Is anyone totally mentally healthy?

[hellofromthelma]

I have just been prescribed a beta blocker for anxiety - still haven't decided if I'm going to take it yet. But I was looking for experiences on mumsnet and there are countless threads discussing just this one type of beta blocker going back so so many years.

I know that every time I scroll through threads on here there are so many relating to mental health.

I was just wondering, would any of you consider yourself to be 100% free of any issues or is it just a fact of life that we will all suffer (whether or not we are formally diagnosed)?

Ps. I'm interested to hear if anyone has also managed to 100% cure anxiety or if it's just something that has to be managed forever, with or without medication.

Thanks for your help! ☮️💟

@bytheby My GP said the same thing. Those feeling are normal and it would be extremely weird if you didn't have them. Our reaction to those feelings is what might get out of control

I would describe myself as mentally healthy, but that is not to say that I don't worry, and that I don't have times when I can't sleep or when I wake at 4am.

But I see these symptoms as reasonable responses to sad or stressful situations, and not intrinsic to me. A bit like if I burnt my hand on the oven, or crashed my hip into the corner of a table - it would hurt and I would bruise or blister but I would say I was still physically healthy - but had injured myself.
Does that difference make sense?

I’m technically diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I do have problems along those lines from time to time but I think in many ways I’m the most mentally healthy person I know, because I’m always working at it and trying to do better. And it’s that impulse which defines mental health for me.

I am pretty healthy mentally - I have lower mood from time to time, especially during the winter but nothing too serious. My 18 year old dd however has debilitating social anxiety so university is not an option right now (although she has the grades) and ordinary day to day interactions that other people wouldn't blink at are often way beyond her

I feel very mentally and physically healthy. I sometimes feel sad/worried/anxious but it generally passes and it's always in relation to an external event. I've always felt very comfortable in my own skin - I don't know if that's luck, upbringing or some other thing but it definitely helps. I have people in my family with poor mental health and I'm aware that I'm very lucky.

I'm interested that being peri-menopausal can cause anxiety. I think peri-menopause can't be too far away for me and I'm trying to be aware of the symptoms.

I'm like Scarby9 in that I think I'm mentally healthy. My reactions are proportionate to what is happening in my life so I get nervous before an interview or worried if one of the DC is ill for example but I don't overthink things. I've got issues in my life such as ill health, not having quite enough money and being lonely but I'm generally not a worrier. I don't know how I got this way because I had a crappy childhood and I've been through some horrible stuff as an adult but I actually feel fine.

I’m definitely not mentally healthy and I still have anxiety arising from childhood trauma but the book “the body keeps the keeps the score” made a big difference to me being able to manage my trauma related anxiety. Obviously different things work at different times for different people so I’m never one for ruling anything in or out but I thought I’d mention it.

Definitely not 100%, I have a diagnosis of anxiety and depression, on sertraline a d had CBT and not counselling. I feel better than I did but still fragile.

My mental health is detoriating. Especially the last few weeks. I know what the triggers are, but until things can go back to normal I'm stuck.

My job is the main trigger. I'm WFH which is making it worse (although going into the office does raise my anxiety) and cry at least twice a week about it. Today I walked away from my laptop and sat in the front room for 30 mins doing F all. I'd had my lunch break by then too. I also wrote out my notice and very nearly emailed it (not gone that far before), but I didn't. I do need to leave, I know I do, but it is not the right time in the middle of a pandemic. Though I feel like I am about to break any time now.

The other trigger is that there is nothing to look forward to. I'm just existing at the moment.

Of course the sensible side of me realises that once we get to spring life might start looking very different again and I can possibly start to feel better. It just seems so far away right now.

In normal circumstances I do go through periods of anxiety mainly with the odd bit of low level depression. Its just happening more frequently ATM and the depression is worse.

I do believe that like physical health, mental health does need to be worked at. Just like some people dont need to make much of an effort to stay a healthy weight and others need to work hard at it, mental health is the same. Some people are just naturally great while others have full bouts of depression and need constant medication or help. I'm usually in the middle. Plenty of fresh air, lots of social activities and something to look forward to has me great. The only thing I can get now is the fresh air which sometimes I have to force myself out of the house.

I'm generally not a worrier. I don't know how I got this way because I had a crappy childhood and I've been through some horrible stuff as an adult but I actually feel fine

I think there’s something in this, to do with resilience. I do think when you’ve had to fight these battles you come out stronger. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had a rough ride but glad you’re in a better place now.

I have pretty high levels of stress from being very busy and overloaded at work and at home but this is situational. Once the pressure is off, I think I am fine. However, other than being overworked and lack of sleep and generally worrying about the dcs' exams etc, I don't have other stressors like a crappy childhood or money problems or (currently) job insecurity. So I cannot claim to be mentally healthier than others with such issues in their lives.

