Therapy, Part Duex

Well, I've been back on my anti-depressants for just over two weeks now (although I did forget to take one this morning), and I'm not sure they have kicked in or not. This past week especially I've had a lot of physical anxiety, precursor to a full fledged panic attack, on at least three seperate days now. This past Saturday was the worst where I broke down and took a pill to combat the feeling. Otherwise a steady stream of exercising, breathing exercises, and intense prayer only seem to have a temporary effect on me. My birthday sucked. That was two weeks ago, and for those that are wondering....no, I did not get anything, not even a card from my wife. On the 17th, instead of drinking green beer and 'whupping' it up at any watering hole, I was instead at therapy. I planned on an hour session and it came to be closer to an hour and half, maybe slightly more. There was a lot of self-pity and crying, but it felt good to get it out. The therapist gave me a book to borrow, "Don't seat the small stuff: For couples". The following few days, I devoured that book and it made a lot of sense....in the moment. But as is usually the case, mere hours after a temporary reprieve, I start feeling crappy again, a small ball of anxiety and sadness manifesting within my chest....sometime making it uncomfortable to breathe. I've realized I am so scared of rejection...of being alone...of taking the steps to start over yet again. Whereas divorce never entered my vocabulary a few years ago, the thought is populating my head more and more often. I have so much love to give someone, and the desire to share and to be wanted by my wife or anyone. I'm a decent looking guy. I actually got hit on the other day and it made me feel good, but then again, it wasn't my wife...the person I swore "For better or for worse, till death do us part". I know I could remarry...someday....but I don't want to. I don't understand why my wife is so hot and cold. After my session, the therapist asked me to ask my wife to attend the following week. To my surprise, my wife agreed. However, the session did not go as I envisioned it. I really...honestly....really tried to steer away from financial talk, but the therapist sensed a hot button and pushed. Once again, my (or our) hour session went almost 2 full hours with me crumbling near the end and realizing how resentful my wife is when it comes to the topic of money. But everytime I hear my wife explain or attempt to talk about it, I am always in utter shock on how much denial she is in when it comes to her part and responsibility for 'our' current situation. Even the therapist tried to point things out to her, but she wasn't hearing it, or if she was, it was in one ear and out the other. We are supposed to go again today at 5:30 and I'm looking forward to it. Just so I can release again. Hopefully my wife remembers. We were given a HW assignment from the therapist this past week. We were supposed to write each other a note everyday and place it for the other to find. A compliment. A word of encouragement. A loving word. I managed to do it 3 times for my wife. She never acknowledged any of them. In return she never wrote me one note. I'm hurt. This morning I awoke early from stress. I laid in bed, my eyes once again filling up with tears. I tried to hide them by washing my face with a wash cloth. My wife never noticed. Now that I sit and write this entry and look back over the past two weeks, I realize how hard I have tried...........and how little my wife has, if at all. I can't continue like this. Perhaps I do need to call that lawyer afterall next week. God...I hate my life right now again.

Birthday Blues

Today is my birthday.

And I feel sick to my stomach.

I took my pill this morning (Day 4), and have discovered my emotions are still stronger that the medication that most likely hasn't yet kicked in, and once I found myself in my car driving to work, couldn't help but have my eyes well up.

My wife got up slightly before me, (she rarely does), and by some small wishful fantasy of mine, I thought perhaps she might have gotten up early to put out a birthday card or present for me.

That wasn't the case. As I came downstairs to a pot of coffee I did get a "Happy Birthday" from her, and a peck of a kiss......but no card....and no present.

As long as I'm feeling sorry for myself, let me also say I received no email, card, or call from my step-daughter either. Still awaiting the 'thank you' for the present I sent her last month.

Really? Wow, why am I not surprised.

The day is still early, and I'd like to give my wife the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps I'm being very premature. Perhaps there will be a card waiting for me later tonight, maybe not. I don know she has told me that she has a softball game this evening at 7:30, so the earliest she will be home is around 8:45. There are no indications of any planned festivities this weekend and I suppose that's weighing on my mind as well. My wife planned on going to her sister's for dinner this upcoming Sunday and then my parents invited us both out to dinner for my birthday. I told my wife she was invited out with my parents, but instead of saying "okay, I'll call my sister and reschedule for another time.", I instead got....nothing. Yup...nothing.

I don't want to call my birthday a 'test', but in a way it is. I can honestly see where I rank, and it's not very high by my observations.

So do I continue to pray to God and hope this gets better...some day? Will that day be in a month? A year? A decade? I'm not sure I can last that long or want to wait that long any more.

