New and suffering from depression

[louise123]

Hi,

I am currently going through depression. Slowly getting through it but getting out there is a bit of a struggle. When I go to town I can only stay for about an hour due to physical pain and weakness. I am asking to see if this is something others suffer from when they have this illness. I also start to get a cough and it is not from the weather as we have the hottest temps where I am from. I am spending alot of time with family during the day so that is helping a little. I guess I'm here for extra support and information to see if what I am experiencing is all part of thr depression as this is the first time being like this. TIA

[geoff]

Hello Louise, and a warm welcome to the site.

Mental illness of any type can differ from person to person and will depend on their current circumstances, the amount of pressure can change from day to day, although I'm not a doctor, but know from experience and one day you seem to be better only to falling back into it again the next day.

Getting help from family/friends can be good until they expect you to follow their advice to improve but this isn't always the case, because sometimes it's impossible as something else has been added to your position which they may not be aware of.

What you do need is someone in particular who will listen to any dark secrets you haven't told anyone else and this can be a doctor or a psychologist and wonder if this is already happening.

Please get back to us when you're available.

Geoff.

[Sophia16]

Hi Louise,

Welcome to the BB forums and thank you for sharing your story. I can see that you are going through a hard time. Just know you are strong.

Depression is different for everyone. It can affect your physical health as well as your mental health. Our body is all connected. Have you considered seeing your local GP about your symptoms?

Please stay safe and I am here to chat if you need me.

[louise123]

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for your reply. It helps alot to hear from others and have people you can talk to about this. I have great family support right now and being honest with them how I fell day to day really helps them to understand and they know I am just taking it day by day and this is all quite new to all of us.

[louise123]

Hi Sophia,

Thanks for reading my post. I kind of gave up going to the GP as they were not listening to my physical symptoms and were only prescribing antidepressants but never said that I was depressed or even told me how the medication would work. I had no clue. Until I started feeling so low and had no interest, connections or feelings to my loved ones that I started on the antidepressants that were already prescribed. I had a colleague come around who said he knew that wasn't me and went straight to the hospital and got mental health involved. This led to me seeing a psychiatrist who changed the medication as I wasn't improving and I have not been able to find out why I am feeling exhausted after a quick trip uptown. That's why I reached out on here for info. I had previously gone to the doctors 5 times over all to be told that I was ok and they couldn't find any reason that would be causing a medical Illness internally. So seems like I still have unanswered questions and just hoping someone may be feeling the same symptoms as me with their depression then I might be a t ease a little. Don't want ti have to think I have another medical issue going on. Just really wanting to get some life back. But for now I just have to wait and see.

[Sophia16]

Oh, i understand. I am sorry that you are going through this difficult time.

I have done some research and feeling weak and having physical pain are symptoms of depression. So what you are feeling is a part of depression.

Have you considered doing CBT? Sometimes medication doesn't help.

Here is a link if you're interested 🙂 https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral

[louise123]

Hi Sophia,

I am on medication and it is helping a great deal. I am back to socialising with family and planning days out. Every few days I get a boost of energy and I will clean or water the yard. I think without the medication I would be still bed ridden. I guess once the depression lifts so might the physical symptoms and pain. I had to ask on here about weakness and physical pain to help me heal. Hope this is understandable. It also reduces the health anxiety that I was having alongside of this. Have a mental health appointment with my psychiatrist and I am in a better place to ask questions for my recovery now then I had been. Good luck to all those suffering like me and there is some hope.

[Gambit87]

Hi Louise,

Welcome to the forums!

My psychologist said something very interesting in one of our sessions - When you're on the road of recovery, you can usually pick when depression/anxiety started. For me, it was just as I was finishing school (in 2004) and I didn't seek help until 2 years ago.

I spent so long trapped in the grip of depression and anxiety. Brutal feelings of lonliness (despite having amazing family and friends) constant headaches and back aches, low moods etc. Since getting help, my headaches and backaches are almost non existent. When I'm having down days I can feel a little stiff and sore around my body but clear up when im having good days.

[geoff]

Hello Louise, sometimes your doctor can generally tell whether or not you are suffering from some type of depression and suggest AD's, but some are not intuned as to why, as you might have mentioned several different subjects, all they know is that you're not feeling as well as you should be and it's not necessarily their job to diagnose why this is happening, but just know that you need medication and have to be monitored.

You may be able to clean or water the yard as a spurt of energy has overtaken you, but it may only last 5 or 10 minutes, rather than your usual 45 minutes and the reason this happens is because you don't get better straight away, it takes a little while to build up your strength and this may well happen doing other chores and may not happen every day.

Try and write down questions you want to ask the psych, and I say this because once you start talking you seem to forget the other concerns you're having and as soon as you leave, you remember what else you wanted to ask, and by next appointment, they might not be a concern, but now they are.

Take care.

Geoff.