- Beyond Blue Forums
- Mental health conditions
- Anxiety
- introduction
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark Topic as New
- Mark Topic as Read
- Pin this Topic for Current User
- Follow
- Printer Friendly Page
introduction
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hi Mick,
Welcome to the Beyond Blue "Family and Community" Thanks for sharing your story with us. Must be tough wanting to do things and feeling like you can't enjoy them. I have depression, suffer from stress and used to have panic attacks, like you in crowded places and when I felt like their was no quick exit.
I have been reading some excellent material about stress provided by the Priceline Chemist on the web. It has helped me to realise how much I had allowed "STRESS" to take over my life.
Through reading about it, I am overcoming it slowly. Maybe you could try to access this as well. They have some great material.
The main thing that stood out for me was not having the feeling of being in control of every situation! Once I started to let go of that need and to just accept what was happening around me, I started to feel so much better. It was like a pressure valve was released and I calmed right down!
Regarding your psychologist, could you actually write down dot points on paper and hand that to the person as a means of communicating with them?
Could you suggest a family picnic somewhere on the weekends, so you are outside with heaps of space around you and nothing to stress you out. Go bush walking as a family, or to a beach if you live near one that isn't crowded.
You mentioned you have a house, can you and family have a meal outside now and then?
Beyond Blue have a "webchat" where you can "chat" online and someone gets back to you straight away with help and advice. That might work well for you.
Look up stress and anxiety on the web, not so much the symptoms, but how to overcome these conditions and see what strategies you could try. A lot of people are helped by breathing exercises and meditation, by trying to change their thought patterns or by writing down their fears/worries/ anxieties and then trying to work out how realistic it all is.
There is a whole world out there for you and your family to discover and experience. You have taken this step to ask for advice and assistance. Hopefully some of my suggestions will help you and others will share with you too.
Take the next step, try to communicate in some way with the psychologist, with webchat, your Dr. Research on the net or the library. The more we understand a situation/illness the better we can overcome it.
If something doesn't work for you, try something else. Keep going. One day at a time. Would like to hear how you get on.
from Mrs. Dools
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hey and welcome to BeyondBlue!
ive had anxiety and panic attacks, social phobia etc now for years- my whole life really but I only got diagnosed and started treatment 3 years ago,
anxiety is is different for everyone and what treatment works is different- some peoplle need meds, others need different meds, others need therapy. Therapy is really important. Hopefully you feel like you have a good connection with your psych but if you don't you can get another one. Hopefully you've accessed the medicare funded sessions to make it cheaper for you.
CBT is a therapy very popular for anxiety: in it you'll learn how to change your avoiding/ anxious thoughts and behaviours into more realistic thoughts. You'll also learn techniques for how to cope when feeling stressed/ anxious. Eg deep breathing, relaxation, positive self talk. You might start off with someghing small. Like you might start with a simple walk around the block with your wife. You'll use the techniques and strategies to cope with your uncomfortable anxiety. Then the next time you walk around the block it will be easier, than even easier the next time. Theh you can try something harder.
ACT is a therapy I love love love- it's really made sense to me- it's all about how we react to negative/ anxious thoughts. Like we learn to just accept them as "stories". They aren't necessarily true so we learn not to get upset or argue with them or even listen to them. They're just stories. It's a bit more complicated than that obviously but that's the basics.
medication can help immensely. I've found 3 years of trying medications didn't work for me- they never helped much at all and usualky made me feel ill. I just started on a new one yesterday and made a post because it's so great so far. I feel much calmer but not "knocked out".
you know when I first got diagnosed and got therapy, my anxiety was so severe that my first task in therapy was To go to the shops and buy a bottle of milk. Seriously! It was realky severe. And that bottle of milk was the hardest thing!! But the next time it was a bit easier.. I kept practising my techniques every time I felt stressed.
Within 6 months I was attending concerts with hundreds of people, I was going on dates (and am now in a serious relationship, I'd gotten a job and am now studying for my dream job.
yes I still struggle but nowhere near as much as I used to and only because I have a few different issues going on right now.
You can recover!!
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Also I know it's really hard to open up and talk to someone- many people with anxiety just hate talking about private stuff, they like to keep silent and keep hidde. We often find it exhausting or stressful to talk to people. But it gets easier with time, I have no problem with it now but a few years ago I spent my life playing computer games because I couldn't talk to people in real life. Now I don't have computer games because I've got so many nice hobbies and friends I can spend time with.
if you really are uncomfortable with your doctor or therapist you can switch to another one. There will be one that you'll find you can open up a little easier. Look, it is hard. But it's worth it. And the hardest bit is the first session. After that you'll realise its not so bad at all! You might even find yourself looking foreword to "getting it all off your chest" and you might find it very helpful. I hated my first psych, but I've liked them all dince. The one I see now is awesome, she's so helpful and I feel like I can say anything to her!
it can get better, you just gotta start the journey! "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step". Just keep thinking how nice it will be to take your lovely wife and kids out to dinner in a few months. You could take your kids to all those places kids like to go- the movies and roller coasters. Think of what you'd like to do and tell your therapist- make it a goal, that way you have something to work towards. Then you break it down into smaller goals. So big goal might be "in 3 months I'll take my wife to a nice dinner at a restaurant". Well your furst step might be to have coffee at home with your wife. You know what I mean? One step at a time
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
