Uphill Battle

[musiclover7]

Hi everyone, I have just joined BB and would really like some support and companionship.

Since I was about 12, I've had many bouts of depression over my lifetime. In my early twenties I started to get anxiety attacks, mainly social and performance related. I've managed to get the depression under wraps most of the time with the help of anti-depressant medication, but the anxiety is an on-going handicap. It doesnt happen as frequently, but it still rears its ugly head regularly.

I'm looking forward to getting to know people here.

[jaz28]

Hi musiclover7,

I am sorry that you are feeling like this. But welcome! Here, you will find great support and assurance that you are not alone!

Have you seen a psychologist about your anxiety? I found this to be most helpful in managing mine.

All the best and I hope you find the support you are looking for. We are all here to help.

Jaz.

[HappyHelper88]

Hello musiclover7
Thankyou for your post and welcome you have come to the right place,

I am sorry to hear about what your going through and you are not alone. I have had many bouts with my depression and anxiety over the years and my advice is to keep on persevering, I am in a good place now but it took many years of treatment and i read alot of self help books.
I find exercise helps me as well as breathing exercises and keeping a thoughts and feelings journal.

We hope that you find our forums to be a safe and supportive space to talk through your thoughts and feelings. Our community is here for you.
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 here. It can really help to talk things like this through. Please remember to reach out whenever you need to.

[Banksy92]

Hey musiclover7, welcome to the BB community - it's a really wonderful space with supportive people who want to help and hear from you.

I'm happy for you that you're managing your depression well so far with the right medication, this can be a challenging journey in itself to find the right fit so that is a great step.

I suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety myself, but my anxiety is more prominent. I have found working with a psychologist a really helpful - have you considered something like this?

For more short term relief, if it's of any interest, here are a few things I find helpful when I'm super anxious:

-Listening to a guided meditation track and doing deep breathing
-Yoga or going for a walk
-Journalling: getting all my feelings out of my head and onto the page

Sometimes just one small effort to step back from what we're doing and ground ourselves can make a big difference.

Know that you are supported and there are lots of different strategies and tools you can bring into your life to help you manage and reduce this. We're all here for you here whenever you need.

Hope this helps.

[musiclover7]

Thank you Jaz for your support.

Yes, I have been to many psychologists over the decades. Some have been very helpful.

I am going to contact a new one this week, which will be interesting.

[musiclover7]

Thank you Happy Helper for your support.

I exercise daily for 30 minutes, which is very helpful. Meditation has similarly been really beneficial. I haven't tried journalling, but it sounds like a good idea.

[musiclover7]

Thanks Banksy for your support.

I will see a new psychologist soon and keep up meditation and exercise.

Something which I've only talked about in the last year, because of embarassment, is that I feel incredibly lonely a lot of the time. I only have one close friend that I feel truly relaxed with. I am really tired of trying to make and maintain new friends. It would be wonderful if people would ring me for a chat instead of vice versa.

I guess Covid has made other people a bit flat and less sociable as well. My partner doesnt really enjoy conversing with me much, which makes things worse.