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Lets all be anxious/depressed together.

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    I had my first panic attack in a long time last night. I text my friend and told her and she text back "Hahahahaha. You ok?" and then stopped texting me.

    I think I'll just keep these things to myself.

    It's really hard when people just don't understand. That's kinda why i started this thread. You guys get it in ways no-one else will. Unless you felt it you don't understand it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    Yeah me too,I attempted to tell my friend that I've been feeling very depressed for a while and am on anti-depressants the other night but he didn't seem to care,and just changed the subject.At least the pills make me feel emotionally numb so it doesnt really bother me too much.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    I tried to talk to this girl before and she called me dramatic, and another friend talked about me behind my back and said she hates how negative I can be. So I've just been keeping a distance really. Gets pretty lonely. I think I just watch too much tv, where people have perfect friends who can talk about all their problems and hug and they all feel better. I'd just like maybe one friend I could talk with!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    I'd just like maybe one friend I could talk with!

    I think you have a whole thread full of them here :)


    I think I had a panic attack a few months ago and it was a bit scary if I'm honest. I tried to remember the other day what got me so worked up and I couldn't even remember, but I know it was something completely trivial and stupid. I eventually remembered what it was and even now, it seems stupid to have got so worked up over it.

    Anyway this thing happened and I started to feel massively angry. And I mean really angry. I couldn't let go of this and I started to feel very tense and uptight. By the time it came to go to bed, I was still wound up like a coil and feeling worse. I felt sick, I felt like my heart was racing and I started to have a freak out in my head. It got so bad I was asking myself if I needed to go to the hospital and get them to give me something to calm down, or should I just wait and go to the GP as soon as I could.

    I eventually calmed down after a few hours and after making myself be sick in the hope that would get rick of the "sick" feeling I was having. And during the night I eventually fell asleep but only got a few hours sleep. I got up the next morning and took the day off work sick. I went to the shops to get some herbal stuff to try and calm me down the next time it happened. But I felt very weird that day. I felt like I'd been through some strange event and everyone was looking at me.

    The next night I slept ok-ish and was back to normal then the next day.

    But even now, I still get these mad freak outs in my head. The last time I was home I could hear a house alarm ringing about 1am. My aunt lives across the road and her house is the only one I know of that has an alarm. I knew she and her husband were away on holiday but that her children/my cousins may be there or could be out (they're in their 20's). But of course I started to freak out and couldn't sleep. All this stuff started going through my head "Should I go over and check on things? Should I call the police? Should I wake my parents and ask them what to do? What happens if the place gets burgled? What happens if it gets burgled and I could have stopped it had I just done something? What happens if it gets burgled and my aunt finds out I heard the alarm ringing and did nothing about it, she will blame me for their house getting cleared out"

    This was all rushing through my head. Again, after about 2 hours I finally calmed down and was able to go to sleep. I used to freak out about things the odd time but it would be something big like the few times I emmigrated to another country, but even then the freak out feeling would only last about 10 seconds. Now, these things just seem to come on and I can't seem to stop them. I sometimes try to think about other things but the anxiety is so overpowering, it's a bit like trying to stop a runaway train. I often just have to let it run it's course.

    I sometimes get all nervous and fidgety at work out of the blue and I'm not sure why. I can't sit still and it's like I have to keep moving to stay awake or stay "in reality" or something. At lunch I get uptight and can't drink liquids without having to almost force them down my throat. This started after one time I was having lunch and went to drink and I wasn't ready to swallow my drink or something and it was like my brain ceased up and I've been tense about it ever since. I know it's all in my head as when I'm elsewhere and not thinking about it, it never happens.

    Any kind of little twinge or pain I get, I automatically start to think the absolute worst.

    I'm not sure why this has started to happen over the last year or so. But I think my job is a big part of it. I was always a worrier but it was never this bad until about a year or a year and a half ago and I think it was my job driving me insane that has tipped me over the edge.

    I have a doctors appointment tomorrrow morning about something else and I'm going to ask him about the anxiety thing when I'm there. To be honest, I'd say both things could be related, but lets see.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    Hi everyone. Don't really know who else to go to with this so I thought I would post here.

    I'm a first year in college and have been unable to attend any lectures because of social anxiety/depression. I have mid terms coming up which I will almost certainly fail. Sadly, I need to get high grades in order to progress through to the degree program I want (there isn't any other program I would consider doing). I'm not sure if this is possible without attending lectures. If anyone has been in a similar situation, how did you get on? I'm not sure if it would be better to just drop out and re-apply next year, or continue on and maybe fail the year. If I dropped out I would get half my fees back and I don't think it would risk ruining my academic "good standing" which I would need to get into the degree program. On the other hand, it's "only" first year. I'm not sure if it would be possible to get good grades if I just worked hard from now on, on my own? I worked by myself for the leaving cert and did very well, but I know this is a lot different and the lecture material is difficult to absorb on my own.

    I'm trying to think rationally about things but I feel so much guilt about it. My parents are spending so much money for me to be here and they're so nice to me, I'm so lucky in that respect, and they thought I was getting better. In return I can't even go to my classes and I don't think I'm improving at all, I feel like I have already let them down hugely. It's also so isolating here which I doubt helps. I don't think I've had a conversation with anyone in weeks apart from speaking to a member of staff yesterday and today.

