Broken coping

Haven't blogged in a bit. Started a new medication. It is a mood stabilizer. I have been tapering up in dose for about 4 weeks now. I feel OK so far. I have also been involved in a house remodel that is now all consuming. I have to move at the end of June so the house remodel needs to be ready to live in by then. It is constant physical labor. My entire body hurts, but my mind is peaceful most of the time. The work part is the best. When I start thinking about packing and all the work involved in the move, I get stressed. But who wouldn't?

I also started work with a psychologist. Therapy is difficult. I like the therapist, but I leave each appointment feeling  empty and sad. I can't figure out why that is. Am I feeling hopeless, maybe worried this won't end up working? Or maybe facing the truth about yourself is just a difficult thing? He suggested I was overwhelmed with being the "caregiver" all the time and when my personal life became overly stressful my coping mechanisms fell apart (kind of like my marriage). I don't like this, but maybe it could have some truth to it. If that is the case, it doesn't make me feel much better. Life is constant stress, for anyone. And the personal situation that led to my panic attacks (ok, some might call it a breakdown) has resolved, but I live with the echoes of my old life and what could have been if all this had not happened. And now a new life changing event comes up. So the stressors don't go away, they keep shifting is all. My point being, if my coping mechanisms fell apart because of too much stress, how do you fix them when you are under stress all the time?