Lets all be anxious/depressed together.

KnifeWRENCH

I had a psychiatrist appointment today. I'm no longer taking Lexapro (I hadn't been taking it properly for a month or so anyway because it didn't seem to be doing any good) and am now on Effexor instead. 75mg a day to start off with. No idea what to expect from it but worried it'll just be more of the same; I think I'm way too skeptical and pessimistic for any psychological placebo effect benefit to work.

Throughout my meeting with this doctor (it's a different doctor every time; bitta consistency is too much to ask for, apparently :rolleyes:) the b-word (bipolar) never even came up. So either I was being paranoid when I suspected I might have it, or the doctor was reluctant to speculate it (or potentially rubbish at spotting the signs).

Mars Bar

D'oh, forgot to take my tablet today. The last time wasn't so pretty when I forgot to take it but I really want to play football tonight so making food now and I'm gonna take the tablet anyway.

Naikon

Not that it has much of an effect in severe cases, but does exercise work at all? Maybe try walking even for 30 mins a day while listening to the ipod. Always helps my mood at least. It's a tough game. I won't lie. I can't imagine what moderate/severe depression and not just sadness is like. Stupid disorders and over prescription are my beef. Individual circumstances vary.

Keep the chin up. If you are alive and healthy, you have the capacity to change your outlook for the better: http://smarterware.org/5371/the-evolutionary-reason-for-depression

stupidusername

Sorry but I absolutely cant stand people tackling depression with a 'chin up' attitude. It's that attitude that makes me feel I have to keep it to myself,and not discuss it with my family.

I read what you linked to there.i do get what it's getting at,but tbh it's bullcrap. I have a terrible memory,terrible focus,and actually to give an example of how bad my decision making is i've spent the entire day today trying to decide if I should speak to my housemate about some issues or not,how to say it if I do,how to cope with it if/when he gets pissed off with me cause of it. In general yes stress is good to a point as it makes you focus on the situation at hand,but depression is just a whole different thing.

starviewadams

I've always found that people find depression very hard to comprehend unless they or someone close them have experienced it.

The ''chin up,ah sure couldn't things be worse'' attitude sadly sums up the majority of Irish people's ignorant approach to somebody suffering from depression.

Plumeria

Naikon wrote: »

Not that it has much of an effect in severe cases, but does exercise work at all? Maybe try walking even for 30 mins a day while listening to the ipod. Always helps my mood at least. It's a tough game. I won't lie. I can't imagine what moderate/severe depression and not just sadness is like. Stupid disorders and over prescription are my beef. Individual circumstances vary.

Keep the chin up. If you are alive and healthy, you have the capacity to change your outlook for the better: http://smarterware.org/5371/the-evolutionary-reason-for-depression

Stupid disorders and over-prescription? There's always room for debate, and you've been debating psychiatry and mental illness for quite some time in the Conspiracy Theories section... but I can't see how a thread for sufferers is an appropriate place to bring it.

For years I've considered myself a total failure because I thought my situation was all my own doing and that my failure to change it was all my own fault. I thought my doctor would just tell me to cop on. So I didn't even see my GP until my anxiety had gotten so bad that social events made me throw up.

And I didn't agree to see a psychiatrist until over a year later, when I was at a point where I had stopped eating for a few days and was not functioning, not able to speak to even my own family.

It was the shame of being a failure at life, and the fear of being a "psych patient", that made me wait years to seek help. That shame shouldn't be there but it is, and throwing words like "stupid disorders" at sufferers only adds to that shame.

starviewadams

Crap day today,had to leave work early cos I felt like breaking down at any moment and I just feel so low,even lower then last week if that is possible,seeing the shrink tomorrow though and that usually cheers me up a bit,just being able to talk to somebody about whats going on inside my head.

Princess Peach

Naikon wrote: »

Not that it has much of an effect in severe cases, but does exercise work at all? Maybe try walking even for 30 mins a day while listening to the ipod. Always helps my mood at least. It's a tough game. I won't lie. I can't imagine what moderate/severe depression and not just sadness is like. Stupid disorders and over prescription are my beef. Individual circumstances vary.