    I'm sorry that this is a bit all over the place, I just wanted to get it out there somewhere.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,661 ✭✭✭mickman


    Guestx wrote: »
    Hi everyone. Don't really know who else to go to with this so I thought I would post here.

    I'm a first year in college and have been unable to attend any lectures because of social anxiety/depression. I have mid terms coming up which I will almost certainly fail. Sadly, I need to get high grades in order to progress through to the degree program I want (there isn't any other program I would consider doing). I'm not sure if this is possible without attending lectures. If anyone has been in a similar situation, how did you get on? I'm not sure if it would be better to just drop out and re-apply next year, or continue on and maybe fail the year. If I dropped out I would get half my fees back and I don't think it would risk ruining my academic "good standing" which I would need to get into the degree program. On the other hand, it's "only" first year. I'm not sure if it would be possible to get good grades if I just worked hard from now on, on my own? I worked by myself for the leaving cert and did very well, but I know this is a lot different and the lecture material is difficult to absorb on my own.

    I'm trying to think rationally about things but I feel so much guilt about it. My parents are spending so much money for me to be here and they're so nice to me, I'm so lucky in that respect, and they thought I was getting better. In return I can't even go to my classes and I don't think I'm improving at all, I feel like I have already let them down hugely. It's also so isolating here which I doubt helps. I don't think I've had a conversation with anyone in weeks apart from speaking to a member of staff yesterday and today.

    I'm sorry that this is a bit all over the place, I just wanted to get it out there somewhere.

    what good will dropping out of college do? how are you going to be able to go next year? you need to face this problem now and the first step is your gp for most people

    my advice is go running 3 times a week, go swimming 2 times a week, take a vitamin d3 supplement, take rhodiola rosea and see how you feel in a month. much better i would say


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    mickman wrote: »
    what good will dropping out of college do? how are you going to be able to go next year? you need to face this problem now and the first step is your gp for most people

    my advice is go running 3 times a week, go swimming 2 times a week, take a vitamin d3 supplement, take rhodiola rosea and see how you feel in a month. much better i would say

    Thanks for your response. I probably should have mentioned in my first post that this is an ongoing problem. I've been to my GP, psychiatrists and a psychologist and have been taking different medication and receiving different types of therapy for about three years.

    I also try to take very good care of my physical health as I think it's directly related to mental health. It's hard to maintain a good exercise regime with depression but it's pretty much my main priority above everything else each day to make sure that I get some exercise, get to sleep on time, and eat proper meals. I've never heard of rhodiola rosea, I'll definitely look into it, thank you :)

    My logic behind dropping out was that if I fail this year I wouldn't get into the degree program I want. Whereas if I take a year out to "improve" I could start again next year with a clean slate. Dropping out would be a last resort though, in that it would be pretty depressing in itself to have to drop out basically at the start of first year...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,661 ✭✭✭mickman


    Guestx wrote: »
    Thanks for your response. I probably should have mentioned in my first post that this is an ongoing problem. I've been to my GP, psychiatrists and a psychologist and have been taking different medication and receiving different types of therapy for about three years.

    I also try to take very good care of my physical health as I think it's directly related to mental health. It's hard to maintain a good exercise regime with depression but it's pretty much my main priority above everything else each day to make sure that I get some exercise, get to sleep on time, and eat proper meals. I've never heard of rhodiola rosea, I'll definitely look into it, thank you :)

    My logic behind dropping out was that if I fail this year I wouldn't get into the degree program I want. Whereas if I take a year out to "improve" I could start again next year with a clean slate. Dropping out would be a last resort though, in that it would be pretty depressing in itself to have to drop out basically at the start of first year...

    dropping out will only put your life on hold and make you feel like you failed. you have to stick it out. you say you "could" start next year again, life is not all about could have, should have , might have etc. live in the here and now and stop thinking about tomorrow

    read this http://www.aetw.org/reiki_gokai2.htm


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Guestx wrote: »
    Thanks for your response. I probably should have mentioned in my first post that this is an ongoing problem. I've been to my GP, psychiatrists and a psychologist and have been taking different medication and receiving different types of therapy for about three years.

    I also try to take very good care of my physical health as I think it's directly related to mental health. It's hard to maintain a good exercise regime with depression but it's pretty much my main priority above everything else each day to make sure that I get some exercise, get to sleep on time, and eat proper meals. I've never heard of rhodiola rosea, I'll definitely look into it, thank you :)

    My logic behind dropping out was that if I fail this year I wouldn't get into the degree program I want. Whereas if I take a year out to "improve" I could start again next year with a clean slate. Dropping out would be a last resort though, in that it would be pretty depressing in itself to have to drop out basically at the start of first year...