The more and more I think about everything, and if I am really honest with myself, I don't have a partner in the biblical sense and more and more both my family and friends are telling me and have been telling me I'm getting walked on. So why don't I have a spine?

It's because I'm a dreamer. I want to be in-love. I want a real marriage, a real partner, a real best friend, a real person I can grow old with who respects me. I honestly don't feel I have that, nor do I feel I am going to get that anytime soon.

My biggest fear in all of this: being labeled a failure, another statistic, a man with baggage. I fear for losing my house, something I've tried so hard to keep and fought so hard for to keep us above water.

My inlaws, whom I have a great relationship with, are out of town for the next 2 weeks, and I really feel strongly that I need to see them on my own as a sit down as well as my own parents and explain my thoughts, concerns, and issues, so that if I do indeed decide to move forward in seeking legal counsel that this doesn't take them by surprise. I know for a fact my wife will be livid when she finds out I spoke to her parents and mine, but I really don't see any other option at this point and believe me, it won't be the first time she gets mad at me and gives me the silent treatment.

I see my counsler tonight. Did I already mention that? Yeah, I'm seeing one on my birthday to let it all out. I have no other plans anyway...apparently. I pary to God for a miracle, but to be honest, my prayers have pretty much have gone un-answered for quite some time now, so I don't have a lot of faith for divine intervention right about now, and that really sucks and makes me feel bad too. Chalk that up as a 'spiritual' failure in my book.

I do have a friend taking me out to lunch today and I've already shared much of this with him. He's a good guy and probably my best friend these days. But after lunch, I don't know if I can come back to work today. I'm just not 'feeling' it. I'm pretty much sick to my stomach and have no desire to really interact with anyone else for fear of myself having a meltdown.

That's all for now.

Meds- Day 4

Today is day 4 on my 20mg of Citropram.....and I feel okay.

I'm not nearly as emotional as I was yesterday. I'm surprised I survived a whole day of work without anyone noticing what a basket case I was. However, towards the end of the day, my chest was a little sore, like the onset of a panic attack that never took hold. Just a light ache when I took deep breaths.

And strangely, my wife was very nice and chatty and even somewhat loving towards me last night. Basically almost a 180 from a few days before. Probably one of the reasons relationships drive me nuts. (sometimes I wonder if she actually the bipolar one and not me, or maybe we both are and I'm the only one who knows)

I met her after work at the bowling alley and was greeted by not only a kiss from her, but her team mates all commented on how good I'm starting to look now that I've dropped 20lbs. Yup, I weighed in this morning at 217, down from 237 almost 2 months ago. It was an ego boost to my soul that people are noticing and asking me what I'm doing....so that was my bright spot of the day.

I have selected the 'in-network' therapist out of my own personal financial concerns and will have my 1st visit with her tomorrow, Wed., at 5:30pm. Depending on how it goes, I have chosen the first female therapist as a backup and have a tentative appointment Saturday morning as a back-up plan. She seemed to give me a better vibe over the phone in our brief phone conversation.

Took my gym clothes today so I will be hitting the gym after work, at least to ride the bike. Started the morning with my wife 'touching' me in bed...nothing sexual...just placed her hand on me and for the first time in months I didn't want the moment to end. Had a good cup of coffee and a packet of oatmeal for breakfast, and so far work is 'okay' today.

Someone recommended that I read the book of Proverbs yesterday. I tried reading chapter 1 & 2, but I just couldn't focus. It just wasn't making sense, but then again, nothing was yesterday.

Trying out Therapists

What an awkward and uncomfortable process.

Basically you go to your health provider website, type in your address, select a 10, 15, or 20 mile radius and click the appropriate boxes: depression (check), anxiety (check), marriage therapy (check). You press 'submit' and somewhere in the annals of ethereal cyberspace both electrons and protons and whatever else is out there spit back a list of names.

Great, so now I have a list 200 names ranging from .81 miles to 4.82 miles from my house. Really? Are there that many people out there that have issues that warrants these many therapsists? Marriage counslers? Pychologists? Pschyiatrists? I already feel overwhelmed and I haven't even picked up the phone yet.

Just a sea of names, addresses, and important sounding three letter titles that do nothing to help me pick. Do I pick a man? A female? Are they close to my age and inexperienced, or mcuh older with there own 50's take on the world that may be out dated.

The first person (female) I called sounded very empathetic and already I could sense she really wanted to help me, but then that awkward moment where she asks for my healthcare provider ID and group number, and we learn she not 'in network', meaning I can still go to her, but just pay through the nose.

The second person I called was also a female, and just so happens to share my last name. She was 'in-network' and could see me Wed for a co-pay of $20,...right up my alley.....but you know...she never once asked me how I was feeling or what was really wrong. The 'vibe', whatever that means, just didn't seem there to me.

