What new/old activities are you doing? And if you say working out I want to hear at least two others.
Ha! I like that. It's funny, it seems like every person on this board starts off their GAL with working out more. Well, I guess I have tried exploring some different types of music (actually went to a concert on my own for the first time in my life) and also reconnecting with friends. I think it really speaks to how badly I needed to GAL: I had a friend that I've been regularly seeing/emailing/IMing ever since high school. By chance I ended up moving first to the same city as him, then last year a few blocks from him. We still chatted almost every day but I've probably seen him more in the last month than the whole 3 years I've lived in the same city. It says a lot about how badly I needed to GAL. Oh, yeah, and I'm running and working out a lot more
It's good to hear your experience about not having kids and how that affects or doesn't affect detachment. I've become the caretaker of our two cats, so who knows, maybe they'll be the incentive for her to keep at least some contact.
I've also worked on drawing strength from my close friends and really letting them know how I'm feeling. My IC recommended this both as a way to just make myself feel better and to actually start working on this problem of not being communicative about my emotions. And you know what, it works. I feel 'better', I feel more connected, and I feel like I'm doing something. It's not really GAL per se, but it's making myself a better person, and that surely counts for something!
So it's hard and I never know what I'll see outside or what turn of conversation I'll hear that will trigger this overwhelming sense of sadness, but everyone here is right. I have to focus on what I can actually change.
