental Health Monday?

A Rant, No, Word or Two, of a Political Nature

It is better for my mental health * if I do NOT go on a diatribe re:  Planned Parenthood. I will let Jonah Goldberg do my "talking" for me. Suffice it to say that, in my "humble" opinion, this is an evil organization, & I hope that anyone who is reading this blog who may harbor any sympathies toward this organization will do some serious soul-searching about their support.
* Definitely better for you, in my opinion.

That's all you'll get from me about politics today. I am seriously burned out * on politics these days for a number of reasons.

• Inability of congress ** to thwart the President's plans re:  "treaty" w/Iran.
• Inability of congress to thwart funding for Planned Parenthood. [That would be funding, I'm sure you realize, in the form of tax money.]
• Hypocrisy of Democrats who contributed to this action, who, by coincidence, have received contributions from, wait for it . . . . wait for it . . . . that's right! Planned Parenthood!
• "She who shall not be named" appears to continue to be the Democratic front-runner.
• "He who shall not be named" *** continues to be the Republican front-runner.

* A questionable use of this phrase, given my mental health history, but one that fits the context of today's blog entry nonetheless. ****

** By congress I mean the Republicans.

*** You guess who I've decided to affix this nomenclature [I like this word!] to.

**** I hate using this word. But it's my blog, & I'll use whatever words I want to. Just a friendly reminder. *****
***** While I'm at it, I also finished the previous sentence w/a preposition. Whatever.

And Now It's Time for Mental Health Monday! *

* And, yes, I know that today is TUE 9/29.

SELF-ABSORPTION

A member of my crack team of blog consultants * has persuaded me that my recent blogs have taken a turn toward the extreme self-confessional & self-absorbed. I cannot disagree. I have previously admitted to being in a slump, dating back to before the school year began, & I have speculated as to the reasons contributing to this slump. 

* You didn't know I had a crack team of blog consultants, did you? Well, I do, & I hesitate to let you in on who is on my team. **

** That period of hesitation didn't last long. This consultant's name is Lois, my spouse, who is a wonderful "blog gauge" for me.

Self-absorption, by the way, is symptomatic of depression. One becomes so self-involved with one's own issues that it becomes increasingly difficult to focus on anyone else's issues, i.e., "Don't bother me with what's bothering you. I have my own issues to worry about."

I am not proud to admit this, & I will stop at that, lest I continue to promote my pity-party. 

SOLUTIONS? How about reaching out to others?!

Looking for opportunities to serve others is, I believe, a healthy outlet. I am blessed to live in a community where there are so many opportunities to volunteer it's almost overwhelming. Here are three examples, but before I give them, let me emphasize that I'm not sharing them as a form of self-righteousness. I am sharing them, hopefully, as examples. Surely * there are opportunities in & around your locale that would afford you an opportunity to reach out.

• Meals on Wheels. My congregations takes a turn providing Meals on Wheels through our local Senior Center every few months. I've seen the notices in our church bulletin forever but never gave volunteering a second thought until I got a phone call from the coordinator. I said OK very reluctantly because (a) the thought of driving around town delivering meals made me extremely anxious; & (b) the alternative, which was sitting around at home, wrapped up in my comfort zone of self-absorption, was, well, wrapped up in my comfort zone. But I agreed, I did Meals on Wheels for a short week (no deliveries on Labor Day), & it was extremely enjoyable for me to deliver meals, get to greet the same people every day, see how much they looked forward to it . . . after the last day's delivery I realized that I was looking forward to the next opportunity.
• Rescue Mission. A very good friend of the family called me one day & asked if I could help her family serve supper at the Rescue Mission on Thursday night (two nights later, as I recall) because they were short-handed. Way out of my comfort zone, but what could I say? I agreed. I showed up in time to sit in on the devotion, led by her husband (a pastor), then helped serve supper & clean up when we were done. Once again, despite my reservations (anxiety, preferring to stay at home, wrapped up in my self-absorption cocoon ***, etc.), it ended up feeling very, very good to get out of the house & do something for other people . . . people who needed help.
• Pro-Life activities.  I am currently being trained to possibly serve at a local pro-life agency that provides help for women facing a crisis pregnancy. Better for me not to get more specific than that, & I will admit that I haven't yet made a 100% commitment. Lois & I have been committed to pro-life activities for many, many years, but I won't go into the "why's & wherefore's" here. Once again, there is potential for me to get out of the house & get involved in other people's needs besides my own.

Caveats

1. There is an obvious danger in what I'm proposing, and it's this. I may be doing all this for my own self-therapy.
2. That would be a form of self-righteousness--seeking to satisfy my own selfish motives w/o regard to love for my neighbor.
3. I'm going to avoid going down that path for now, because (a) it strikes me as being self-absorbed; & (b) it seems like a more apt topic for a Theological Thursday blog entry.

* And stop calling me Shirley! **

** I just referenced one of my all-time favorite movies, but I digress.

*** Emphasis added. Do you like that phrase? I like that phrase. If no one else is claiming it, I'm claiming it.

OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• Exercise.  You can find multiple sources that suggest exercise as a way to help relieve depression. Here's one that I found on the Web Md web site that you may find helpful. Here's another one from the Mayo Clinic's web site. You can find a gazillion others by googling "exercise & mental health."
• Get a dog.  A dog will provide you with companionship, "they" said. A dog will force you to get more exercise, since you will have to take it for walks multiple times each day, "they" said. Lois, who is on my crack team of blog consultants, did me the favor of bringing a dog home from the Siouxland Humane Society in Sioux City one day last summer. I won't belabor the point. 

Caveats

1. I've blogged previously about my OCD symptoms, so just a mild warning that exercise can easily become obsessive. [So far, not in my case. It probably wouldn't hurt.]
2. Our dog's name is Sammy. I've grown to like him. I think he likes me. I try to get him out for a walk 3X/day. *
3. If it makes you feel self-conscious to carry around a bag of dog poop, you shouldn't get a dog with the expectation that you can take it for walks & let it poop anywhere it pleases & leave it's poop for someone else to clean up. [Unless you have an incorrigible conscience, which I do not.] *

* Not trying to sound self-righteous. But if the shoe fits . . .