Keep the chin up. If you are alive and healthy, you have the capacity to change your outlook for the better: http://smarterware.org/5371/the-evolutionary-reason-for-depression

What are stupid disorders? And what is your expertise/ experience on prescriptions?

sam34

naikon, drop it. this is a supportive thread for those with anxiety and/ or depression. it is not a place for those people to have to justify their symptoms or treatment choices. as per your previous warning, if you can't post in a supportive manner and in the spirit of he thread then don't post at all. you can discuss your opinions elsewhere on boards. I have deleted your last post for these reasons.

i_feel???

i just wanna die. Started seroquel 3 days ago. started with 50mg, next night 100mg, tonight 200mg, tomorrow night 300mg. it was a change from olanzapine(zyprexa) 5mg...I'm now weening off at 2.5mg a night for the past 3 days. Its for bipolar. I';m in my lowest ever depressive phase.

cant move from my bed. Vomiting. Hopeless. cant shower the past 3 days. I need help. i just dont see the light at all I wish someone could make it better...i wish i wish i wish.

starviewadams

Just try to stick it out and give the meds time to work,they will,and things will get better,I was on seroquel a few months ago and it's rough stuff to get used to but it did make me feel better eventually.

Hang in there!

Elmidena

Hey, I'm not really sure what to write here, so please bear with me. Have been diagnosed with manic depression for over a decade now and had quite a number of self-harming and attempted suicide instances. Things started to look up a few years ago but since then, my mother (whom I was incredibly close to) was diagnosed with cancer and died not long afterwards. I was consumed by grief for a long time (still don't feel entirely over it and it's been nearly two years now). I have always had difficulty thinking and feeling things, and when frightened, stressed or anything negative, most of the time I disguise it through anger. I'm 25 and want to grow the hell up instead of destroying the lives of the few people stupid enough to still be around me. I hurt them without meaning to or wanting to. I have been with my partner for a number of years and although we've had ups and downs, of the last few months his patience has been extremely low with me. I can't blame him; my depression is hard to deal with and I'm quite surprised he's stuck around this long. I find it difficult as I live alone and can't shut my head off, and a long-distance relationship can be hard to maintain when I feel so isolated. I've been feeling very suicidal of late and attempted to take my own life last week. I feel as though I can't tell anyone about it as it would be seen as just another "attention-seeking" moment or "drama for the sake of drama". The truth is, I nearly didn't talk myself out of it and feel like if I talk to anyone about it all they'll do is push me away or snap at me and make me feel worse than I already am. I've started taking SSRIs without telling anyone either; I feel misunderstood at best most of the time and don't want to give the impression I'm looking for attention or marking myself as special. I just want help and support, but it's my fault for driving people away. I have no enthusiasm for anything anymore. This slump isn't going away and it's been there a number of months now and only seems to get worse. I didn't want to take antidepressants as any time I've tried them in the past, I wind up overdosing and slashing wrists. Now, it feels like that's going to happen anyway so I might as well hope it'll work. I've tried talking to people --psychologist, family, helplines-- but that doesn't do me any favours. Counselling doesn't work for me. I'm sick of hurting the people around me, is there any advice someone could give me? I don't even care about happiness anymore, I feel I'll never get that. But I want to wake up each day feeling better, instead of hoping tomorrow I will. I've run out of tomorrows and now I just don't want to wake up anymore =( Thank you to anyone who replies to this

starviewadams

I can't give you any magic advice I'm afraid,well beside's saying that things will get better eventually,I know that's exactly what you don't want to hear because it's been said to me so many times when I've been in hospital or by various psychiatrist's that I wanted to strangle them,but it's true.

Also might be good if you talked to your doctor and explained exactly to him/her how you are feeling now and maybe discussing a different medication instead of the SSRI's if they don't seem to be working.

KnifeWRENCH

Can I ask has anyone here ever experienced heartburn or indigestion a lot when depressed? I've been pretty bad recently, feeling low an awful lot and this seems to have a coincided with increased occurrences of heartburn.

I have probably been eating a bit more than usual (being bored and at home, there's not a whole lot to do but eat junk food) but even days where I don't eat that much I'm finding a lot of discomfort.

Just wondering if anyone else has felt this before, if not it could be a completely separate problem. I will mention it to my doctor, of course, but just thought I'd ask here first.

