A small story and hopefully some advice.

[Dylan121121]

Hello all,

my name is dylan and im 25 years old. I seen a doctor about depression/ anxiety 5 years ago. Since then have taken 4 differant antidepressants, seen 1 pschologist and 2 pschiatrists. The main problems were intrusive thoughts/ anxious thoughts, paranoia.

Currently i get a weird thoughts that when i see another male that i may get into a fight and lose. Also get thoughts and fears

my partner may cheat. Antidepressants and excercise has helped the most. There are days when i think there's no such

thing as mental illness which is other peoples opinions rubbing off. I just hate the fact i may need medication and theres times when ive stopped taking it. I know it helps but i hate to feel i have a problem and i hate buying it. Realistically medication and excercise improves my quality of life and it is something i need to stick too. I hope someone can give me some encouragement or advice.

[Croix]

Dear Dylan121121~

Welcome back, a pity you are not 100%, but at least coming here people will understand.

I've read waht you wrote before and thing you seem a pretty sensible and realistic person. You recognize the symptoms you get, and the beneficial effects of meds and exercise. Actually having things to resort to is pretty good.

So can I ask why you feel as you do about having an illness, particularly as it can be mainly controlled? I'm sure you would have thought that those with diabetes, blood pressure and a host of other things are here because they rely upon medical support. What really gets you?

Sometimes having someone in your life with a closed mind can make one have doubts, is it something like that?

Croix

[smallwolf]

Dylan121121,

Are you still around? Thought I might pop in and see how you are going?

Tim

[wisdom]

Hi Dylan

I would just like to commend you on your honesty and can relate to your post. like you I take medication and also exercise daily and sometimes I wonder if the exercise has more benefits than the medication! However do not feel inadequate for taking your medication afterall if you were an asthmatic and needed your medication to exercise you would take it ,similar to if you were a diabetic and required insulin. Naturally if your medication is causing you to feel unwell you may question as to whether it may need changing however I try to put things into perspective and think if medication will improve my well being then it is worth taking.

Keep up with your exercise you seem to know what is right for you and if medication improves your quality of life then consider the option.

[greginmelbourne]

Hi Dylan,

Thanks for sharing your story. I know it's hard sometimes, but would you believe that I am actually a bit jealous of you. It's true! I wasn't diagnosed with my bipolar until my 40s and I would have loved to have known when I was in my 20s, as it would have made things much clearer for me.

For me, having a diagnosis gives me power. It gives me something to manage and something to control. It explains everything and allows me to deal with people and the world around me honestly. But it wasn't always like that.

I struggled a lot in my youth with the effects of my condition and what I would say to you is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep following your practitioner's advice, taking the meds and doing the exercise, and keep talking about it. That's important for you as it can maintain relationships and offer some stability.

Good luck with everything and keep at it. It will be worth it.