Got lost in the woods, kind of

I went up on a nearby mountain with two friends. The temperatures were freezing or below, and I was underdressed, bc, obviously, below the mountain, it had been warmer. Plus, there was wind. I had borrowed some of my friend C.'s clothes, but they weren't enough. I was also tired from not having fallen asleep until 3:30 a.m. the night before. We went for a walk on a small trail in the woods, and I was stopping to take pictures. Somehow, I lost the trail, and lost my friends. I figured they had gone on ahead of me, so I just kept going. I didn't feel it was a worrying situation, although I noticed I was almost too tired to cross fallen trees.

I heard yelling and honking in the distance somewhere, but I figured it was young people having a good time.

I kept walking and walking, and finally I realized my friends had probably turned around, and that I wasn't on a real trail.

The only thing I was worried about was my headache. I knew from past experience to follow the sun back (i.e. setting in the West, which is where we had come from). I also knew which direction we had come from.

I started thinking maybe my friends were yelling for me, but I also thought it might be some students we had seen, and I was a bit embarrassed to yell back, and honestly, I was too tired to yell, and just didn't really care. I did try to call K. on my cell phone, bc I wanted to know if they were still walking, or had gone back to the car, but in an old-growth forest, I wasn't going to have a signal.

I found the trail, and easily walked back to the road. My friends came running towards me, and they were really aggravated (and hopefully relieved). My friend K. said she had been about to call the police, but she tends to be melodramatic. She called me today and said I had seemed disoriented all day, and kind of "out of it."

It's just all so embarrassing, but more than that, humiliating.

I'm still not worried about having gotten a little lost in the woods. I mean, I take walks by myself all the time, although I'm going to try not to repeat those conditions anymore.

This sounds ridiculous, but what worries me more is having upset my friends, and feeling that they are going to blow me off like so many other people have (though no, I'm not worried about that stupid date I went on any more :) ). I'm also worried about myself. I know my friend K. probably won't be too judgmental, bc she understands stigma. But still, it's all so weird and scary.

I need some feedback.

Margaret

Mom of 2, The whistle in the pack is a good idea, along with maybe a space blanket, and some first aid things. I didn't have a pack, bc I didn't think we were going to walk far.

Happyjo, pretty much all the things you're describing have happened to me. I forgot my brother-in-law's name once, and there was a long silence on the phone, and then my sister filled it in for me. I felt so humiliated.

The thing that gets me, is that people don't think you have Lyme; they think you're crazy! Of course, there is a huge stigma attached to that.

I've also sent links, and I don't think it helps that much.

My friend Karen thought the long list of symptoms I sent her in the link was "over the top." That's how it's going to appear to people, unfortunately.

I've gotten lost in buildings too, especially hallways. All those kinds of things is what led me to being fired from my job.

I don't think my friends were very impressed by my getting lost in the woods, and not answering their calls.

Margaret