Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Hunt journal for 2023 season I’m going to highlight living with disability/ mental illness. I was recently diagnosed with anxiety/PTSD, and bipolar disorder. I started treatment with medication in December, and I also have talk therapy 1-2 times a week.
I’ve had mood problems since high school, and anxiety showed up a couple years later. Symptoms are intermittent, and only rarely have been debilitating.
This changed on 11/15/22, the final 13-mile leg of packing out my bull elk. Woke at 4 AM, up and back down the mountain, struck camp, then on the road home before sunset.
Unfortunately, only a few hours later I smoked a whitetail on the highway and totaled my truck. This ended up being the last straw on top of many dozens of traumatic events I have lived through my public safety career since 2009.
The last five months have been a nightmare with symptoms. It’s been a roller coaster of two manic highs and two deep depressions. The transition from mania to depression is slow and I do get some nearly symptom-free days during that period, which is a welcome reprieve.
Treatment does help. A lot. I regret waiting so many years to start, though. I have a medication follow up
tomorrow. I’m optimistic about efficacy of treatment long-term, although it can take months or years to find the right medications.
Right now I’m getting my butt kicked by very low energy, low motivation, and leaden fatigue/paralysis. Turkey season is underway, but going hunting is not possible for me at the moment. There are still four more weeks of the season and I really hope I can get well enough to get out there, even for just a few hours. My daughter is ready to tag along now.
My wife has been amazing. She has had to be both mom and dad nearly all the time, for months, plus she’s the full-time caregiver for a family member with Alzheimer’s. On top of that, she’s told me to go hunt when I’m able to. That will be a hard gift for me to accept… My greatest desire is to give her some relief.
My employer has been supportive of my health. This is huge, as I’d really be in hot water without that support. I’m working on getting some necessary accommodations in place, as well as intermittent FMLA for when I need it.
For the fall, I have enough points to draw WY deer. Doe antelope is a long shot. Last year for me was 100% public land hunting, and it’s shaping up to be the same this year as well.
Hunt while you can, folks. The next season is not promised.
I’ve had mood problems since high school, and anxiety showed up a couple years later. Symptoms are intermittent, and only rarely have been debilitating.
This changed on 11/15/22, the final 13-mile leg of packing out my bull elk. Woke at 4 AM, up and back down the mountain, struck camp, then on the road home before sunset.
Unfortunately, only a few hours later I smoked a whitetail on the highway and totaled my truck. This ended up being the last straw on top of many dozens of traumatic events I have lived through my public safety career since 2009.
The last five months have been a nightmare with symptoms. It’s been a roller coaster of two manic highs and two deep depressions. The transition from mania to depression is slow and I do get some nearly symptom-free days during that period, which is a welcome reprieve.
Treatment does help. A lot. I regret waiting so many years to start, though. I have a medication follow up
tomorrow. I’m optimistic about efficacy of treatment long-term, although it can take months or years to find the right medications.
Right now I’m getting my butt kicked by very low energy, low motivation, and leaden fatigue/paralysis. Turkey season is underway, but going hunting is not possible for me at the moment. There are still four more weeks of the season and I really hope I can get well enough to get out there, even for just a few hours. My daughter is ready to tag along now.
My wife has been amazing. She has had to be both mom and dad nearly all the time, for months, plus she’s the full-time caregiver for a family member with Alzheimer’s. On top of that, she’s told me to go hunt when I’m able to. That will be a hard gift for me to accept… My greatest desire is to give her some relief.
My employer has been supportive of my health. This is huge, as I’d really be in hot water without that support. I’m working on getting some necessary accommodations in place, as well as intermittent FMLA for when I need it.
For the fall, I have enough points to draw WY deer. Doe antelope is a long shot. Last year for me was 100% public land hunting, and it’s shaping up to be the same this year as well.
Hunt while you can, folks. The next season is not promised.
