So, I know it's been over a month since I last wrote, but I'm not going to be hard on myself. Instead, I'm going to adjust. Instead of trying to update weekly, and failing, I'm going to attempt to update twice a month. Not too bad of goal, methinks.
Anyway, since it is now 2012, and my deferral is lifted in June of this year, I emailed the Peace Corps Medical Office to see what was up and the steps I would have to take to get this pesky (and, in my opinion, undeserved) deferral lifted. So my Peace Corps Medical Nurse person emailed me back saying that I have to see a psychiatrist three times and be evaluated by a test, etc. I thought this is wasn't going to be a big deal, because I can just space out those three sessions in February, April, and June, and then send the paperwork along.
But! It turns out ALL 3 sessions need to be in or after June in order to count, since that was when I "last had symptoms." (No, it wasn't, and yes, it's a complicated story, but it is in the archives if you want to look it up because I don't feel like re-hashing it.) It doesn't matter how spaced out these sessions are, as long as there are three. If I felt like pushing my luck, I would just go to see a therapist three days in a row and send my paperwork in after that, but I'm going to put a week in between each of those sessions. Which means I won't even get my regular, non-mental health packet until the middle of July probably, which is, ready for this? ... a grand total of 19 MONTHS since I first applied.
Sometimes I feel like giving up, but that isn't in my personality as it is. I'm applying to other things and planning other things and working, just in case, after all of this, it doesn't work out, but I am still holding on to hope.
Seriously though (and this is going to be a mini-rant, so feel free to skip this paragraph), wouldn't evaluations over the course of a few months be a much better indicator of my mental health than evaluations over a three week period? Like, I understand why I was deferred, even if I don't agree with it. It was a terrible stroke of bad luck that my deferral was pushed further. But now, seriously, you want me to go see a therapist, talk to them for a grand total of 3 hours, and decide with that whether or not I am capable of handling myself for two years?! It's just altogether too frustrating for words sometimes.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing wonderfully, if any of you have stuck around to read this! I will update my PC Timeline sometime soon. I'm also going to write another post before the month is over, but it is mostly going to be about my feelings, because this is the month I was nominated to leave. *le sigh*
