I’m going to make a concerted effort to change things around here, mostly because while I was driving home, I had an anxiety attack in the car — just from thinking about the debt-ceiling crap waiting for me here. I really, really didn’t want to come home — it was so nice to have an entire week without chest pains. And once I was home and catching up on the week’s stories, I could feel my blood pressure going back up.

So I’ll lay it on the line: My ultimate allegiance is to my own survival. I can’t go on like this, it’s quite literally killing me.

Here’s the thing: If you’ve been reading here for a while, you already know what’s going on. Most of what I post is repetition, or some variation on “I told you so.” But we already know how bad things are. I don’t think hitting you over the head with it helps anything.

And we all know about the feelings of despair. We all go through it. But what I’m beginning to realize is how much focusing on it only amplifies its effects.

So I’m going to tone it down to see how that goes, and I’m asking you to do so in the comments, too. Instead of focusing all our attention on what’s wrong, let’s try to come up with ways to support each other through these hard times. And jokes, lots of ’em! Because we really need to laugh more.

I’ll also warn you that I’m going to spend more time taking care of myself, so I won’t be blogging at the same frenetic pace. I’m not willing to let my anger over our political system kill me. Anything you can do to help will be gratefully appreciated.