Day of Discovery: I'm a Mess! Do I Need Meds?

Finding out, having your suspicions confirmed and staring at this ugly monster eye-ball to eye-ball for the first time is often gut wrenching. The impact on your feelings, your psyche, your body and how you think can throw your life into turmoil. Your body, your spirit and your mind revolts.

So, how do you cope? Should you seek out medication? Here are some considerations on this topic.

1. First, there is nothing wrong seeking a little boost or a break from the agony you experience. It is often difficult to keep in mind that your agony and pain is situational and this too shall pass. Not right away. But it will. But, in the meantime I encourage you to act to take the edge off the intensity.

2. Extreme difficulty sleeping, eating, holding food down, controlling your thoughts (you can think of NOTHING else except him/her or your situation), thoughts of abject worthlessness, and thoughts of ending it all indicate you need some temporary help to see you through the next few days and weeks.

3. How bad is bad? Use a scale of 1-10, 10 being as bad as it can get. Check yourself during the day on this scale. You will find recurring thoughts and feelings or "themes" that, at some level, you are working on and are in need of healing. Identify these "themes" and measure them on the scale each day. Are the negative thoughts and feelings more frequent? Are they more intense on the scale. This will guide you in your need for external support.

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