April 15, 2009

Fear and Loathing in St. Louis


In case you haven't noticed by my total lack of blog devotion, things kind of suck right now. I feel like I'm caught in the center of a hellstorm of weight gain and financial loss. Lately, for some reason, Hershey Kisses and Cadbury Eggs have become my new best friends and I'm finding that rather odd because I'm not really a big fan of chocolate. And at work my take home pay has decreased 25% which I'm sure I'll appreciate next April, but for right now is making it impossible to even pay my bills, much less buy gasoline or groceries.
I just feel like I am worried ALL THE TIME. It's as if there is a cassette tape looping in my head with a series of questions like "How are you going to pay for that? Who is going to hire you when you have no marketable skills to speak of? Where the hell is that guy who is supposed to 'complete me'? Why can't you 'just say no' to that slice of pizza? Whatever happened to writing that novel and moving to London?" My counselor would probably say that is my self-contempt speaking, but right now I feel like I'm just drowning in fear.
Fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of doubt, fear of mediocrity, fear of greatness, fear of spiders, fear of exposure, fear of people, fear of pain, fear of hope (that's a HUGE one), fear of death, fear of intimacy and fear of God. I am afraid almost all of the time. This is not a normal state for me and other than the weight and the money I can't seem to figure out what has happened to bring me to this place.
Last year I was involved in a seriously intense group therapy program and it helped me deal with myself more than I could have ever imagined. I was blessed to be with a handful of women who I trusted with intimate details of life that I had never spoken of before and they accepted me just as I was. But, like most good things in life, this group drew to an end around Valentine's Day this year. Everything was going well at the time and I felt like I had made a lot of progress in my life so far. The truth is, I was feeling rather fantastic (and perhaps a bit smug). So maybe it was arrogance that brought on the turmoil, I don't know. What I do know is this; No one has had as bad a spring as I have, except maybe Lindsey Lohan.
So why am I spilling my guts to you now? You came to this site in order to be entertained, not to be dumped on, right? Well, I'm sorry if that's the case. I can't really help you out with that right now because if I learned anything from group therapy it is that honesty is my most appealing asset. When I am honest, I am extending an invitation for you to be honest as well (metaphorically speaking, since this whole thing is being done via the internet and some of you I have never met before in my life). But my point is that if I'm going to lay it out there, I might as well lay it all out there. If you're still reading this blog, then you deserve that much at least. So here's my newest Anniefesto, if you will.

I am a mess.
I am scared.
I am lonely.
I am tired.
I need help.
God, if you're listening, could you make this day the first day of the rest of my life?
Thank You.

2 comments:

  1. I am a mess too.

    I'm not scared (today), maybe because I'm tired.

    Right this second I don't feel lonely... but I will in the car in about 20 minutes.

    I don't feel tired... But it seems like there are so many kinds of tired. In some of those ways I'm exhausted...

    Always need help - don't take it much...

    Miss hanging out with you.

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  2. i keep starting to write a comment, but everything sounds really stupid. so let this comment stand in place of something meaningful, loving, and appropriate (but not patronizing or trite). everything i started to write was not worth saying... love you.

    ReplyDelete