    I would say, go to your lectures. If you can. Just do your best to get into a routine of getting up in the morning and going in to college. It's never as bad as you expect. I know it's very hard and it's easily said but i think once something becomes routine then it stops being an issue. I mean i manage to go into work every morning because I've been doing it for years. But I know if i had to start a new job i'd find it very hard to go in. Or if i have to go somewhere i'm not in the routine of going it's almost impossible for me. Once your routine is created it will hopefully get easier. Good luck. Steal the Nike logo. "Just do it"


  • Registered Users Posts: 263 ✭✭SL10


    Goingur wrote: »
    I think you have a whole thread full of them here :)


    I think I had a panic attack a few months ago and it was a bit scary if I'm honest. I tried to remember the other day what got me so worked up and I couldn't even remember, but I know it was something completely trivial and stupid. I eventually remembered what it was and even now, it seems stupid to have got so worked up over it.

    Anyway this thing happened and I started to feel massively angry. And I mean really angry. I couldn't let go of this and I started to feel very tense and uptight. By the time it came to go to bed, I was still wound up like a coil and feeling worse. I felt sick, I felt like my heart was racing and I started to have a freak out in my head. It got so bad I was asking myself if I needed to go to the hospital and get them to give me something to calm down, or should I just wait and go to the GP as soon as I could.

    I eventually calmed down after a few hours and after making myself be sick in the hope that would get rick of the "sick" feeling I was having. And during the night I eventually fell asleep but only got a few hours sleep. I got up the next morning and took the day off work sick. I went to the shops to get some herbal stuff to try and calm me down the next time it happened. But I felt very weird that day. I felt like I'd been through some strange event and everyone was looking at me.

    The next night I slept ok-ish and was back to normal then the next day.

    But even now, I still get these mad freak outs in my head. The last time I was home I could hear a house alarm ringing about 1am. My aunt lives across the road and her house is the only one I know of that has an alarm. I knew she and her husband were away on holiday but that her children/my cousins may be there or could be out (they're in their 20's). But of course I started to freak out and couldn't sleep. All this stuff started going through my head "Should I go over and check on things? Should I call the police? Should I wake my parents and ask them what to do? What happens if the place gets burgled? What happens if it gets burgled and I could have stopped it had I just done something? What happens if it gets burgled and my aunt finds out I heard the alarm ringing and did nothing about it, she will blame me for their house getting cleared out"

    This was all rushing through my head. Again, after about 2 hours I finally calmed down and was able to go to sleep. I used to freak out about things the odd time but it would be something big like the few times I emmigrated to another country, but even then the freak out feeling would only last about 10 seconds. Now, these things just seem to come on and I can't seem to stop them. I sometimes try to think about other things but the anxiety is so overpowering, it's a bit like trying to stop a runaway train. I often just have to let it run it's course.

    I sometimes get all nervous and fidgety at work out of the blue and I'm not sure why. I can't sit still and it's like I have to keep moving to stay awake or stay "in reality" or something. At lunch I get uptight and can't drink liquids without having to almost force them down my throat. This started after one time I was having lunch and went to drink and I wasn't ready to swallow my drink or something and it was like my brain ceased up and I've been tense about it ever since. I know it's all in my head as when I'm elsewhere and not thinking about it, it never happens.

    Any kind of little twinge or pain I get, I automatically start to think the absolute worst.

    I'm not sure why this has started to happen over the last year or so. But I think my job is a big part of it. I was always a worrier but it was never this bad until about a year or a year and a half ago and I think it was my job driving me insane that has tipped me over the edge.

    I have a doctors appointment tomorrrow morning about something else and I'm going to ask him about the anxiety thing when I'm there. To be honest, I'd say both things could be related, but lets see.

    Hey Goingur,

    Thats very similar to what happens to me- have had the choking feeling on a number of occasions and have become particularly bad for suddenly panicking in work of late. In the last few weeks I have had to leave work on a number of occasions and walk around for 20-30 mins to calm myself down! I too have always been a worrier but I began having panic attacks about 4 years ago.

    The only advise i would give is to ask your doctor about counselling and maybe get some self help books. I have just got a new one which im finding really really helpful (my counsellor recommended it). Its called "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook". I got it on amazon. It gives alot of advise on how to improve your negative self talk, what exercise is good for anxiety, what to eat etc.

    Also I have started taking 20 mins everyday to just relax ( I listen to a Paul McKenna hynotherapy cd to reduce stress- but there are other ways of doing this too) and force myself out of the house for a half hour walk every eve. This has really started to help me even just doing it for a week or so. My panic attacks have become less intense over the last week. (Have been going through a bad period of late!)

    Anyways, hope that helps. :)

    On the friend issue, I find that there is an awful lot of people out there in very similar positions to me who I can talk with. Maybe its my age (28) but at least 5 or 6 of my close friends have experienced a panic attack and I would talk about it very openly with most of my friends (I find making light of it helps me quite a bit with them). Some can be very stupid about it but most others are very understanding if you do open up to them.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭WalterMitty


    Has anyone gone to aware meetings? Meeting similar people who understand your probs might be helpfull.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    Went to the doctor today about the heart palpitations and the anxiety. He checked me out and said my blood pressure is too high and he is also considering giving me beta blockers but doesn't want to commit to that just yet. They took some blood to have it tested for cholesterol and some other stuff. From what I can tell it's to check for high blood pressure. I have to go back next week to get my blood pressure taken again.

