So I went to see my psychiatrist on Monday, to check in with him after being back on the meds for two weeks. I continue to be amazed that the smallest possible dose works for me. Maybe it’s all in my head, you know? The placebo effect. Whatever.

One thing I did was ‘fess up to how poorly I had been doing up until the day I called him. When I first went off the meds, I only suffered physically… nausea, dizziness and all that. The slide downward happened so gradually that I was shocked when I realized just how much effort it was taking just to get through each day.

Why was I so clueless? Well, I wasn’t freaking out with anxiety, so I figured I was okay. I’ve become pretty adept at the behavior-modification thought-redirection stuff. Feeling dark and joyless threw me for a loop.

Anyway, being on the steroids turned out to be a good thing for me mentally. They do have a mood-boosting effect for many people, and I think that effect helped me hang in there while my regular meds kicked in. I’m sure that feeling physically better cheered me up a bit, too.

My doc pondered whether short-term steroids might be useful in psychiatry. (I had wondered the same thing.) He also gave me a bit of advice: “You might want to consider staying on the medication.”

Uh, yeah. *sheepish grin*