Fresh perspective and moving forward...

I have become aware of how a need for a fresh perspective helps in moving recovery forward in recent days.  As I have moved to a new place, it has made it a natural that I am seeing change in my life. I am seeing things differently. But in life generally, I tend to become mired in the old way of viewing things.  And when I see things in the way that I have always seen them, I get the same old results. I see this in big things and in little things.  So, how did I find this out?  In looking for an option for finding medical help, I was looking at the old ways that I knew for obtaining help.  I moved to a place where I had lived before.  Sort of.  I am about 45 minutes away from my old home.  But this is a place where I did case management, so I assumed.  And I found that the rules have changed.  It really seemed easier to get medical help for those without insurance when I lived here before.  It really has tightened up greatly. So, I had to look for new options.

And I found them. I did my research. I found reduced cost clinics. I thought one in particular was going to meet my needs perfectly.  So, I focused on that. Problem was that it isn’t even yet open.  But they gave me a date by which they would be open and put me on a waiting list.  When I called for an appointment, they told me that they aren’t open yet. And asked me whether I wanted to be put on the list again. OK. So that isn’t too serious. I can wait.  They told me that they would be open shortly and gave me another date.  I waited till shortly before the next date, and called again. And was told that they wouldn’t be open by THAT date.  By this time, I was getting worried.  I was running out of meds.  And I have medication that I need to take to continue to function.  So, of course the next part of the story is pretty predictable.  I again called by the next projected date and was told that the clinic is “not ready to schedule new patients”.  So, what does that mean?  I still can’t get in.  I don’t know whether the building is open or not, but I'm still unable to get an appointment. Finally, I asked WHEN they projected the clinic to be open to new patients. I got some honesty. It's at least a couple of months out. It seems that basically means,they don’t know exactly when they will be accepting new patients.

Frankly, I was totally confused. What do I do?  I had decided that the other clinics wouldn’t work because of cost. When I moved up here, I didn’t have a job. No money. And I didn’t want to ask my daughter to pay for a visit to another clinic. What I wasn’t seeing is that I now HAVE a job. And I have some money coming in. I was focused on paying for housing. The end result is that I'm now working on actually taking care of the need. Instead of leaving myself depending on a clinic that isn’t quite ready to assist me.

What I learned from all of this is that facts change.  And I need to be aware of the changes before I can make things move forward.  This seems to be a basic recovery tool.  Sometimes being aware is simply a matter of really listening without assuming you KNOW what it’s all about.  Sometimes it is a matter of realizing that your circumstances may have changed.  Therefore, your options change.  Either way, it requires opening your mind to change.  Do you struggle with that?  I know that many do, because I have seen it. I would love to hear from you!