    He also mentioned CBT for my anxiety and was talking about referring me to a local psychologist.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 535 ✭✭✭bob50


    Has anyone gone to aware meetings? Meeting similar people who understand your probs might be helpfull.

    Yeah went to few last year and the year before they are quite good As i always say a problem shared is a problem doubled Joke btw

    I think its helpful to go to a meeting and tell your probs. ( you dont have to talk if you dont want to) you can get good advice at these meets. i was in a very bad phase of my life at times of going to the meetings and i found them beneficial to me


  • Registered Users Posts: 149 ✭✭thrilledskinny


    Originally Posted by Princess Peach viewpost.gif
    I'd just like maybe one friend I could talk with!

    I think you have a whole thread full of them here smile.gif

    I concur with this statement, you've a whole thread of friends here.

    I really enjoy your posts and the insight and advice you give.

    Keep chatting to your online friends and hopefully an offline friend you can talk to will come along eventually...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    Originally Posted by Princess Peach viewpost.gif
    I'd just like maybe one friend I could talk with!

    I think you have a whole thread full of them here smile.gif

    I concur with this statement, you've a whole thread of friends here.

    I really enjoy your posts and the insight and advice you give.

    Keep chatting to your online friends and hopefully an offline friend you can talk to will come along eventually...

    Aw thats nice!

    I feel I've done some damage with some of my friends because of this not talking to them. I was pretty down for some of August and September, and I didn't really talk to some of my friends, and one friend had organised a few nights out that I didn't feel up to going on, so I just kept telling her I was sick. I think she thought I was just being rude, and now she won't really talk to me, and makes excuses for all my attempts to meet up with her. Maybe the same for the girl she is best friends with, you know how girls gang together. But I don't know if I can tell her the truth about why I was so distant, I just don't really know how, but I dont think I can magically bring back our friendship.

    I feel like I'm losing friends too often!


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,241 Mod ✭✭✭✭L.Jenkins


    Hey, thought I'd drop in and say hi. I don't know if ye have brushed the issue of bipolar disorder at all. I'm well managed, I don't need medication and CBT helped alot.

    On that note, on occasion I seem to get myself incredibly hyped up and píssed off, excuse the language. Typical of bipolar disorder, I'm grand, then I overthink and all flustered and annoyed, almost panicked or anxious.

    Just to clarify, I work quite a bit and in my down time, I have feck all to do. Anyone have any tips for idle hands as thats when problems seem to arise and personal management seems to become an issue. I do go the gym quite a bit and drive around town to get away, but with more time brings more problems.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    I know what you're saying Princess Peach, I always felt with my friends if I talked too much about things they didn't want to listen to or had no idea about, they'd just go silent. Ya, you could try to be happier around them, or only see them when you're feeling up to it, but then how is that really a good friendship. I'm not saying I've the answer, I'm just saying I know how you feel.

    I haven't really got any friends now and it's probably down to something like that. I know I fobbed people off a few years back and they gave up on me (I didn't like them much anyway, and hadn't been diagnosed at the time). So I'd be inclined to say make an effort with them, but at the same time there's a certain amount they have to accept you for the way you are if they want to be friends with you.

    It's hard to know what to do for the best. But you can always talk to us lot. And you could PM me if you like. I'm on this so feckin much :rolleyes: it'd hardly be long before I got back to you anyway :)


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,241 Mod ✭✭✭✭L.Jenkins


    I could say I'm in the same boat. Very few friends. Being moodier than a woman on period never helped, so now I'm trying my best.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 595 ✭✭✭George Orwell 1982


    Right I have decided to go out and buy myself a lightbox tomorrow as I am just too tired to go on. The trouble is I get depressed in summer as well so I don't have SAD. Has any elso who has regular depression (not SAD) found a lightbox helpful?


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,241 Mod ✭✭✭✭L.Jenkins


    Hey George. In Iceland apparently they have the highest instance of SAD in the world and I believe a UV alarm clock or box does help.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16 CandyFromABaby


    I originally posted this in the G.A.D. thread but as this one gets more traffic I think I'll post an abridged version here even if it is just as a form of therapy for myself to have an anonymous rant.

    I was diagnosed with GAD at the start of my second year of college.I think I was suffering from it a lot longer (for example found the L.C. and J.C. exams incredibly hard). What brought about the diagnosis was simply a complete and utter freak out on the morning of my first Christmas exam that year and the campus doc was quick to see that I had a history of this and that previous visits with GPs hadn't properly addressed the problem. I had to be given Xanax just to let me be able to get through those exams. I started seeing the doctor regularly and tried CBT but the "demon" in my head seemed to be too strong to be overcome by that alone so I started on anti-depressants. I've been taking them since, now three years on. Sometimes I wonder if they are having any effect. I hate taking them but too afraid to stop.

    The thing is, I have some exams to take over the next two weeks...they are exams I had to postpone because I had a major panic episode on the morning of the first one back in the summer. I'm utterly convinced I'm going to fail. Nobody seems to understand the pure panic that is in my head, the horrible racing thoughts, the mental block, the inability to recall anything I spent so long trying to learn. I used to be a very good student, used to get A's or B's. Now I'm even just praying to pass. It horrifies me really because I feel I've devoted so much of my time to learning that the piece of paper I'll get on graduating won't reflect that.

