Monday 24 October 2011

Not reading email trails through before forwarding them

So, I forwarded an email trail to a salesperson without confirming what's been said before. As it happens, I have said some stuff on there which I'd rather not have had the salesperson see. Rookie error. Brain not working. I'm telling you guys, I have slid down the IQ scale like a vestal virgin down an oiled pole. Can't think straight any more.

Closing a meeting

I attempted to close a meeting without agreeing next steps and setting up a follow up meeting. Got called on it. I think people are getting fed up with me. Another instance of lack of concentration? Or do I not know how to run meetings?

Thursday 20 October 2011

Fool

So I came across as a fool to a group of Sales people in a meeting because one of my team mates butted in and hijacked a meeting I was running. God, I hate that guy.

5-HTP effects

So, I again had 50mg 5-HTP last night, but no St John's Wort all day. Today, I felt a nervous energy through me all day and a propensity to be rather sharp with people. Amusing (a little) but not good for professional health. My biggest problem before the collapse of 2006 was my sharp tongue and anger. So, I'll have St John's Wort if I need to, but reckon should lay off the 5-HTP's. Having omega-3 as well. Have high hopes from Omega-3 but apparently takes about 4 weeks to kick in. Let's see.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Omega 3

I got my vegan EPA through in the post today. 600mg of EPA in one capsule. It cost me $124 for 120 capsules which works out to more than a dollar per capsule. Hmm, it is a bit too expensive. Hope it helps though. And I hope Opti3 come up with an EPA formula soon.

Monday 17 October 2011

5 HTP + Sertraline + St Johns Wart = a bad idea

So I had 25mg sertraline and st johns wart and 5 htp and have the biggest most leaden headache ever. Not recommended.

Another boo boo

I'm having a terrible time at work. I can't seem to pay any attention to what I'm doing and I keep making stupid mistakes. Not up to it.

Sunday 16 October 2011

What do I do about 5HTP?

I took 50mg of 5-HTP today. I slept for 3 hours and it was a very satisfying sleep. But I'm worried because I am on anti-histamines (citerezine 10 mg) and 25 mg Sertraline. There have also been reports of developing EMS because of impurities in 5 HTP.

Read more here.

Thursday 13 October 2011

Sort it out

I was 'ordered' to 'sort it out' with a person in another team who is a stakeholder in my project. There was a bit of work I felt he should've helped to get done but he just dug his heels in and insisted that I should do it myself. I wasn't happy about that but there is a lot of politics involved here. So, I came to know that this person - who belongs to a different team, doesn't bill any of his time to our project. Basically, whatever work he does for us is free. My manager likes this and wants to keep it that way. Which means he'd rather bend over backwards to keep this person happy than back me up even when I am right.

So much so that in our last one on one, he told me 'If you can't work with X, that is a problem'. Which means he will get rid of me and not renew my contract. Essentially, this is what happened to the last person who was doing my job. X complained about him to my manager and my manager got rid of him and brought me in. So, now, my manager insists that I should talk to this person and square things with him. Which I did today. Funnily enough, what I gathered from today's chat was, this person is one of those people who get aggressive when they feel defensive. I got an impression that he is a bit insecure and is trying to compensate by patronizing me. Not an easy situation to manage. If I try to be friendly, he patronises me even more. If I don't, that is cause for a grudge. Let's see how it pans out but I am ready to put my papers in if it doesn't work out.

Team dinner

There's a team dinner tonight which I am planning to miss. I'll go, have a drink at 5.30 and then leave. Since I don't drink alcohol, I find people getting mellow as they are in their 3rd or 4th pint, while I just get to observe them. It's kind of fun! If I could, I'd get out of going at all, but people will wonder what's wrong with me just for missing dinner, I don't want to make it worse by not going at all.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Delusional

I think I am delusional at this point of time. I am not in touch with reality. I think I should see a doc/counselor.

Meanwhile, I have been popping 2 pills of St John's Wort (250 mg) daily, which I think has kept me away from a complete breakdown and return of full blown depression, but I am still scared and anxious.

Humans are such pitiful creatures. There is no good reason why this is happening to me and there is no good reason why this couldn't happen to ANYONE. But one thing is sure, however strong you are, however strong you THINK you are, there is a set of circumstances which will break you - it may be a different set for different people, but you are basically destiny's plaything. Let no one live in arrogance that this could never happen to them. It can.

More issues

So, I took a stand about something at work. My manager's basically given me an ultimatum - either work with this person, or there's a problem. Which basically means I can leave.

Sunday 9 October 2011

Time out and some clarity

So, it's clear to me that the dreaded drop in mood is happening with the change in medicine. I didn't go to work on Friday and I know I will have hell to pay for it tomorrow. I may even have to contend with my contract not being renewed. But, we'll see.

Meanwhile, I am not giving up yet. I read this post, do note the bit about omega-3 studies and how EPA has been useful for the blogger. I've actually read about these studies before and I was impressed, that's why I have omega-3 supplements. The problem is I wasn't having anywhere near the right quantity. Significant change has been noticed with a dosage of at least 1g a day. Now, the post I've linked to above describes how the poster found significant effects only after having 4 capsules of PureEPA. My problem is, I am a lacto-vegan (vegan, except for milk products), and I had been taking Opti3, which is derived directly from algae, whereas the richest source of EPA is fish oil - which is what PureEPA is. I was only taking 1 capsule a day, which is 100mg of EPA when the recommended dosage is 10 times that amount. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any better source of vegan EPA in the UK. Eventually, I found Futurebiotics NewHarvest vegetarian EPA which has 600mg of EPA per capsule. They only ship within the US. This site, however ships to the UK. I'll let you know how long it takes to arrive.

I've also decided to try St John's Wart. It is not recommended for people on certain kinds of medicines, including anti-depression meds and anti-psychotics. But I am desperate here. Let's see how it goes.

Friday 7 October 2011

Help!!!

I need help. I need some time to myself. I want to take some time off from work but I can't. We have a mortgage and a baby on the way. How will I manage? I can see where this is going. Depression, lack of concentration, I can't remember important things, I take ages to understand what people are saying and I keep making mistakes at work, coupled with time off because I can't cope. It's heading to disasterville.

Unemployable

I am unemployable.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Loser

I am a loser. Nothing will ever sort itself out. I will never be happy. EVER.

Watching - as respect slips away

New place, same story. I don't have any respect from people around me. It HAS to be my own fault. I am not a very nice person.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Day 60

Have I already been on the reduced dosage for 60 days? Yes I have! Haven't had a panic attack or major depressive episode yet, so I guess that's a good thing.

Paranoia: I am becoming a bit paranoid though. I also have trouble connecting with people at work. I don't talk to many people and I always have suspicious thoughts about what they are thinking/saying about me.

Guilt: I have feelings of guilt. I feel I am not good enough at what I do and I'm somehow cheating my employers because I cannot actually do my job well.

Lack of motivation: Work seems to be burdensome. I find myself approaching work with a feeling of dread and incompetence. I don't feel confident about what I am doing.

Monday 3 October 2011

Broken - slightly fixed

I am wayyyyy too sensitive. This morning I saw two colleagues sitting opposite me whispering to each other and I thought they were talking about me. I felt like my life had ended.

I went into the bathroom, lowered the seat and did 12 minutes of meditation and felt better.