Anxiety & depression - I’m in such a dark place right now!

[Hope4Us]

This is my first time to this forum. Im totally lost right now and don’t have anywhere to turn. I suffer from anxiety and depression but have been travelling ok until the last week or so. I’m now so down I can’t get out of bed to go to work which is making me stress more.

[Jackson85]

Hi Hope4Us,

Thanks for posting and sharing how you're feeling, it shows a lot of courage to take this step. There are lots of people on these forums who feel the way you do, either anxious, or depressed, or both. In fact, they even have dedicated forums for those topics because of how many people feel that way, so you are in no way alone!

Would you like to chat a bit more about how things are going for you? You mentioned that the last week in particular has been tough, can you tell me a bit more about how things were before the last week? I'd love to hear more about how you're going.

Jackson 85

[Hope4Us]

Hi Jackson 85,

Thankyou so much for replying, it really helps to know that there’s people out there feeling the same way that I do.

i guess I’ve know that I’ve been slipping for a couple of weeks now. I’m on antidepressants for my anxiety and feel that the dose is going ok but haven’t been looking after my mental and health wellbeing. It’s something I really have to work at and have just lost motivation of late. I’ve also been drinking more alcohol lately than I normally do which I know doesn’t help.

I spoke to my therapist today and have an appointment with them next week which will hopefully steer me back on the right coarse, along with these forums which I feel will really help.

The constant overload and workings of my mind right now is really exhausting.

Thanks for reaching out.

[geoff]

Hi Hope4U, thanks for posting your comment and as Jackson85 has said, you're not alone in struggling with this awful illness, I'm sorry that you are going through it.

There are times when some of us have a relapse, maybe for a reason or maybe for no reason at all, and it's happened to me several times, you know it just happens, you can't stop it, even though you've been travelling pretty well, but before you know it you're back feeling awful.

I also self medicated with alcohol, knowing that it wasn't any good for me, and often told by my doctor, now, fortunately, I only socially drink, but it hasn't been easy, and know the position you are in.

Perhaps you could start to write down on a piece of paper what you are having problems with, because by next week, how you feel today, might be different to next week, but still very important, then you can hand this list over to them (take a photocopy), maybe you could also do the K-10 test and do it a few times, not straight after another, then you can hand this over as well.

Hope to hear back from you.

Geoff.

[White_Rose]

Dear Hope4Us

Hello and welcome to the forum. This is a good place to talk about your various difficulties. As Geoff has said, there are so many people here with the same difficulties. So take heart, you are not alone.

I have spent days in bed because I could not get up. Going to work was a huge problem and I had lots of time off when my depression was so all encompassing. Fortunately I had support at work and saw a psychiatrist regularly. Actually, when I first went to the psych I was going twice a week. At the time I took no notice of the frequency and in some ways I think I was grateful for the support. It was only down the track that I realised how very unwell I had been. Hindsight can be useful at times.

We all have our distractions which can be helpful. A friend of mine used to read books all day but I found I could not concentrate on reading for long. Instead I watched DVDs and when I got tired I could switch off and come back later. I also went out walking. I think the motivation for that was I felt trapped in the house. As it turns out, walking is good for depression as it releases good chemicals into the body. It also helps us to keep some fitness, something I did not think of at the time.

I also found help in gardening. Don't think I was or became a great gardener. I used to plant various bushes and small trees and could stand and water them for hours were it not for the cost of water. Again fresh air and a creative activity were good for me. These are the sorts of activities that will help you also. Anything you can do outside, meditation, reading, all these do help. Of course the of lack of motivation keeps us chained to helplessness and we first need a way to break through this so to speak.

Depression is often called the black dog. It's a good name because it will follow us around and keep very careful watch we do nothing that is good for us. So the first task is to tell the dog who is boss. I don't know if you read much. I could not read for long even though it was one of my favourite pastimes. Try some books by Bev Aisbett. The best I found was Living With It, subtitle A survivor's guide to panic attacks. I found it worked as well for depression. There are several books in this series. They take less than an hour to read all through. They are lively and entertaining, free from preaching and make good sense.

Hope this helps.

Mary

[smallwolf]

Hi Hope4Us,

Welcome to beyond blue. I don't really have anything to add that has not already been said by the other posters. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone with these feelings and if you want to chat about it, I will listen to you. Hope your appointments with your therapist are working out? If things are on your mind, this is a good place to put them between sessions - at least I find it helpful. If you have any questions or just want to chat, let me know.

Peace,

Tim