I've been pretty isolated since quitting my job Thursday night, and it hasn't helped my panic and crushing despair. But then not many people know my situation or that I impulsively changed my cell phone number. My friend Marty has been in touch, but he's in St. Louis so there's not much he can do other than reach out by phone. I went to my AA meeting Friday night for the first time in a long time and went to dinner after. But I didn't really share anything or let anyone know about my depression or quitting my job. A local friend e-mailed me some very kind, very heartfelt words in response to my last blog post, and her husband was very kind to me when I opened a checking account at his bank on Friday. They're both extremely busy people, with three wonderful children, and they were leaving on a week-long vacation this morning. I know I'm being selfish by wanting to hear from them yesterday, but I was just so incredibly lonely and sad. My parents called me Friday afternoon to summon me to their house, but I'd taken a (legally prescribed) tranquilizer and told them I couldn't go. I haven't heard from them since then. I'm supposed to go over there for Father's Day tonight, and I'm nervous about what kind of evening it will be, particularly since I finally opened the emotional can of worms of sending them a link to my last entry in this blog. (This blog is fairly raw in its personal honesty, and I've never let my parents know about it in all the years I've been writing it.)
As usual, I'm extremely conflicted in my feelings about the people in my life and their reaction to my crisis. It's immature for me to expect people to rush over to babysit me and my emotions. It's self-absorbed for me to assume they would drop everything in their lives to attend to my emotional breakdown. On the other hand, any resource on dealing with a loved one struggling with mental illness will tell you not to let them isolate themselves and to proactively make yourself available, especially when one is in crisis. I've been carrying my phone around with me and constantly checking it, just hoping someone will reach out to me. For the most part it's been quiet, except for Marty, a friend I'm so lucky to have. While I understand the perspective of others, it doesn't change the fact of how isolated and truly alone I've been feeling, absolutely panicked over what to do and what will become of me.
