Month: November 2023

Excused

~ e.v. ~ 2 Comments

I went to the physio about my knee, after all. I wouldn’t normally have done so but I thought I was going to be on jury service for a few weeks so I might not get another chance. Though I’ve been excused from that, thankfully. Anyway, he thinks my quads are too tight and my external hip rotation is quite poor on my right side but OK on the left. So I have some stretches to do. I also found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K5k5o_8kyQ for external hip rotation, which I tried yesterday and does seem to relieve some of the tightness.

The jury service palaver made me realise my anxiety has been pretty bad lately. It kind of creeps up on you and only after a while you realise you’re having more bad days than you used to. I think it got kicked off by the virus I had in September and has been a bit hyperactive ever since. I’m going to try going on a total news detox and see if that makes any difference. I seem to spend a lot of time browsing the news on my phone or laptop now. It doesn’t make me feel good and it’s such a waste of my energy.

Jury service approaches

~ e.v. ~ 3 Comments

My jury service starts next week. Yesterday they sent me an email to try to assess my suitability to sit on a five week trial.

I wasn’t exactly pleased about having to do it for two weeks, and the thought of five sent me into a panic. I started drafting a response citing the disruption this will cause to my tiny employer, plus the fact it offloads my responsibilities over Monty onto my parents, which is unfair on them…

… And then at 5 o clock this morning, when I’d already been awake for hours because I was stressed about it, I realised that was the answer right there. Why was I panicking? Because I have an anxiety disorder. I’m on medication for it. I went though over a year of counseling for it. I missed a lot of time at work because of it. I’m not just “a bit stressed”, I have a health condition for which I am still being treated.

That’s what I need to say. I can say the other things too, but I need it to be clear that I have a legitimate mental health condition and their demands are negatively affecting it.

I may yet get excused entirely…

I owe it to my own wellbeing to try, anyway. And I certainly owe it to my parents, who don’t really want to be looking after a crazy, high energy dog for five weeks at their age.