January 15, 2012

Does being sick affect your spending?

I have not felt well for a couple of weeks.  I began having overwhelming anxiety and panic attacks.  It was horrible. After two weeks I called my doctor and he recommended going back on Paxil.  Today it "kicked" in.  So how did it affect our budget?

Horribly!!!!

I went online and bought stuff that was just that -- stuff.  I'm not sure what happened other than I was feeling so anxious and in my state of mind, it made sense that I needed this stuff.  We are talking about around $100 worth of stuff. 

I learned a lot about myself over the past two weeks.  The first is that I will probably be on an anti-depressant for quite awhile which means that I must be careful and watch what I eat so I don't gain back the weight I lost.  The second is that it is okay to be on an anti-depressant.  The third is that I shouldn't have a credit card in my possession when I am feeling poorly.

So I need to come up with $100 over the next two weeks to pay for what I bought.  A lot of it will come out of the grocery budget as we are eating out of the pantry and freezer. 

Now this goes to show you that we all make mistakes, its just that you have to learn from your mistakes and move on.  I look back on the last few weeks and it is as if I was a different person.  I couldn't think straight, I was overwhelmed by intense anxiety and irrational fear and I couldn't cope very well. 

Now I feel like my old self and it feels wonderful.   This week I am planning on starting some sewing projects and getting out my knitting loom to start some knitting projects.  I look forward to it. 

7 comments:

~Carla~ said...

I'm glad that you recognized the need to go back on the Paxil. There's NOTHING wrong with that... When I first went on Advair for my asthma, I thought it made me "weak" or "unhealthy"... Crazy right? It's helped my asthma SO MUCH!

As for your spending, can you cancel the orders or send the items back?

donna said...

I am glad to hear you are feeling better. I have recently found your blog. I find myself experiencing a similar employment situation at the same time in my life. Your blog helps me put things into perspective. Thank you for sharing so honestly, you have been a great help to me.

Martha said...

@Donna:

I try to very honest and forthcoming about my life as I never want to give an online impression that I am something that I am not. Glad you are here at my blog.

Martha said...

@Carla:

I ordered some dvd sets and I opened them so they are non-returnable. I can sell them sometime, but I will never get the price that I paid for these 3 sets. Unbelievable how I let this happened, but I am moving on.

Barb said...

Although my experience is different than yours-yes!! after my husband passed away I was in germany and unemployed while my son finished high school. I spent my extremely depressed days eating and spending my life insurance online. The important thing is to recognize it. Is there a possiblity of returning items? Don't take this as a reason to readjust your taking of the medication.

Out My window said...

It is very easy to spend money while on anti-depressant meds. You must be very careful. Let your doctor know, he might switch the meds. My sister suffers from anxiety (I cause anxiety:)) so please be careful, she spent thousands because she thought it was okay.

Martha said...

@Out My Window:

I spent the money before I got on the anti-depressants when I was overcome by anxiety. Now that the meds have kicked in, I have no desire to fritter away money. Yahoo.