Lastly I got a hold of a man. Apparantly his new office isn't ready yet, so he has to practice out of his house the next 3 weeks, but has been in the field for over 30 years. He seemed very professional and also willing to help, but also 'out of network' as far as billing goes. His regular rate is $190 an hour, but he said he'd work something out with me and I mail in the invoice to the insurance company and they reimburse within 10 days.

Here I am, feeling broken, eyes red and swollen from random fits of unstoppable tears and I'm strangely effected that I have to worry about being 'in' or 'out' of network. I'm about to trust someone by bearing my soul, raw nerves and emotions, to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again, and yet I know nothing about these people and it comes down to "Do you accept Blue Shield PPO?"

Bah....this whole process sucks.

Falling

I'm starting to exhibit the signs of a mini-meltdown again, and the last few days have been increasingly hard for me to feel any source of positive emotions.

Perhaps the trigger was the dealings of my wife mid-last week. A lot had to do with the fact she said I wasn't showing my step-daughter any respect, and I had, and still am for that matter, able to digest and find truth in this. Maybe it's the fact my wife has now left the door open for my step-daughter to possibly come back....a source of tension for everyone involved. My wife and her daughter have a love/hate relationship and the cloud of darkness at times in the house is palpable.

Perhaps it the fact my birthday is coming up in a few days and we have no plans, or at least I take it as my wife has made no plans to celebrate it and instead invited her friends to our house next Saturday.

Perhaps it the lack of any real sex-life as of late.

Or is it the threat of another layoff any day, and our still 'head-just-above-water' financial status.

My mother gave me a lecture or dressing down yesterday over the phone as well in reagrds to fixing a leaky sinkin my house. Apprantly my 'priorities' are all wrong and she's very disapointed in me.

Needless to say, I seem to be on the receiving end of a lot of grief that I cannot control.

I chose not to go to church this past weekend. As a matter of fact, it took all my energy to get out of the house to go to the gym yesterday and even more so this morning to get ready for work. I realize I'm not happy at work. I loathe it, but bills need to get paid.

Last night my wife informed me we were going to her sister's house for dinner. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't 40 minutes away, and these dinners always seem to be hours on end. I like my sister and brother in law...I do. But Sunday nights (a work night) is not my cup of tea to have yet another 4.5 hour outing. And now my wife informed me last night that she will be having dinner with her family on Sundays from now on for the foreseeable future. I am welcome to go and invited, but I just can't see meyslef doing this every Sunday. I get burnt out on all the nonsense.

So my wife is out Monday's, out Wedensday, and now Sunday evenings as well. I can't get her to even spend 1.5 with me at church. It seems the only thing my wife wants to be involved with anymore and invite me if there is alcohol involved. That may not be a fair statement, but that what it seems like to me.

And let's not even get me started on that damn Facebook. She can bury herself in that for hours at a time and I'm learning to despise her friends a little more each time. I'm becoming envious that they are effectively taking up more time than our own relationship.

The strange thing that throws me for a loop is she does says she loves me and she does kiss me, but it seems our passion is gone. If one were to ask me anymore, I could not say for certainty that she is still 'in love' love with me and that hurts.

So the last few days my anxiety has skyrocketed. I've taking a 1 mg Clonzapam to calm me down and I wonder if they are losing their potency sitting in the medicine cabinet, because they just don't seem like they kick in as quickly as I remember.

I also started (day 3) of my Citropram (anti-depressant) but it's going to take a few more days for them to kick in as well.

I cried this morning.

And once again I wondered and got deathly scared of the word 'divorce'. I don't want to lose my house, and freindships, and I loathe confrontation, but I am not a happy person.

My 'Taking it Back' strategy seemed to work in other areas, like getting me productive in losing weight and kick-starting my hobbies, but it hasn't helped me emotionally.

Today I got a list of therapsists that deal with marriage therapy, anxiety and panic disorders, depression, etc. I made a call and left a message to a new female Dr. near my house and I suppose I'm waiting for a call back. I did tell my wife this morning that I need to see a counsler and there really wasn't a notable response back, but I thought I'd let her know anyway.

I have 10 more months on my car payment and I wonder if I can stick it out. The whole idea of selling the house (and taking a loss), packing and moving into a condo, or asking my wife to leave just seems so unreal to me, but it's been part of my thought process the last few days. More than ever I've been thinking about a new partner, someone who actually wants to be my equal, someone who also has a priority for God as well.

My wife has all this potential now, thus the reason I married her and fell in love with her in the first place.....but as a friend recently told me, "she's lost", and all my prayers and dilligence don't seem to be making a dent.

