Ahem.

Okay, here’s the deal. Annapolis was hit with 30 inches of snow last Friday and Saturday. Annapolis owns three snowplows. Most roads have at least six inches of ice. Ours do. And if you’ve ever witnessed the way I drive, you would agree that I shouldn’t be on the road. 

Moreover, our cars won’t be moving from our icy driveway anytime soon because …. we’re supposed to get another 10 to 20 inches tonight. Schools have been cancelled all week, of course, and schools are cancelled next week (Monday thru Wednesday) for some other lame reason.

So, I’m grumpy. Bite-everyone’s-heads-off grumpy. Because I can’t use most of the tools in my sanity box this week. The discipline to eat well is buried under three feet of snow as we haven’t been able to get to the store. Swimming or running isn’t an option. Blah blah blah. Whine whine whine.

Living with depression or bipolar is about creative problem solving. All the time. So, after doing a kind of jigsaw puzzle, this IS what I’m doing to stay sane:

• Made an appointment with my therapist on the phone instead of in person.
• Force myself to at least sit outside–preferably to walk if I can–for at least 30 minutes a day.
• Sit in front on my HappyLite for 45 minutes a day.
• Use the exercise bike while I listen to the soundtrack of “Rocky.”
• Planned a vacation in Florida for the end of the month.
• Shut off my computer for snow days since it’s bad for my mental health to try to work with loud, rambunctious kids in the house.
• Going gentle on myself. When I get thoughts like “This isn’t Haiti, so what are you complaining about?” trying to tell myself, “But this still sucks just like a broken leg hurts.”
• Repeating: “This too shall pass!”

This situation sort of reminds me of how I felt when I injured my hip and couldn’t run anymore. Running was/is such a central part of my mental health program. When I had to come up with another way of getting my heart over 140 beats a minute to acquire some of that good brain juice, I decided to start swimming more regularly.

Here’s the video I made that talks about “Getting Through the Rough Spots.” I hope it’s helpful for you … whatever your obstacle du jour is.

And please, if you could, pray for some good weather this way!

* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue and click here to follow Therese on Twitter and click here to join Group Beyond Blue, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.