Today I'm Thankful For...

So, regular readers of this blog might have noticed that this year has been a particularly challenging one for this girl. Among the numerous should-be-positive stressors (wedding, moving, new job), I've battled some mysterious gastrointestinal ailment (most likely stress and anxiety-induced) for 10 months, lost a bunch of weight, and developed a somewhat-less-than-manageable phobia of important social situations (presumably because I'm constantly worried that I'll ruin the fun or let others down by being sick). Needless to say, it has not been the most carefree and enjoyable year to date, and this week seemed to bring the perfect storm of anxiety and physical revolt, to the point that I actually missed work during portions of 3 separate days.

Realizing that I cannot (or will not) live in a state of fearful apprehension and misery forever, I've taken the only reasonable action steps I could think of, and I scheduled appointments with both a G.I. medical specialist and a stress and anxiety counselor. Those appointments don't happen until next week, unfortunately, so any progress toward some answers and some relief is delayed until then, but in the meantime, I have a different approach to try out.

Independently of one another, both of my parents suggested that I start keeping track of the things that I'm thankful for each day (or at least one thing I can be happy about, even if only briefly). To that end, I will attempt to journal my happy thoughts here, in the hope that elevating my emotional state will also bring physical peace within.

Among other things (namely the incredibly supportive friends and family I'm surrounded by), today I'm thankful for making it through a whole day of work. That may sound trivial and simple, but after this week's struggles to do exactly that, I consider today a victory. For my efforts, I'm rewarded with a weekend during which I can escape the office and the oppressive corporate cubicle culture. The true test will come Monday morning when I wake up and have to do it again, and again the next day, and so on. But I should not get too far ahead of myself. For now, I will take some comfort in the fact that I made it through another 9-hour shift and didn't burn another sick day. I even got some things accomplished while I was there. Good job, Me.