Faithful readers will remember how scared I was about winter coming on. And, in a way, my fear was justified: London, Ontario has experienced an “old-fashioned Canadian winter” this time, with lots of snow and very low temperatures. We haven’t had a winter like that for several years. (My university has declared snow days four times already, and we’re still in the middle of February.)
The good news is that I have skirted most of it. My plan of doing work and family travel in December-March has been going very well so far. What with the warm and sunny weather and the great company, I am not depressed, I am hardly anxious at all, and I am getting a ton of university-related work done. True, I’m not teaching undergrads this term. But I’m very busy with various departmental and faculty-level service tasks (e.g., grad admissions, comprehensive exams, strategic planning, grad education council…) And I’m even busier when it comes to research and scholarship, with a good half dozen writing projects under way at the same time.
I have been doing so well that I am considering accelerating my return to work plan. The idea had been to move to 65% in January, 85% in April and 100% in July. More than on track, I think I might be ready to move to 85% already. I’m consulting with my insurer, my “bosses” at Western, and with my medical practitioners to see what they think. I never thought that I’d return to work full-time, and I feel very grateful that I’m on this track.
As for remaining symptoms, it’s not that I’m free of them. Nonetheless, I am coping with them much better. I am learning to accept my suicidal ideations, letting them just be there several times a day. I think that I’m slowly getting better at dealing with petty frustrations, without getting overly flustered. My nervous ticks persist, but I am trying to “radically accept” those too.
In brief, I’m doing pretty well!