I got to go to dinner recently with a couple of good friends that I’ve known for 25 years. We used to be crazy raver kids that danced until dawn, and now I have a kid and have to get home early so I can wake up at dawn. Times sure have changed, but our friendship has remained steady.

I really needed a little boost after a particularly stressful week, where I let worry and anxiety get the best of me. I finally caved and tried to seek help from a doctor on Monday. I haven’t taken Xanax in several years, but felt maybe it was time try it again just for a little while until my husband was safe at home and done with this deployment.

It did not go well, and I walked away with a prescription for anti-itch pills. Seriously. These are the same pills I gave my dog the last 10 years to help with his allergies. I posted about it on Facebook and some people said they actually had decent results from the antihistamine hydroxyzine, but I remain skeptical. My dog took them for years, and at a higher dose than the doctor prescribed me, and he was still whiny and anxious. It did give him a cool, dry nose though. So at least I’ll have that going for me.

This is my dog. We take the same meds apparently, lol.

I left the office feeling worse than before I went in. It took a lot to muster up the courage to go in and ask for help, and I felt like I might as well been asking for heroin by the way I was treated. My eyes started leaking and then I got embarrassed that I was crying over Xanax and it just got worse from there. I had a very bored, antsy, hungry child with me so I managed to quickly pull it together, dry my tears and walk out with my antihistamine prescription and tried to keep an open mind.

Luckily, a good friend was visiting and staying with me for a few days. We had dinner planned at my favorite beaches sushi spot Fancy Sushi, and then we were going to wander around the Beaches Town Center for a bit. My college roommate and another friend was also joining us, so I was really looking forward to a fun night out with the girls.

Drinks with friends

Shots!

Lots of delicious sushi and three bottles of sake later, we found ourselves headed to Pete’s Bar. Pete’s is not a regular hang out of mine, but it is a unique local spot to take visiting friends. Hemingway hung out there, and they have the pics to prove it! We stayed for a shot, played a few songs on the jukebox and then got the heck out before the smoke smell seeped into our clothing.

Time with good friends is exactly what I needed. We ate, drank and chatted and afterwards I felt like I’d taken the best anti-depressant ever. Yes, I still had a little bit of worry, but it didn’t seem quite as overwhelming. And the feeling carried on throughout the next day. And while I still feel like I could have used a little Xanax to help me sleep at night when I can’t get my mind off things, it doesn’t seem like the end of the world anymore.