Two posts, One day

It's nearing 5 o'clock, and while I've kept myself distracted for the most part of the day, I can't help but circle back around to what happened last night/this morning and feel just as confused all these hours later.

:Interupt:

I just got a text message from my wife. She says she is going to hang out with a friend of hers and will be home later.

I suppose that saves me some awkwardness when I get home. I guess I'll head to the gym again, ride the bike, lift some weights, burn some negative energy, and go home.

Weird, the friend she's about to go see is a friend I spoke to earlier about our issues. This friend I can usually trust in 100% confidence not to share anything with my wife, so I'm not too worried (although there's always a chance I could get the shit torn out of me later when I'm just minding my own business). Anyway, the friend knows how I feel and may be able to calm my wife down in her own way.

I still feel a bit anxious. Not sure if it's reaction to the pill this morning, or my emotions are still flared up, or a combo of both. Probably the later. My wife needs some space and nothing good could come of us seeing each other right now. Here's to hoping her friend talks some sense into her and points out that me, the husband, isn't the only person who thinks certain things.

Okay....I'm off to try and work out my nerves.

And you're right....this is no Japan...and I need to remind myself of that.

"You don't treat her like a daughter"

Well, my evening got worse last night....and no matter how bad I was tempted (and believe me I was), I cut the impending argument off at the pass and just excused myself to our room at 10pm.

As I mentioned yesterday, the previous few weeks seem to have been okay. Wife and I had been getting along, but then there is always that calm before the storm.

It appears my step-daughter who recently moved out 6 weeks ago is having 'social problems' in her new environment. I kinda predicted this months ago and warned and warned and warned to both my wife and my step-daughter this was a mistake. But my step-daughter is stubborn and she 'had to get out and be with her friends.'

I had a feeling that tiem had passed for many of these teenagers and it wasn't going to be like highschool anymore. They will have jobs, and boyfriends and girlfriends, and college, and want to move away from that town themselves. I said to my wife "Mark my words....The first 2-3 weeks it will be fun, but by week 4 the novelty will wear off and her friends won't be as accessible and in two months she'll be calling us up to move back in."

I clearly remember sitting my step-daughter down and talking to her, warning her of this, etc., etc., etc. But she was determined. So I said to my wife and daughter, "If she goes, she needs to stick it out for at least 6 months." My step-daughter has a history of quitting, and most of the problems she has today is because everyone in her family makes excuses for her time and time again. How does one learn from their mistakes or learn to pick themselves up off the ground if she never experiences her own personal responsibility?

Needless to say, I guess after 6 weeks out in the wild, she's hinted that life is not all what its cracked up to be. So of course, instead of words of encourgement, my wife has already basically caved "If it gets too bad, you can come home."

WHAT?? No one has discussed this with me. I wasn't part of this, and I'll be honest, my house is much less stressful, and much more clean. Bills have gone down.. My TV is actually my TV again. There are no radical mood swings, dirty dishes piling up, and the feeling of anybody walking on egg shells.

Smash cut to last night:

I was sitting watching the TV by myself and I heard my wife talking to her ex. Come to find out my step-daughter lied to us. She not living with an older married couple and their kid as she once explained to me. She living with un-married teenagers and their brand new baby!! Oh great. To top it off, many of her 'friends' are no longer available to her, and her 'best' friend I guess told her to take a hike recently after she herself just had an abortion. Oh.....my.....God.

After the call, I asked my wife what was going on, and she told me. I said, remember...we agreed...6 months. She has to stick this through.

The next thing I heard was:

"You do not repsect her or treat her like a daughter."

Stunned to say the least.

I let her in my house, basically rent free, shuttle her to and from school, take care of her meals and everything else. All I asked for in return was to walk the dog 2x a week (to relieve me), and keep her room clean. She failed at these simple tasks. I never spanked her, new restricted her, only took her PC away from her once for lying to me for two weeks. I recently sent her money for her B-day, and to this day I have not received a call or a thank-you.

And I don't show her respect?

I could feel the ire welling up within me. Wanting to avoid any blow-out and sensing anxiety, I took a Clonzapam to calm me down. Too bad it's not instant. I went to bed without saying goodnight to my wife.

This morning, my wife had a major attitude towards me. Cold shoulder and infifference. Seriously? "What did I do?", I asked. She just went on and on on how I'm not a good step-father, never bonding with her daughter, again, not showing her respect.

"So this is all my fault? My fault she can't get along with people? My fault she ran off despite all my warnings? My fault she dropped out of school? My fault she's lazy and quits everything? My fault no one can tell she's telling the truth or not depending on the subject? Oh, this is just rich..."

