Anxiety and/or depression discussion.

I'm sure that this has being discussed before but as a newbie I'm interested to know how many people have tried learning Qi Gong or Tai Chi as a means of helping them with their condition. I say this because I learn these arts myself and am interested in setting up a free class in my local area primarily because I see these as being more interesting exercise regimes than others and catering for all levels of fitness. As I said it would be interesting to me to hear of your experiences and I assure you I'm not soliciting for any business.

Hugo Stiglitz wrote: »

What part of the country are you in T?

I live on the northside of Dublin. But as I said I'm not really looking to solicit people from this site but rather to learn from them if they felt that the practice of these arts was of any benefit to them in alleviating them in them in their battle with depression. I have had my own problems with depression in the past and so I'm not a disinterested contributor. Although my idea to set up a free class is only at the conception stage, I am intent on developing a training program which will be suitable and useful to those people who I would see as benefiting most. I would look at training a Qi Gong set called Tai Chi Shibashi and maybe the 8 pieces of Silk Brocade.

Hi guys/gals, I'm Gary, 17 years old. Just stumbled across this thread and thought it could be a good opportunity to let it out a bit and just see if anyone could relate/help out. I'd really appreciate any time spent from anyone into reading this thing.
So to begin, I guess i've been depressed since i was about 11 or 12. In hindsight, I now think the root cause of my isolation had primarily come from the amount of time i spent playing video games. It was a bit of an obsession at the time, and unfortunately it resulted in me becoming angry and anti-social. In primary school, as the years rolled on, i became gradually worse and my friends kind of drifted apart until i was left with only two close friends who thankfully stuck with me till the end.
The start of secondary was rough for me. I was bullied by a couple people in the first year for being overly quiet, and i made one of the worst decisions of my life to tackle that problem. I attacked one of those individuals. In the end, i got away with it because i explained that it was just a snap from the amount of exposure i had to bullying from that person.
Luckily for me, a couple kids from primary that i knew reasonably well had gone to the same secondary school with me, so i settled into quite a large group of guys with them. Of course, i was the quiet guy in the group with not much to say and a foul temper. However, one of the guys in that particular group had grabbed my attention, and the next year i chose to bully that person as means of communicating to him without feeling nervous. Now that i analyse the reason why i bullied him, i think it may of been because i am confused about my sexuality, and i had feelings for him which i felt i could not express for my own sake. Also, even just thinking of the fact that i may be gay upset me further, as i felt i didn't belong.
So to put it bluntly, i became a bully. It killed me on the inside every time i upset him because ultimately i wanted to be his friend, but i couldn't behave normally around him. As years rolled on, i deteriorated dramatically. I not only bullied him, but the others in the group also. I became the guy that no-one wanted to be around. I had so much self-hate at the time, i didn't ****ing care what people thought of me anymore. I'd push people out of my way and not even care.
To make a long story short, eventually these guys decided to cut me out. They started avoiding me, and refusing to talk to me. It went on for a number of weeks, and as a result of my confusion and anger at them, i snapped and lashed out at my best friend. Resulted in me getting expelled, and i lost contact with all of them. All of my friends, gone, and it's all my fault. Took me a while to come to that conclusion, but what goes around comes around, and i see that now.
Because i'm a reasonably smart kid, and respectful to teachers and the authority, i was very kindly transferred to a new school by the head, and he chose not to mark the expulsion on my record.
So, three months go by. This time, i'm completely friendless. I had nothing to do, and i wasted my days away once again feeling sorry for myself. I would often just find myself looking blankly into space thinking about how ****ed everything was for me. Started seeing a shrink and taking meds that did nothing for me. Needless to say, those months were, by far, the worst of my life.
I get into this new school, and me being me, i struggle to make new friends for quite some time. Eventually i settle down with a small group of about four others. I don't really gel with them that much, but it's something. Keeps me sane. The thing is, this year, (one year after i got expelled), i feel like i've changed a whole lot. Hooked up with old friends, I'm able to just talk to people and let conversation flow, i'm now head of a band, and a few weeks ago i jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet for charity. I feel like i've made a dramatic turn around. The cloud has lifted from my head. I no longer waste my time procrastinating, instead i focus on being productive!
I often wonder what happened.. how i just magically felt better. I have no detailed explanation for you other than, something just seemed to click into place when i woke up some morning. Weird, but true. Positive thinking is the way to go i've realized. Be confident that you can do what you want. In a few weeks, i'm going to the houses of everyone i fell out with to make a formal and sincere apology, face to face. I feel its the right thing to do.
If you're, by any chance, falling out with someone right now or holding a grudge for something, but you want it to end, just apologize for it and leave the past rest. Jump the fence and leave the past be the past. It's time for a fresh start.
Now that i have a clear mind and i can fully reflect, i just want to tell you that life is too short to waste being unhappy. Enjoy the little things in life and do the things you want to do. It's not too late to turn your life around right now. Do what i did, and just focus on the positives. Accept your mistakes and own up to them. Take responsibility for your actions, and make up for them when you do wrong. Learn from your mistakes so that you can do better the next time. I know not what will happen when i see my old friends again when it comes to apologizing, but i'll just be proud of myself no matter what happens, because ultimately i would of done the right thing.
So that's pretty much what i have to say. I really appreciate it if you've actually read it, and i hope that it has helped or been of use in any way. Also i'd love if you could give some feedback. Thank you very much! - Gary.

Rough patch atm. Bit manic, doctor time me thinks.

Back to work Monday. Ugghhh

Have to take some extra thorazine at night to sleep as I managed to quit the sleeping pills.

Hate that energy rush I get in my mind when I'm trying to unwind.

Stay strong all.

Hey everyone,

I was prescribed 10mg of Lexapro for 6 months and the prescription is nearly up. I'm wondering, for anyone who has taken Lexapro before, is there any major withdrawal symptoms? I know some people wean themselves off them but I think I'd rather just stop taking them altogether after the 6 months (rather than going back to the doctor and getting a 5mg prescription). Plus, I realise everyone's body reacts differently but just a general idea would be great.