im ok

sorry to scare some of you by writing a dramatic post, and then going off the air.  i’m okay.  just been laying low this past week.

i spent a lot of energy explaining my current situation to all of the people around me.  friends, colleagues, collaborators.

finished week 12.  11 weeks left.

feeling like i might be getting sick, so trying to lay low.

oh, and my psychiatrist gave me new meds.  i’m officially on anti-psychotics.  seroquel.  i’m only taking a baby dose of 25mg. a proper psychotic would be taking 600mgs.  i guess i’m not a proper psychotic yet.

damn, i can’t wait for this to be over

I had a major freak out today

I had been building up to this.

i get this sense from people, and its not my paranoia (b/c others have confirmed it) that they think I am healthy, and or I am getting away with something. having my cake and eating it too. being on sick leave, but still being productive.

of course the whole effort to continue working as if i am normal is a classic defense mechanism. “if i can keep working, i will know i am okay.” or “if people keep seeing me release things, i won’t look weak or sick.”

it is so demoralizing to have that backfire so badly, as it seems to be right now. it is awful to have to prove how sick i am to someone. And of course, its impossible. Totally impossible. But there I was, on the phone, trying to explain every facet of how much pain and anxiety and discomfort and nausea I am in. I had to describe my mouth lesions, and the pain of eating. I had to explain that the lesions and joint pain from Reiter’s syndrome is the same pain that full-blown AIDS patients get. I had to rehearse the whole thing on the phone today. I had to prove my pain.

Part of the problem is that I am perceived as being productive, and therefore healthy. But my productivity is completely derived from my crew. All I do is make a few decisions here and there, stumble around scratching my legs, forget to take my drugs, and generally tire myself out and then go home exhausted. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is, its not me, its my crew. And *then* the conversation turns into jealousy and/or resentment that I have assistants.

O had a major intervention with me tonight. I had been realizing that I had a problem for a few weeks, but I had no idea what to do about it. I have such a hard time saying no. We worked through a lot of tactics and strategies.

I am writing to say I am scaling back. Drastically. I only have 12 more weeks. 8 1/2 until I go to portland to finish up the treatment.

I put an autoresponder on my email. If you write me, you will get it.

I am only going in to the studio one day a week, at most.

I am not going to start anything new. Nothing. And I am going to finish things that are more than 75% done.

I am going to stop releasing or publishing anything, as people seem to equate me releasing new work with me being healthy.

I am going to focus my energy on riding my bicycle, reading at the library, and meditating.

***

This is *so* hard to do. Partly write this here so you all understand what I am going through, and also so you know why i may not respond to email, and also to help support me and keep me in check.