On Day 199, I Made a post-Election Appointment

I had an appointment with my psychiatrist today. We confirmed some previously discussed medication changes, nixing one and tweeking another.

I have to titrate up every two weeks by 25 mg from 25 mg to eventually 200 mg. She asked to see me again at the halfway point and I was quiet when I realized that would be a week after Election Day.

It is quite surreal to consider the state of my mental health after the election. There is likely to be no calm, perhaps not even no definitive answers to these huge life altering decisions I cannot control.

I can control titration. It actually helps to visualize myself layering on the new medication to buffer me from the horrors I anticipate. A small step toward controlling the things I can.

I also launched my plan to ask various folks about their voting plan. I started with a feral cat group, using non-partisan lingo and tools. Of course someone asked if “politics” was an appropriate topic in a cat group.

I explained how it was, reminded them that no one is required to read my post, and offered off-line availability if anyone wants to discuss.

I didn’t point out that probably 50-75% of the time I share feral cat fundraisers in “human” Facebook groups, people ask me why I am more concerned about cats than humans. Sigh. So the cats can’t count on those folks to elect animal welfare informed officials or monitor legislation.

It seems equally true that we can’t count on the cat ladies to address BLM and racial justice, healthcare, reproductive rights, or even other environmental and wildlife issues from a progressive, intersectional perspective.

Enter people like me and you who are morally obligated to ask about all of this. If not me and you, who else is there? We may have to titrate our approach, but we can’t be silent.