The (Not So Mental) Institute

I wish I were sleeping right now. I think I got almost 11 hours last night and yet I still needed more this morning. Not out of want, but out of need.

But we have some cheese, a little bit of juice, and some left over spaghetti in our fridge...and that's about it. So I'm attempting to work on a grocery list but my hungry and rather upset stomach is making the thought of walking down isles of food somewhat intolerable at the moment...

Last weekend I came to the conclusion that the combination of the lack of sleep and the work load we're both carrying has gotten me depressed. Not "clinically," but more like circumstantially depressed.

I'm just so tired. All the time. But I just...keep...pushing...

So I went to the counseling services on campus yesterday.

One word.

Amateurs.

Post motivational notes on my mirror? REALLY? No offense, but this guy even said, "You've been through worse and you've gotten yourself through it before, so you can do it, just relay on your previous tactics. Post things where you can see them..." Clearly my tactics are a little more internal and developed due to my history, but how can that translate in just 15 minutes of a Q&A session?

I just smiled and nodded.

After that I had 5 minutes to get to class. If you've ever been to therapy before then you know: in NO WAY was I going to class after that.

Well, actually, I did try. I got to the bathroom just down the hall from my classroom and took one look at the stalls and thought, "The institute has cleaner bathrooms. I can hold it for a few more minutes." And I was D-O-N-E for the day.

I ditched not one but TWO classes, but I was responsible about it, of course. I wasn't exceeding allotted absences and no assignments were due. I.E. - Responsible Ditching. :)

The best part? The 2 1/2 hours spent at the institute (of religion, not of mental illness, for the non-LDS readers) were far more effective than the majority of the stints in I've done in therapy combined. (Yes, I've done a few. Three, actually.)

Seriously, the institute is kind of saving me this semester. I can take Baby Spin there and let him run around, we look at the bugs in the dirt, play in the closets, draw on the white boards, get lunch, eat free or REALLY cheap food ($.50 for a full size Twix!!), are around NICE people...and I go just for quiet time in those brief moments I get.

And did I mention FREE parking?

F-R-E-E!!!

SOOO glad it's there. Thank you to however created the institute system.

-Pregnant, Disgruntled Student Parent