Trifecta of Therapies

Yesterday, I had a therapy session, a massage and then stopped by pottery class. The three big things I do for myself… all rolled into one night.

Yes, I still go see a therapist… although things have been going so well, it’s dwindling. I see her about every 2 months now, whereas 2 years ago, I could have gone every week if the insurance would have let me. I feel pretty proud of the progress I have made in her little office. I also feel like I gave to the old college try as far as my sleep issues are concerned. When night terrors continue into adulthood, something like 75% of them can be cleared up with talk therapy. Clearly I am not one of that 75%. So, we are exploring other options.

For example, I am taking St. John’s Wort. And it really seems to be helping. Especially at work, where I had felt like a complete slug for months. Maybe it’s all in my head that this herb (which, to be perfectly honest, smells disturbingly like pot), actually works for my depression – but I really don’t care. It works. They say it kicks in after about a month, and they are right. All of a sudden, one day… the anxiety was gone (or, mostly gone, at least). I hadn’t realized how I had started to dread pretty much everything.

I am also having a sleep study done on September 22nd. That means I get to go to a hospital, have them hook up my skull to all these electrodes that measure brain activity and try to sleep while all that is happening. With my luck, and the St. John’s Wort, they will come back with inconclusive results and I will be back to square one. We’ll see.

The sleep study is pretty important on another front too, because whether I rip my face apart for sinus surgery somewhat hinges on those results. If sleep apnea is the culprit for my night terrors, I will most certainly have the surgery and try to make breathing a little more feasible. Again, we’ll see.

Now. On to my second therapy. I get a massage every single month and it’s worth every single penny. I have been going to my massage therapist for nearly 5 years now and I don’t feel strange at all saying she knows my body like the back of her hand. She knows where my kinks are and always finds new ones even when I forget to mention them. Last night she found a cramp in my lower back from the bounce house night and after she had performed some Chinese torture methods, all of a sudden, I was walking upright again.

Then I stopped by pottery class, even though I usually skip it on massage nights. I wanted to go because my usual teacher, Lori (who also reads this blog, so I will also mention she is my favorite teacher) is taking the semester off to finish up her masters – so I won’t see her till I am thinking about making Christmas ornaments.

When I got home, Bryan looked at me with these big, expectant eyes – almost like he thought I was going to explode with contentment.

Pretty much.