I think that's so true and helpful to read here that feeling sad, lonely, angry, fed up sometimes is just normal. When I read your title I was thinking omg no how could you be 100% but those comments are so helpful to say yes actually your mental health can be good and still feel that way sometimes.

I've found with not seeing people on and off this year for weeks on end has made me go really into myself. I almost don't want to see them anymore which is so odd because I know I do - or think I do.

I feel like I over think everything, my WhatsApp chats are all really quiet and I could easily convince myself that everyone else is totally happy doing their own thing, all happening on different chats without me but maybe they can't be bothered as they're just not doing anything! Bit of a head battle which I know would be cured by getting outside in the air for a walk or run. It's a fine balance always

I'm definitely not fine. Had an extremely difficult year. Found out my husband had an 18 month affair. Chose to forgive him. But my anxiety is through the roof(already on meds) and for some reason I feel guilty and hate myself for every mistake I have ever made. I just can't move on from my own mistakes and it's eating me up inside ☹️

I was just wondering, would any of you consider yourself to be 100% free of any issues or is it just a fact of life that we will all suffer (whether or not we are formally diagnosed)?

I think there is an ongoing tendancy to pathologise normal human emotion. Being very sad does not mean you are clinically depressed, when you have reasons to be very sad. Being anxious does not mean you have anxiety when you have reasons to be anxious, and so on.

(That isn't to say people aren't depressed or have anxiety, of course. But not as many people who we think)

Despite quite an unstable upbringing, I find it quite difficult to keep feeling anxious even when things are bad. I do have worries, but brush them off with a ah it’ll all be fine in the end anyway.

Often poor mental health is as a result of being crapped on big style by others.

No, but it's not that weird when you consider that no one is totally 100% physically healthy. Everyone has at least one small thing, whether that be a slightly dodgy ankle, sunburn, sinus problems, needing medical help during childbirth, etc.

I was doing better, but my brother's cancer came back and it's terminal... so it's amazing how quickly my MH just tanked.
I suffered a sudden cardiac arrest last Spring, so I'm all beta blocked!

I just can't cope with people's requests/needs at all right now. I feel very badly about that, but it's like my entire emotional self has seized up and I've gone a bit catatonic. I'm great at home with the family, inside my 4 walls, or out on dog walks with the kids. But if anyone from the outside of that perimeter crosses the line and tries to reach out to me, I just freeze. Really weird. I recognise, to a degree, why this is and I know it will pass. But I don't like being this shutdown person. I don't like it at all because it pushes people and love away. I don't know how to not be that person right now, so I'm just rolling with it 'til it passes over me like a great wave (hopefully it won't carry me under! Don't think it will though.).

Is anyone totally 100% physically healthy?

The answer is yes. At some points in their lives some people will be firing on all cylinders and have no health issues. At other points in their lives they will have flu, diabetes, a broken leg, a heart condition etc. No-one is physically healthy throughout their lives.

Just the same as no-one is mentally healthy throughout their lives. Mental illness is not anything to lament or be ashamed of, it’s something to treat, just like physical health. So treat your mental health OP and look forward to feeling better. Take care of yourself.

I think age plays a role in our mental health. I'm late 40s, nearly 50 and definitely, mental health issues have become an ongoing theme in my life and the lives of friends my age. The hormonal shift does not help. Plus elderly parents are becoming very ill or dying. Relationships with family members can become more strained (especially when it comes to the 'Who's looking after our elderly parent?' race to the bottom between siblings). Things can get a bit wild and woolly in middle age. You begin to lose people- more funerals than weddings, for example.
It's not all bad though! Not at all. But middle-age is a challenging time. No lie.

I’m mid 50’s. It gets worse.

I thought ld get better as l got older, but I’ve got much worse.

I feel the opposite- late 50s, my mental health has improved dramatically since the menopause.

I would describe myself as in good mental health. A year ago I was prescribed beta blockers for migraine. Since I've been taking them I've stopped waking up in the night worrying about things. I wasn't concerned about that before, I just accepted it as part of getting older, but it's nice to be free of it now.

I'd say I'm 100%. I dont have anxiety or struggle to interact with people, or with confrontation.

I get sad, angry, happy etc about things, but related to events, which I think is normal. Generally I'm pretty even 🤷‍♀️

I'm in my late 50s and I would say that I have been fortunate to always have really good mental health. I think when I was in my 20s I was much less robust mentally (I had a miscarriage in my 20s and came very closely to clinical depression) but since then I have had several extremely stressful long-term situations to deal with (from my mid 40s onwards) and I think it has just raised my 'coping' bar.

My OH and my youngest DD both suffer from anxiety and depression so I am lucky that I seem to have a lot of resilience. I am definitely a glass half full person. I don't claim any applause for that - i think it's just the way that my brain is. But I am very grateful for it nevertheless.