Help! Am in major depressive episode and my wife is bedridden.

[Whysoserious]

I need help with how to manage. I am in the middle of a major depressive episode. At its peak I was suicidal though I think that is behind me for the time being.

Last week my wife injured herself rather badly and now can't get out of bed. It means that I have to manage to get everything done around the house and work as well. At the moment a successful day is getting out of bed, having a shower and getting dressed. I can cook but can't plan for shopping so just end up ordering takeaway and this isn't healthy for either of us. Just writing this post took inordinate energy.

I'm sure someone else has gone through this and would love to know how on Earth I am to cope.

Thanks all.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Whysoserious,

Thank you so much for summoning the energy and courage to share this with us here today. We know it isn't easy but it is so important that you have.

We're sorry to hear how much you are struggling just now. We want you to know our wonderful, caring online forums community users give and receive support based on their own experiences with mental health, some of which will resonate with yours.

While the peer support on offer here is often quick., it is important to keep in mind that it is not immediate. For more immediate support, we encourage you to reach out to the qualfied mental health professionals at our support service. They're available 24/7 on 1300 22 4636.

Please remember also that if you think you're at risk of harming yourself or others then it is an emergency and you should call 000 straightaway.

Welcome to our community. Please keep reaching out here and updating us on your journey whenever you feel up to it.

[Katyonthehamsterwheel]

Hello

Gosh, that certainly does present difficulties, and well done for finding the energy to post here. Do you have resources that you can draw on? Family/friends/community organisations? What about online shopping or a food delivery service like Hello Fresh? You know, good food can certainly benefit us in a lot of ways, but at times accepting where we are at, and that we're doing our best can be helpful too. Do your episodes usually last very long? Sometimes knowing how long they usually last can be helpful too.

Hopefully our community can offer you something that helps. My kind thoughts. Be gentle with yourself.

Katy

[Curiouser]

Hey ya.

I know all too well how you feel and there are strange ways to cope as I have over the years found out, here's what I found.

I'd recommend that you go shopping and occupy yourself with cooking a Salicylates free meal for both yourself and your wife (zero Salicylates). I have found that a change in diet can indeed change how you feel both physically and mentally. A link to Salicylates is below, notice all the health affects it can have.

https://atpscience.com/salicylate-foods-sensitivity-intolerances-and-food-list/

Which then brings us to Gut health and it's link to mental health. Link below.

https://www.daimanuel.com/2020/11/17/how-your-gut-health-affects-your-brain/

I had no idea before I tried this, but I'd also recommend you have your colon flushed out via colon hydrotherapy. (70% of your immune system is via gut, colon). It takes about 45 minutes. (Don't bee shy). I had all sorts of parasites, worms and toxins flushed out of me, helped a great deal. Colon hydrotherapy is know to greatly reduce symptoms of fatigue. Something that you are clearly suffering from. You may also need to follow up with a strong Probiotic.

Give the diet at least 3 days. Colon hydrotherapy should see immediate results. This continues to help me, give it a go. Don't give up.

[Just Ken]

As far as meals go, there are options that are almost as easy as takeaway but healthier. My goto meal when I'm tired is frozen crumbed fish pieces and frozen steamed vegetables. Just grab them from the frozen food section. All you then need is 20 minutes in the oven and about 5 minutes in the microwave. Alternatives to fish are chicken and pies, although they are a bit high in carbohydrate.

[Curiouser]

Sure, but most of the frozen prepacked stuff have preservatives (i.e Salicylates), and steamed vegetables, what sort? Some have large amounts of salicylates which need to be avoided. Chicken, yes chicken is good, but do you put pepper on it? No pepper allowed and pies have massive amount of Salicylates in the gravy, that is definitely a no no.

It's a hard diet to follow, I'm not saying it's easy, but worth a shot, why not?