Quote Originally Posted by Cheesenugget View Post
I'm glad you are feeling better. Have you seen a therapist or are you planning to? Unfortunately, depression affects so many people, including those who are not even aware that they have it. It can come in waves... You have your good days, and then not so good days. It is never a bad thing to seek help, and never too late to do so. Some health insurance covers mental health too.

Here are some tips I hope will help you out, and perhaps help you not overwhelm yourself too much when you have multiple animals:

Cats: your kitten will need his scheduled distemper combo shots, rabies shot and no more. If you keep your kitties indoors, rabies shots can protect them for most of their lifetime but most states require it annually, so check with your state law. The adults don't need yearly shots other than the rabies if they had their distemper shots. Other vaccines may not even be necessary if they are indoor cats.

Feed in the morning when you wake up and then again in the evening. 5-6 ounces of wet food for adult cats at 10 lbs, and feed your kitten 3-4 times a day as much as it will eat. There are times feeders available for purchase, but most are for dry food. If you are interested, look around there should be an auto feeder for canned food. Adding some water and mixing it with little kibble helps them feel full and it's slightly cheaper than feeding 100% wet.

Have a schedule for cleaning but not all on the same day. For example, I check on 3 of my snakes on Wednesday and the others on Thursday. Any spot cleaning that I previously missed, fresh water/clean bowl, etc. And for my other pets, their stuff is done on Saturday, etc.
I did try therapy, once. I'm just very much an introvert so group sessions freak me out, and I can't really afford any one on ones.
I don't really need therapy, I usually just need a sounding board, someone I can always talk to, who doesn't judge me for the way I feel or the things I go through. I do have such a friend. We've been friends for about 4 years now and nothing will break that bond.
I've also started keeping edibles in the house. I've been experimenting and I find when I have days that are simply overwhelming that the edibles just help me shut down and get through it. My biggest downfall is when I can't get out of my head, can't get away from destructive thoughts that I know are destructive, but nothing I try works to shut them out. I used to listen and suffer the torment of such thoughts for days at a time. Now I can cope much better, I am slowly regaining my mindfulness and I'm able to feel, let go, and examine my thoughts and emotions again, and only keep the ones that are constructive and talking myself away from the destructive ones. I still have challenging days, if a walk doesn't help, for those then I have the edibles.

I do have a schedule I am starting to get into.
I get up before dawn most mornings, before I get my coffee I go for a morning walk. I find this to be extremely energizing and helps jumpstart my day with feel-good energies. When I get back I'll make my coffee and start my day. My cats get breakfast around 9am, at this time I also change the water and scoop the boxes. I check in on the snakes in the morning and usually change their water at this time. The cats are fed again at night when I'm home from work. Samson gets an afternoon meal because he's a growing boy and needs the extra calories.

I don't usually do a lot of daily cleaning unless something is messy, I tend to do the weekly cleaning on Mondays and Fridays, the kitchen is cleaned as I go.
Things are getting better, it has been a rough year and I spent a lot of it buying into other peoples drama in addition to dealing with my own. I am just tired of the bull:cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: and I'm focusing on me and what I want to do and what makes me happy.