Took a step and saw a GP. Waiting on bloods. What's next?

[Deckard]

I've always had bouts of low level depression. This one is lasting a while and so I've seen a GP. Getting blood done first and go from there (my bloods have always been normal, so not expecting an easy fix like I'm low in Iron or Vitamin D).

I'm not someone dwelling on trauma. Covid hasn't really impacted my life. I don't have a stressful life. Home life is good. I've always had levels of social anxiety, but i don't get anxious about anything else. I'm not someone who worries about much.

I'm flat, lack energy, lack motivation. Joyful things are a lot less joyful these days. Things seem kind of pointless. I'm tired. My big social hobby I just feel like quitting. Being around a bunch of people on the weekend was just exhausting. I'm irritable.

I've looked at a few different online resources the GP suggested while waiting for results. Mood gym, Mind Spot etc. Nothing there has really helped so far or gelled for me. GP has suggested the possibility of a psychologist, which I'm not opposed to, but i certainly don't feel like I'm holding onto trauma or anything like that.

I suppose I'm just kind of thinking is anything really going to work for me? I've never been an energetic, go-getting, extroverted sort of person and honestly, that's not what i aspire to be either. I just want some joy out of the life routine I'm going to have to live for at least a few decades still.

[HappyHelper88]

Hello Deckard Thanks for your post and welcome

Good to hear that home life is good, Its normal to feel flat sometimes but this seems abit more serious.
Seeing a psychologist is also beneficial as they can provide a different perspective on things and its also good to talk about any thoughts and feelings you are having. Its definitely worth talking to someone about how you are feeling even if its a counsellor.

Is anything going to work for you? You wont know until you try everything 🙂 however its worth trying some options as you could boost your energy levels abit more.

I Hope this Helps

If you want to talk this through with a Beyond Blue counsellor, we’re on 1300 22 4636 or you can reach us on webchat. It can really help to talk things like this through.

Feel free to keep sharing, other members will likely be able to relate to what you’re going through.

[Pumpkinella]

Hi Deckard,

Thanks so much for sharing. It can be a bit of a long and confusing road to recovery because when you cant pin down an exact cause or trigger you don't know where to start.

I too have felt like I didn't know why I was feeling so low - for me actually it turned out it was a health thing - I was not being very healthy food wise or exercise wise and when I started doing that I had more energy and with more energy I started feeling better in other ways.

I'm not saying that's what's happening with you but as you are trying to explore what it might be that's triggering this its good to cast your net wide.

So just starting out trying different things from different parts of your wellbeing - a psychologist is definitely a good start because they are trained to help you identify exactly what you are struggling to identify now.

Think about diet and exercise and just small things you could do (like a morning walk).

Also perhaps some medication - I know that has worked for some people.

Is there anything has has worked well in the past for you?

Here to chat

Pumps

[Deckard]

Thank you. After i see the GP again I think a counsellor might be a good start!

[Deckard]

Thanks Pumpkinella.

I'm involved in a sporting type group and as i'm getting older i've taken much better care of myself. I'm probably fitter now than I've been in the last 15 years. Good cardio workouts at least 4 times a week with some light weights peppered in. It's another reason why I'm a bit confused as to why I don't feel a lot better mentally. I actually stopped on the way to work this morning for a quick 10 minute workout on one of those gym setups they have at parks hoping for a boost. Still feel flat as a pancake. I did feel a little better for a while after last night's workout though.

I think the best I've felt in recent years was during a long break from working after a redundancy. I kept a good routine. I still got up early. Took my wife to work. Did a workout at the gym. Did all the household chores and grocery shopping. Did anything around the home that needed doing. I felt like I had so much more time up my sleeve to get all those things done you always put off and I had my afternoons to relax. But obviously I needed to get back to work and that situation I enjoyed isn't a realistic goal I can ever get back to.

Once i see the GP, I think a psychologist or even a counsellor will need to be my next step. I can't fix this on my own. I'm certainly not opposed to medication, as long as it doesn't completely drown my personality.

[Pumpkinella]

Morning Deckard,

Well you certainly keep your exercise routine up! It's likely that the exercise is helping, in the sense that you may feel more flat without it, so its really great that you engage in it so often.

That's interesting. Maybe part of it at least, is a subtle feeling of overwhelm in meeting all of work and life's demands. I wish it was realistic for us to only be with our families and manage our homes! But a counsellor can help you strategise/manage if that is contributing factor.

I have seen a number of psychologists over the years (all good in their own ways). So I thought I'd provide some information on sourcing psychologists:

It's good to consider what psychologist/counsellor would be a good fit for you. Sometimes people give up on counselling because they didn't like their first psychologist but often they just needed to find the right fit.

If you wanted to browse for yourself the following link - https://psychology.org.au/find-a-psychologist - has a list of registered psychologists, and you can search by issue, location, check out their websites and look at their faces.

I found that helpful when deciding who to go with, rather than having my GP choose for me. I just called them first to see whether they would have availability and then told my GP I was interested in seeing them.

Or if that is overkill you can simply chat to your GP (you can stipulate things like a gender preference/age) and they can connect you with someone to start off with.

In any case, sounds like a great first move.

I don't know much about medication but there are definitely milder forms that would not take away your personality. The ones that do tend to be strong - often used for people who have manic depression/suffer psychosis.

Here if you want to chat more about it all 🙂

Pumps

[Deckard]

Thank very much for the helpful link. I’ll have a look through as well as chat with my GP in my follow up this week!

[Pumpkinella]

No problem Deckard I wish you all the best and always feel free to post back for chats 🙂 Its been nice chatting with you !