    To add to this, all this talk of recession, recession and the "smart economy"...I know I don't have a hope of getting a job and that I'll have to drag my ass back to do a Master's....that thought sickens me. I just can't handle it. I feel that I've stressed and struggled this far and it has nearly cost me my sanity.

    Anxiety is taking over my life. I can't/don't want to accept that every time I do something new or face a challenge (be it work, academic, relationship) I'll not be able to rise to the challenge because of this anxiety. It's a sort of "once bitten, twice shy" type of situation. I'm anxious now about being anxious.I have great friends and family who understand and encourage me...but I'm tired of putting them through this and of always having to be reassured. I hate that I have to live with this and that I have had to reduce my dreams/expectations of myself accordingly. I want to just be like everyone else (or what it appears to me) and just be able to cope, you know?

    :( I just want to know am I ever going to get over this? I'm at the end of my tether. Where do I go from here?? What strategies have others implemented to help them through? Do other people suffer from this complete inability to perform in exams? I have enriched my life over the last few years with hobbies which has helped but every time that things get tough I always find myself back at square one. Right now I can't eat or sleep, or I will sleep too much. I feel awful most of the time.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,258 ✭✭✭MUSEIST


    I thought I would revive this thread since its a very important topic.:)

    I dont think I have posted much before but I have had problems with anxiety and depression all my life. It got so bad in the last year that I had to drop out of doing a masters in college. But thankfully I have been doing a lot better this last month, I dont really know why, I guess the 'episode' is over. My sleeping has returned to normal, I am positive and I have started believing that I am a decent person again. I still have a lot of anxiety (hence my staying in on a saturday night) but its slow progress piece by piece.

    How is everyone else doing?:)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16 CandyFromABaby


    Hi MUSEIST and everyone.

    This thread is a really great idea and ranting on here has helped me with a rough time recently. Those who've read my earlier posts will know I have been resitting college exams over the past few weeks. Finished up on Thurs. Waiting for results now. Quite anxious over one in particular as it was really awful on the day but there's not much I can do except wait. I've found family support over the past two weeks immensely helpful. I really couldn't have asked for better.

    The challenge that faces me now is getting myself back on the rails and using my time to really try and work on my anxiety (I know from experience that when the time of crisis eases I tend to brush the problem under the carpet but i REALLY can't afford to do that anymore). MUSEIST I'd be interested to know how you dealt with the fallout of dropping out of your course...having had to defer my exams I know I felt so crap and inadequate and spent a lot of time wondering why the hell I wasn't able to get through when everyone around me was gettin on so good. It was a really disheartening and confusing time and I totally alienated myself from my friends at college over the summer cos I couldn't hack that they were all graduating and I was not. I still feel a little that way but I'm trying to focus on the future..my OWN future, not anyone else's and I find this is helping me on the way.

    I have a long way to go yet. But I'm talking tomorrow one day at a time....kinda like what this guy says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTU92m_JEx8&feature=related
    :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16 CandyFromABaby


    Guestx wrote: »
    Hi everyone. Don't really know who else to go to with this so I thought I would post here.

    I'm a first year in college and have been unable to attend any lectures because of social anxiety/depression. I have mid terms coming up which I will almost certainly fail. Sadly, I need to get high grades in order to progress through to the degree program I want (there isn't any other program I would consider doing). I'm not sure if this is possible without attending lectures. If anyone has been in a similar situation, how did you get on? I'm not sure if it would be better to just drop out and re-apply next year, or continue on and maybe fail the year. If I dropped out I would get half my fees back and I don't think it would risk ruining my academic "good standing" which I would need to get into the degree program. On the other hand, it's "only" first year. I'm not sure if it would be possible to get good grades if I just worked hard from now on, on my own? I worked by myself for the leaving cert and did very well, but I know this is a lot different and the lecture material is difficult to absorb on my own.

    I'm trying to think rationally about things but I feel so much guilt about it. My parents are spending so much money for me to be here and they're so nice to me, I'm so lucky in that respect, and they thought I was getting better. In return I can't even go to my classes and I don't think I'm improving at all, I feel like I have already let them down hugely. It's also so isolating here which I doubt helps. I don't think I've had a conversation with anyone in weeks apart from speaking to a member of staff yesterday and today.

    I'm sorry that this is a bit all over the place, I just wanted to get it out there somewhere.

    guestx, have you read my posts?

    I was you in college. Don't drop out. Go to the student counselling service. make your case known to your lecturers. I deferred my final exams for six months...all it did was put my life on hold and make me feel inferior to my peers who seemed to be progressing with careers/college/life in general while I was at home living with my parents at the back of beyond. Grab the bull by its horns. Tackle the problem head on. I don't know if your college is semesterised...but maybe see how you get on with your xmas exams and decide from there. You might surprise yourself.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,258 ✭✭✭MUSEIST


    Hey CandyFromABaby, I did not deal with dropping out of college well, that was part of the problem. I basically felt like a failure and I isolated myself from everyone. Looking back that was my big mistake because I kinda fell into a 'hole' and could not get out. Having a supportive family can really help and thankfully I do have that but I basically lost contact with most of my friends.
    In the end I gave up on college but I have started thinking about going back (to study something I am really interested in) again now that I am feeling a little better and my confidence is improving.

