In Therapy?

Judging from the startled look on her face, my physician did not expect me to start crying when she informed me that my thyroid levels were completely normal.

You see, I had convinced myself that my thyroid had shriveled up and died.

Most of the women in my family have thyroid glands that just pack it up and move to Florida at about my age.  In my mind, that was the perfect explanation for so many things.  The fatigue.  The agonizingly slow weight loss.  The sluggish global economy.

And, after telling me what she had anticipated as the “good news,” my doctor hesitantly moved to the discussion of cholesterol.

After five months of exercise and watching my diet, I had managed to lower my LDL (bad) cholesterol by almost 10 points, but I had also managed to lower my HDL (good) cholesterol by about the same amount.  And the really exciting news?  My triglycerides were up 20 points.

And for those of you who need not worry about the intricacies of cholesterol components, ideally “triglycerides” should not be paired with the directional descriptor “up.”

My reaction?  More tears.

And then she kindly asked about David, how I was sleeping and if maybe, just maybe I was under a tad bit of stress.

Full blown weeping.

I am not exactly sure what she said then, but it included the phrases someone to talk to, really good therapist, and at least four visits.  Before I could even blow my nose she had sprinted back to her office to retrieve a business card containing the referral information.

I never thought of myself as someone who would be “in therapy.”

Although I must admit that there is some appeal in being able to say things like I am terribly sorry Jill/Rob/Shakira that I cannot help with the fundraiser/room party/mini-oreo cookie eating contest, but my THERAPIST has advised me that I need to put myself first and limit my commitments.

But then again, four sessions times a $20 co-pay per session equals $80.  Does anyone know where I can schedule a hot stone massage?