New & looking forward to interacting with other BB members

[Julz01]

Hi all

i am married have 3 kids in their 20's & 1 teenager all still at a home, a dog & a few fish.

14 years ago I was diagnosed with PND, anxiety & OCD. For the most part I kicked the OCD but the depression & anxiety is still with me. Having said that I am feeling the best I have in years. This time last year I was in a bad way & was hospitalised an Xperience that changed my life. I took up regular exercise, started eating healthy, lost 30 kgs, try to establish regular sleep patterns, take my meds at the same time everyday & stopped drinking. I was drinking most nights & binging at social occasions - life of the party, but under that happy facade I was dying on the inside.

i used to be ashamed of my condition & hide it with my fake happy mask. Now I want to shout it from the roof tops, there is hope!!! I still have bad days but I do everything I can to make sure it's not weeks & months. When I am slipping I am more honest with my husband now & I try to catch up with my psychologist sooner rather than later. Today hasn't been a great day I have guilt for not going to the gym all weekend & have been an unmotivated couch potato today. But I am trying not to dwell on it & let it drag me down; I am on the verge of a new week & will work on it & try not to beat myself up too much.

This forum will be additional support on my journey & I hope I can support others with my experience of turning everything I used to do upside down.

peace & love

[BballJ]

Hi Julz01,

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

Well done for posting your story and also well done for seemingly overcoming your mental illness battles. Although we can never get rid of them, learning to live with them and not allowing them to overtake your life is the key and you seem to have almost mastered it. Having bad days is fine, in fact we need them to remind ourselves of where we came from and how far we have come in our recovery journeys.

I think you will be a huge asset to these forums with your experience and ability to help members in need. Don't forget we are here for your support too, so if you feel you want to vent, this is your thread now so post here as much as you like.

My best for you,

Jay

[white knight]

Hi Julz, welcome

Its great youve found this forum.

Google this

Topic: how I eliminated anxiety- beyondblue

Topic: the balance of your life- beyondblue

Cheers Tony WK

[geoff]

hi Julz, welcome to the site and thanks for posting your comment.
You've lost weight, going to the gym, stopped the drinking and thrown away the fake mask, well done, that's certainly being positive and that's what you have done.
It's impossible to have every single day of our to be happy, we come across bridges we have to cross which maybe broken so we have to find another way to cross that river, but that takes a positive mind, one that can construct the steps needed without falling in.
When you have a relapse does your OCD come back in force and this can easily happen, but it's great for you to join us and I'm sure there will be so much you can offer to help and suggest to other people.
Welcome on board. Geoff.