    I find it difficult to deal with the idea that everyone else is effortlessly able to get on with life and for me with anxiety everything is a struggle (this really brings me down). But I am learning to take things slowly and accept that everyone is different.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16 CandyFromABaby


    MUSEIST wrote: »
    Hey CandyFromABaby, I did not deal with dropping out of college well, that was part of the problem. I basically felt like a failure and I isolated myself from everyone. Looking back that was my big mistake because I kinda fell into a 'hole' and could not get out. Having a supportive family can really help and thankfully I do have that but I basically lost contact with most of my friends.
    In the end I gave up on college but I have started thinking about going back (to study something I am really interested in) again now that I am feeling a little better and my confidence is improving.

    I find it difficult to deal with the idea that everyone else is effortlessly able to get on with life and for me with anxiety everything is a struggle (this really brings me down). But I am learning to take things slowly and accept that everyone is different.

    Wow..I think we're the same person. It's comforting in a way!! (But of course life sucks with anxiety!)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    A permanent solution to temporary problems? hardly. What if the problems are permanent?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    A permanent solution to temporary problems? hardly. What if the problems are permanent?

    My doctor and my counselor said that depression is not a permanent illness and can be cured.

    I wish I had their optimism!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    My doctor and my counselor said that depression is not a permanent illness and can be cured.

    I wish I had their optimism!

    send them to me. tell them they can have a go at curing me.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 431 ✭✭C_Dawg


    I'm back to work in the morning after being out sick for over a year. I'm sh!tting myself now lol


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    C_Dawg wrote: »
    I'm back to work in the morning after being out sick for over a year. I'm sh!tting myself now lol

    Good luck! I bet you'll be fine after a few hours, its just a bit scary thinking of it now.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,754 ✭✭✭Odysseus


    Hi guys do ye know if the medicial card covers any CBT therapy?

    What you can do is ask your GP for a referral to your local Psych Services, it then depends on your area, but you should be able to access therapy through them.

    Another option would be to have a look at you local directory of services, you may have a low price/sliding scale/free counselling or psychotherapy service in your area.

    Don't be afaird to try other psychotherapeutic options CBT is only one form of psychotherapy, and to be honest a lot of psychotherapists I know would claim to work from a CBT approach have few if any real qualifications in it.

    CBT helps some people, some benefit from other types of psychotherapy, the main thing I would say is focus on trying to get access to a professional therapist, don't worry too much about them being CBT therapists or not. As you are looking for free treatment, try anything that may help provided the person is a qualified psychotherapist or psychologist. You may have to do a bit of searching, but their are free/ low cost professional services out there. Best of luck with it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,258 ✭✭✭MUSEIST


    Odysseus wrote: »
    What you can do is ask your GP for a referral to your local Psych Services, it then depends on your area, but you should be able to access therapy through them.

    Another option would be to have a look at you local directory of services, you may have a low price/sliding scale/free counselling or psychotherapy service in your area.

    Don't be afaird to try other psychotherapeutic options CBT is only one form of psychotherapy, and to be honest a lot of psychotherapists I know would claim to work from a CBT approach have few if any real qualifications in it.

    CBT helps some people, some benefit from other types of psychotherapy, the main thing I would say is focus on trying to get access to a professional therapist, don't worry too much about them being CBT therapists or not. As you are looking for free treatment, try anything that may help provided the person is a qualified psychotherapist or psychologist. You may have to do a bit of searching, but their are free/ low cost professional services out there. Best of luck with it.

    What are the other types of psychotherapy, I have only heard of and tried CBT?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 431 ✭✭C_Dawg


    Good luck! I bet you'll be fine after a few hours, its just a bit scary thinking of it now.

    Cheers for the good luck.

    A load of people actually came up to me and said welcome back which was really nice. It'll take a while to get used to but my employer has been really good about it all and are slowly easing me back into the work. After 15 months out I'm just grateful to have the job back lol :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    C_Dawg wrote: »
    Cheers for the good luck.

    A load of people actually came up to me and said welcome back which was really nice. It'll take a while to get used to but my employer has been really good about it all and are slowly easing me back into the work. After 15 months out I'm just grateful to have the job back lol :)

    I knew it would be fine! Just keep your spirits up and keep working away. I get pretty stressed in work but I have good co-workers who always find a way to make me laugh, so I'm glad people welcomed you so nicely.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,754 ✭✭✭Odysseus


    MUSEIST wrote: »
    What are the other types of psychotherapy, I have only heard of and tried CBT?


    That is part of the problem CBT has been a bit of a buzz word for the past few years especially within the medical community. However, I am not saying CBT does not help people it does, it's just not suited to everyone.

    The main types of psychotherapy in Ireland would include:
    Psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
    Analytic psychology.
    Humanistic psychotherapy,
    Integrative psychotherapy.

    Then you have people who specialise in certain areas for example I'm a psychoanalyst, and my HSE work is based in a specific field addiction. For others it may be Rogers and eating disorders. However, a good psychotherapist should be able to treat depression, anxiety disorders etc.

