SO... long story short, I've had a bit of a battle with Generalised Anxiety and Depression over the last few years. It took me a while to get the courage up to get to the point where I had to admit that I needed some help by way of medication.
I've had some varying experiences with counselling etc prior, and I had some good patches after, but the cold, hard reality of GAD has come back to bite me time after time.
My doc has me on medication. That's easy to manage, but I'm still coming to terms with the side effects. The first day or so, I had quite the headache. Since then, I've just been really vague, or "foggy". I can function and do what I need to do at work, at home with the family etc, but it's a conscious battle to force myself along, rather than to allow myself to procrastinate and "zombie out", so to speak.
Is this kind of thing normal, and when should I expect to see some benefit? The doc told me that I'd feel a little off for 2-4 weeks while the medication "sinks in", and everyone is different I suppose. I decided to join a gym last night, so hoping that can help too.
A bit of my back story... I was in a good paying job, but I really hated it. The work itself was just ok, but the management and red tape were ridiculous. I've managed to find myself a better paying job, in a slightly different field, but with a hell of a lot less stress, so that's great. On the home front, I have a 3, nearly 4, year old daughter an early-teen step-daughter. I really struggle with my step-daughter, she's really hard work. We are cut from different cloth, and the influence her father has on her means we'll probably always struggle. My youngest daughter is a daddy's girl, she's my shadow. I love her with all a father can, but yeah... she's hard work, as are all toddlers! There isn't a moment's rest when we are home together, meaning I get very little peace (which I thrive on), and I don't really have much of a sanctuary away from the home struggles. My partner and I have had an up and down relationship, especially the last 2 years. At one point, I was living out of the family home for a month, while we decided where we went from there. We are back together, and things are still up and down. When it's good, it's really good, but when it's not.... yeah, it's horrible.
Anyway - any advice, ideas or otherwise are all greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Nath
