Depression

[Yonnie]

I'm unsure what to do to help myself. I've been battling depression and anxiety for over 20 years. I fluctuate. I have good periods, and I have bad periods. I'm on a truck load of medication, and for the most part has kept me functioning. 

3 months ago we had a family incident which caused a flare up in my depression. I tried to do all the right things, I made sure I got up and got dressed, I had showers, I went for walks etc. Nothing helped. I spent 5 weeks in a psych hospital having TMS. I felt good for one week. Now I've been home for two weeks and I can feel myself sliding backwards. I have no motivation to do anything. I just want to sleep. I can't concentrate or make decisions. I'm eating to much. I have panic attacks when I try leaving the house. I feel scared. I don't know how to get myself out of this situation. 

My psych is overseas for the next three weeks, and I'm due for my next TMS top up in 4 weeks. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

[james1]

Hey Yonnie,

I'm so sorry to hear you have been struggling the last three months and you don't have access to your psych for the next three months. I understand you have been trying to take care of yourself and go for walks, but it's not been able to help ease things enough. 

Have you tried speaking to the BeyondBlue support line (1300 224 636)? 

When I was in a similar situation where my normal self-care things didn't work, I found it helped even just for the 5 - 10 mins to speak to people. I found it much worse when I was just alone in my head. Being able to speak to someone got me out of my head and gave me some temporary support. 

Another thought I have is whether you were given any access to doctors at the hospital, and whether you could contact them or your normal GP?

James