I'm summing it all up. There was a lot more said by both of us, and I look back, and honestly, I still don't know what started it and how it got directed back to me. I'm livid right now. I ended up taking my 'happy pill' today, and forsee me starting a new regime over the next few weeks to mellow me out.

I won't lie. Today on my drive to work, all I could think about is divorce. I have tried, and tried, and tried. My wife...and I do love her....lives in her own world and is in so much denial...about everything....I can't even begin to to want to choose an area to work on. In my car today I listened to Christian radio and prayed feverently. Yes, I'm mad right now. I'm actually very hurt. Consider my b-day screwed to the point I don't even want to be around right now, and in that 1% chance my wife even tries to make ammends (she won't), I'm not in the mood to be receptive.

Hopefully this will all blow over, and I suppose my own emotions are super high right now. But I can't help but think I made a huge mistake 7 years ago. I'm having these visions (seriously) of being married to someone else, raising a child with a loving wife who is committed to marriage, family, and Christ....first.

It's really sad......very, very sad....my marriage right now is just an exercise in complacency and going through the motions. It's so hard to be in love with someone when you know they really don't love you back the same way.

March check in

Can't believe it's already been just over a month since my last entry. Where does the time go?

A few quick updates first:

• My train hobby is picking up 'steam' so to say. I have effectively built 85% of a 3.5' x 6.5' benchwork layout. I hope to complete this foundation in the next 2 weeks and get ready for the real fun: laying track. Too bad my wife, (as per usual) jumped to a massive conclusion about this before it was even close to being constructed. She got on my case about thinking it would end up in our 'guest bedroom' as a permanent fixture but I tried to explain I was 'temporarily' building it in there because of the lighting, solid hardwood floor and ample room to make construction and clean up easier. That was a 2 hour argument she started and already made up her mind before I was even done. Sucked for me, because in the end, it ended up in a different room anyway. I wish she's just keep things to herself at times until 'after' crap is finished....and save everyone a lot of energy, and feelings for stuff that didn't happen except in her head.
• Diet is stalled out. I've been hovering at 223lbs the last 2 weeks and can't seem to budge again, but I have plans on hitting the gym the next 4 days pretty hard.
• Been reading books like a madman. I read two books in totality over the last 4 weeks, and have already made considerable gains in 2 others I recently started.
• This upcoming weekend is the weekend me and some of my guy friends have set aside to make beer. This was one of my 'Taking it Back' tasks for 2011, and I hope to check it off this weekend. Alas, (I know this sucks in saying this), I wish my wife would chill out. Not to be out-done, because God forbid I do 'something' fun for once on my own, she's upping the ante like this is some kinda un-said competition and has proclaimed Girls Day Out this Saturday...yeah, like she ever needed to proclaim this. Whatever. I shouldn't care, but I'd be lying if I didn't thinks part of the reason she's doing this is to get under my skin. Maybe not so directly to my face, but the comment she made to a friend, "I need to get out of our town" just seemed childish. We just went away last weekend, and 2 weeks ago she went out to her friends, so I have no idea what the heck she's talking about...as if there is some ankle chain holding her down and can't breathe. Really?
• There's a shake up at my company yet again. President stepped down and we will get a new chief in 3 weeks. Great...this all coincides with the 'reumor' of layoffs for next week.
• My birthday is next week, mid week, and my wife announced that next Saturday she invited 'her' friends over to our house. Great....So my b-day weekend gets usurped by her social life. No wonder I've been moody the last few days. God, I sound like such a baby and so selfish, but yes, this stings a bit and perhaps has made me feel a bit more aggressive towards her the last few days.
• Or was it the fact she managed to bounce 3 checks last week?
• Or the fact the cable company called last night to inform us we're two months behind that I had no idea about because she normally takes care of this. But hey, she's got softball on Wed., and bowling on Monday, so of course she has no time for the actual responsibilities...like bills. That would get in the way of 'fun'.

You know, I'm just in a mood today. Looking back at these last few bullets...that's raw. I wasn't planning on that at all, but I'm not going to erase it. I've been holding this in the last few days and slowly simmering....not boiling though. I think I've learned that 'boiling' gets me nowhere but making myself sick. But it's all true....at least from MY perspective. I'm sure she'd have an answer or explanation for all these...and even though deep down I do care, I just can't muster up the energy to invest in listening to them...because to me, it's just blah, blah, blah...someone trying to justify things in their own mind to someone else to make themselves feel better or deflect the balme or responsibility, or whatever.

Sorry this post took a negative turn. Wasn't my intention.