    As I said CBT help some people I have trained in it myself, but it does not suit everybody. I would not consider myself a CBT therapist though. A lot of therapists I know who say they use CBT have learned it on short course rather than doing a Masters or similar in it. Does that answer your question?

    If you have any other questions feel free to ask about psychology/psychotherapy in the psychology forum. We are not PI, but we do discuss issues in general as opposed to specific cases.


  • Registered Users Posts: 263 ✭✭SL10


    C_Dawg wrote: »
    Cheers for the good luck.

    A load of people actually came up to me and said welcome back which was really nice. It'll take a while to get used to but my employer has been really good about it all and are slowly easing me back into the work. After 15 months out I'm just grateful to have the job back lol :)

    Well done on going back to work C Dawg- thats a brill step- you should be really proud:)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,677 ✭✭✭staker


    C_Dawg wrote: »
    Cheers for the good luck.

    A load of people actually came up to me and said welcome back which was really nice. It'll take a while to get used to but my employer has been really good about it all and are slowly easing me back into the work. After 15 months out I'm just grateful to have the job back lol :)

    Well done C_Dawg, top notch!


  • Registered Users Posts: 263 ✭✭SL10


    Hi All,

    So I have developed a new anxiety symptom/initiator that I'm wondering if anyone else suffers from cos I cant really figure out how to deal with it.

    Basically I have become very worried/obsessed with my breathing and keep panicking that I am not able to breathe. its not a hyperventilating thing though- its more like I dont really believe that I am breathing because I cant feel the air going in and out! (Now I do know that this is stupid and that no one can actually feel themselves breathing and that it is not something that we consciously control) But I am worrying that I might forget to breathe or else my lungs might stop working. Completely irrational yes but it is still causing me a great deal of anxiety!

    So just wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem? And any hints on how they dealt with it? I am currently doing deep breathing exercises every day to help with my panic attacks and kinda wondering if this is having an effect on it?! Like could it be having the opposite effect on me?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 160 ✭✭OneForTheTeam


    SL10 wrote: »
    Hi All,

    So I have developed a new anxiety symptom/initiator that I'm wondering if anyone else suffers from cos I cant really figure out how to deal with it.

    Basically I have become very worried/obsessed with my breathing and keep panicking that I am not able to breathe. its not a hyperventilating thing though- its more like I dont really believe that I am breathing because I cant feel the air going in and out! (Now I do know that this is stupid and that no one can actually feel themselves breathing and that it is not something that we consciously control) But I am worrying that I might forget to breathe or else my lungs might stop working. Completely irrational yes but it is still causing me a great deal of anxiety!

    So just wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem? And any hints on how they dealt with it? I am currently doing deep breathing exercises every day to help with my panic attacks and kinda wondering if this is having an effect on it?! Like could it be having the opposite effect on me?

    I get that too some times wake up at night with it.






    Sooooooooooooooooo mega freak out for me the last 24hours or so. Went to bed last night at like 11pm couldnt sleep as my heart rate was over 100 bpm and was freaking out thinking im going to have a heart att, Anyway after all night been up I went to A&E and 8am Where they hooked me up to heart rate thingys and took blood to check my heart. All came back clear and was giving a anxiety med to relax me and heart rate. Anyway its nearing 19hours now since it first started and my heart rate starting to drop thank god. Never ever experienced this before.

    Anyone else?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,258 ✭✭✭MUSEIST


    I get that too some times wake up at night with it.






    Sooooooooooooooooo mega freak out for me the last 24hours or so. Went to bed last night at like 11pm couldnt sleep as my heart rate was over 100 bpm and was freaking out thinking im going to have a heart att, Anyway after all night been up I went to A&E and 8am Where they hooked me up to heart rate thingys and took blood to check my heart. All came back clear and was giving a anxiety med to relax me and heart rate. Anyway its nearing 19hours now since it first started and my heart rate starting to drop thank god. Never ever experienced this before.

    Anyone else?

    Exact same thing happend to me a year ago, I swore I was having a heart attack, turned out to be a massive panic attack but it was a very scary experience.


  • Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Reactor


    Hi guys, long time reader of this thread, first time poster.

    I think I have social anxiety and a bit of depression, Im 26 (male) and Ive always been antisocial and miserable with terror, nausea and sometimes vomiting if I have a meeting/appointment coming up but it got really bad recently after a bit of a fight with a housemate, having 2 degrees but being unemployed for a year definitely hasnt helped, so I decided to get help with it this week. My GP gave me Xanax to try for a week today before we meet again and I have a meeting with a councillor in 3 weeks time.

    I took my first Xanax a few hours ago and its not as potent as I thought it was going to be judging by my research beforehand but I do actually feel nicely chilled out now and the despair seems to have lifted a bit, I even sent out a load of CVs at 10pm in the evening because I actually felt better about doing that than I have in months, it usually makes me cry and ruins my day.

    I think my main problem now is I have absolutely no friends whatsoever, something I notice about this thread is a lot of people mention their friends trying to cheer them up or get them to come out but I have nobody, not really sure how to go about rectifying that, Im in Galway City but the usual advice of joining clubs or meeting people with common interest is completely meaningless to me, it just wont work, I dont really have any interests anyway apart from the internet.