Mawbish

Hi all,

There's support out there - for everyone for all types of mental illness and isolation which is a big issue for people during times of recession.

Have a look at the GROW website and come along to a meeting near you.

From the GROW website

GROW is a Mental Health Organisation which helps people who have suffered, or are suffering, from mental health problems. Members are helped to recover from all forms of mental breakdown, or indeed, to prevent such happening. GROW, founded in Australia in 1957 by former mental sufferers, has a national network of over 130 Groups in Ireland.

Please feel free to call the GROW Infoline on 1890 474 474, or email us at info@grow.ie.

www.grow.ie

boomerang

I checked out the website, being open to the idea, but the first step in GROW's 12 step recovery process is:

"We admitted we were inadequate or maladjusted to life."

I have a reluctance to take that on. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way on first reading.

Elmidena

My objection to Grow is the religious tie-ins. People with mental health issues are vulnerable and can be preyed upon easily enough. Although religion is helpful for some, I feel it's more like emotional blackmail or something. That this god has open arms to embrace you and make you feel safe if you ask for help, and if you don't well "you failed the program. Jog on with your mental issues".

I'm agnostic and if someone is religious then great, I'm all for it. If your god is a box of matches and it gives you happiness and a sense of fulfilment then I think it's healthy. I just object to people being misguided into a direction if they are vulnerable, but if it attains true happiness and faith for them then it is great. I'm just sorry that that's not been the case for the people I've seen go that route.

nualahyland

I wonder is it bipolar disorder that you have. It sounds more like Borderline Personality Disorder. Get a good book on it and read it and you might understand yourself a bit better. I hope you don't mind me saying this but you seem to have many of the traits that make up BPD. Find yourself one good Counsellor and you can go through many until you find one you like and keep on talking, do not give up. You are a unique individual with alot to offer the world, you are in a negative place right now but you will come back out of it. Bless

Elmidena

First off, I would just like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your message. Even though I've seen Girl, Interrupted more times than I can recall, I still didn't actually know anything concerning the condition and never looked it up. After your musing, I've just spent a long while browsing through different pages and it's made me feel more comfortable somehow. I'm not taking offence--it's clear to see I tick more boxes than not, especially when not everything got written down in my first spammy message.

I've often felt a million miles away from other people's mental health, but with reading this I do feel easier for seeing that I'm not the only one like this. Though my mood isn't much better today, I'm hoping that at least with this information I can take better steps in the future and not feel so misunderstood. I'm not taking it as a cemented diagnosis, but I would be foolish to neglect to see any form of correlation. Once again, thank you

Mars Bar

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

Can I ask has anyone here ever experienced heartburn or indigestion a lot when depressed? I've been pretty bad recently, feeling low an awful lot and this seems to have a coincided with increased occurrences of heartburn.

I have probably been eating a bit more than usual (being bored and at home, there's not a whole lot to do but eat junk food) but even days where I don't eat that much I'm finding a lot of discomfort.

Just wondering if anyone else has felt this before, if not it could be a completely separate problem. I will mention it to my doctor, of course, but just thought I'd ask here first.

Yeah I had it real bad! Then when I was waiting in the psychiatrist's place, an ad came on the telly saying how heartburn can be caused by stress. Cue an "aahhh" in unison from myself and my mother!

dan_d

Sunshine, I don't normally post here, but I saw your post and felt I should reply.

I don't know how many people were listening to the 'Last Word' on Today FM yesterday evening.They interviewed someone (I THINK his name might have been Kevin McCarthy).He suffered from 'madness' around the 80's and was trreated for it for about 8 to 10 yrs.He now has motor nueron disease.Anyway, he was absolutely refreshing to listen to on the subject of 'madness'. Can I suggest that you find the podcast on their site, because some of what he described sounded a bit like what you're saying.And if nothing else, it'll make you smile.

He is also affiliated to an organisation called mad pride ireland.Their site is easily found.It basically celebrates 'madness'...and many headings come under that term....tries to make people understand that it's not always something to be considered as suffering, but that it can have advantages too....that you can find a place in yourself that 'normal' people never will.