    Another strange thing is that for the past few years I havent spoken to my brother in years, he's happy and sucessful I think and I would like to have a relationship with him but I dont know how to start talking again after 5 years of silence, same for with my parents, I go home at the weekends out of habit from when I was in college but they try to talk to me and I just grunt yes no or fine at them, I cant seem to push through that and if I do Ill just start crying, I have no idea why Im like that as they were always great parents.

    Any advice or links appreciated, Im just making lists of stuff to talk about to the councillor in a couple of weeks. I do see a lot of common problems with people in this thrad and that is a help, thanks for reading.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Reactor wrote: »
    Hi guys, long time reader of this thread, first time poster.

    I think I have social anxiety and a bit of depression, Im 26 (male) and Ive always been antisocial and miserable with terror, nausea and sometimes vomiting if I have a meeting/appointment coming up but it got really bad recently after a bit of a fight with a housemate, having 2 degrees but being unemployed for a year definitely hasnt helped, so I decided to get help with it this week. My GP gave me Xanax to try for a week today before we meet again and I have a meeting with a councillor in 3 weeks time.

    I took my first Xanax a few hours ago and its not as potent as I thought it was going to be judging by my research beforehand but I do actually feel nicely chilled out now and the despair seems to have lifted a bit, I even sent out a load of CVs at 10pm in the evening because I actually felt better about doing that than I have in months, it usually makes me cry and ruins my day.

    I think my main problem now is I have absolutely no friends whatsoever, something I notice about this thread is a lot of people mention their friends trying to cheer them up or get them to come out but I have nobody, not really sure how to go about rectifying that, Im in Galway City but the usual advice of joining clubs or meeting people with common interest is completely meaningless to me, it just wont work, I dont really have any interests anyway apart from the internet.

    Another strange thing is that for the past few years I havent spoken to my brother in years, he's happy and sucessful I think and I would like to have a relationship with him but I dont know how to start talking again after 5 years of silence, same for with my parents, I go home at the weekends out of habit from when I was in college but they try to talk to me and I just grunt yes no or fine at them, I cant seem to push through that and if I do Ill just start crying, I have no idea why Im like that as they were always great parents.

    Any advice or links appreciated, Im just making lists of stuff to talk about to the councillor in a couple of weeks. I do see a lot of common problems with people in this thrad and that is a help, thanks for reading.


    Know what ya mean about the friends thing. I'm resigned to the fact of being alone. Wish someone would text me though. I just have no-one to talk to. No-one to help me.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    phi3 wrote: »
    Know what ya mean about the friends thing. I'm resigned to the fact of being alone. Wish someone would text me though. I just have no-one to talk to. No-one to help me.

    Would it be a bad thing if a few of us in here were to swap numbers for this very reason?


  • Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Reactor


    I dont even have a Facebook account because it would be just embarassing looking at it :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,677 ✭✭✭staker


    Very honest post Reactor, fair play as it's not a thing I'd be able to do online myself.
    From the sounds of it, you're really making a go of it and you're probably excited and anxious about it at the same time.Excited at finally getting this monkey off your back,anxious for it all to be in the past.
    I'm no expert on any of this but to me you've turned a corner and it's only going to get easier.
    From my own experience,maybe a bit jealous of your brother(was in my case anyway) and feeling inadequate in his shadow.I suffered the same thing for years but once I realised how happy I could be in my own achievements these feelings really did disappear.
    I don't know what the fallout with your brother was over, it would be a big bonus if you could approach that when you feel up to it!!
    Best of luck with it all!!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,461 ✭✭✭Queen-Mise


    Reactor wrote: »
    I dont even have a Facebook account because it would be just embarassing looking at it :(

    Facebook is a strange thing. My psychiatrist told me it is interaction with other people - as is boards.

    I would be inclined to join facebook. Sometimes it was my only interaction with the outside world when my depressed.

    Go with facebook. So much on it: blogs (love political ones), videos, games - so many. Zynga free poker for example is brilliant. Live Scramble.

    My last point on this. I have a friend - in a serious motorbike accident. Took him two years to walk again. During the worst of it - facebook and its poker was his sanity. He has made some long like friends there & even a new york girlfriend for past two years.

    Try it anyway.



    Oops didnt realise problem was with facebook. Sorry. You can block ppl posts without removing them as a friend. Easy to manage facebook for problemish things.


    Best of luck with it. I wandered all over the place there


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,461 ✭✭✭Queen-Mise


    back to what i wanted to say. With my depression i have finite amounts of energy. Was out 3ish hours with a friend. Free facial & drink afterwards (non-al). I am bone tired now. Could well sleep till one tomorrow.

    Sometimes i think im getting better till i try to do something. Such a frustrating illness.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 431 ✭✭C_Dawg


    I feel like that "Forever alone" internet meme...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Anyone else find anxiety really expensive? Like I there was this thing I wanted to buy but I was too scared to go ask for it in the shop so I bought it online but it cost more coz i had to pay the delivery. And I know I could get my rent reduced but i'm too scared to make the call to the landlord.


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