Anyway, I don't know if any of that will help, but maybe you could check that podcast and the site out and see what you think.

starviewadams

Jesus I've had terrible heartburn over the last year or two and I had never heard that it could be caused by stress,that kinda explains it allright!

stupidusername

Sick of feeling like **** so easily.perfect day to stay in bed

sam34

nualahyland wrote: »

I wonder is it bipolar disorder that you have. It sounds more like Borderline Personality Disorder. Get a good book on it and read it and you might understand yourself a bit better. I hope you don't mind me saying this but you seem to have many of the traits that make up BPD. Find yourself one good Counsellor and you can go through many until you find one you like and keep on talking, do not give up. You are a unique individual with alot to offer the world, you are in a negative place right now but you will come back out of it. Bless

nualahyland, do not make attempts to diagnose people here. a)thats not what this thread is for and b)you are not qualified to do this and c)even if you were qualified, medical advice is not permitted on boards.

SugarHigh

Do people find their reactions to anxiety makes it grow? I find when I'm getting agitated I do things with my hands that I think might be making me more agitated. Just like nervous fidgeting and and moving my knee up and down really fast. I know these are as a result of being anxious but do you think they also feed it?

stupidusername

SugarHigh wrote: »

Do people find their reactions to anxiety makes it grow? I find when I'm getting agitated I do things with my hands that I think might be making me more agitated. Just like nervous fidgeting and and moving my knee up and down really fast. I know these are as a result of being anxious but do you think they also feed it?

well essentially that's what a panic attack is or at least what i've found for me, a physical manifestation of anxiety, and the fear of it happening gets me panicky sometimes. ironic I suppose. same with my IBS but that's for another thread.

SugarHigh

stupidusername wrote: »

Sick of feeling like **** so easily.perfect day to stay in bed

It's hard when you can't figure out what's making you feel down. Kind of hard to fix a problem you can't locate.

I like to keep a sort of diary(Pen & paper) of my thought just to get everything down in a more manageable way instead of just bouncing around haphazardly in my head. I feel it gives me a better grasp of whats going on and then I'll feel less stressed out by it all.

stupidusername

SugarHigh wrote: »

It's hard when you can't figure out what's making you feel down. Kind of hard to fix a problem you can't locate.

I like to keep a sort of diary(Pen & paper) of my thought just to get everything down in a more manageable way instead of just bouncing around haphazardly in my head. I feel it gives me a better grasp of whats going on and then I'll feel less stressed out by it all.

that's a good idea, if it works for you.

i knew exactly what was wrong, as stupid as it was. but i can't change my feelings on these things, not for now anyway. just a friend forgot about meeting up with me. it's really gotten to me. but i think things have just gotten intense for me over the past few weeks anyway, with work and feeling very alone. so anything can trigger it tbh.

SugarHigh

stupidusername wrote: »

well essentially that's what a panic attack is or at least what i've found for me, a physical manifestation of anxiety, and the fear of it happening gets me panicky sometimes. ironic I suppose. same with my IBS but that's for another thread.

I know what you mean about the fear of anxiety actually causing anxiety. I got convinced that diet was a big part of anxiety and so could avoid wheat and sugar. Anytime I was in a situation where I basically had to have one of these I'd then start to become paranoid it was cause anxiety which in itself would cause anxiety.

So I try and not think too much about what my cause my anxiety but I would like some tricks to stop it in tracks early on. For example just going into the bathroom and splashing very cold water on my face can sometimes help but then if it doesn't work you realise it's going to be worse than you thought. So it's just another case of a solution potentially making it worse.

Gillo

SugarHigh wrote: »

So I try and not think too much about what my cause my anxiety but I would like some tricks to stop it in tracks early on. For example just going into the bathroom and splashing very cold water on my face can sometimes help but then if it doesn't work you realise it's going to be worse than you thought. So it's just another case of a solution potentially making it worse.

I used to use deep breathing techniques to help stop anxiety, TBH I don't know if it actually stopped it or distracted me from it but either way it definelty helped me.

You are possiobley better being aware of what causes your anxiety so you are aware of what triggers it and be able to identify it earlier. I can honest say that I thought I'd overcome depression, and felt grand for the last twelve plus months, then the last six week's I've had an absolute crap run of things and could feel a lot of the "sympthoms" of depression coming back again. Luckily this time I recognised them and was able to do something about it before things got really bad.