please would someone come and talk to me.

[tadpolesarseholes]

this is my 2nd week off work with deppression and anxiety. My doctor has put me on sertraline ,(iam on day 7) I was feeling a little more positive, due to the fact that my doctor is being very supportive and understanding etc.

However, today iam feeling really really very down and very panicky. I am worried that iam never going to be able to leave the house, my husband will leave me because iam not the woman he married and am i ever going to be able to go back to work. (i have to work because my dh at the mo, doesnt earn enough to cover the morgage and bills etc.)

I know that the ads take a few weeks to work but i cant see the light at the end of the tunnel. Iam sorry for the bad spelling and grammar, but my brain doesnt seem to work at the mo.

I never come on the mental health threads but I've come on to talk to you as I'm feeling very crappy today too.

I've forced myself to go out and am currently sat in my car outside my allotment with the dog - my plan is to do a small amount of physical work (strimming) and pick two lovely plants for outside my front door.

I'm going to suggest something very small if you're up to it - a tiny walk round the block, if you have a garden take a walk round it and look at the changing leaves, be aware that this feeling will pass just like the leaves are changing from green to amber.

If it's warm enough where you are ( I'm roasting in the south east) then take a cup of tea outside. Breathe deeply in the autumn air.

When you feel like this you need to do three things:

1. Stop your internal voice from being so critical (my dh is going to leave me etc ) by a combination of distraction and coddling - you have to find your 'key' to help, watching a bit of comedy on you tube, making a cake, knitting - whatever works for you (I go to the cinema, go for a drive etc)

1. Remind yourself that you felt ok on X date and that you will again, that this feeling is temporary and is to be acknowledged but that it isn't permanent

1. Set yourself only very small tasks and reward afterwards - tell yourself out loud that you have accomplished something - even if it's just making a cup of tea, putting a load of washing in

{{hugs}}

I am now going to get out of this car and take some of my own advice

Take a deep breath and consider small steps.

The ADs will start working soon and help level your mood. You husband will be supportive, just remember to be open and honest about how you're feeling.

As for leaving the house; try standing in the open doorway for a while first, don't go anywhere just watch the world go by. Next time go into your front garden and sit for a while. It'll remind you that nothing bad is going to happen when you're outside.

Depression and anxiety are a bitch to cope with, but you can cope and you will manage it. Just remember that the depression is just a small part of you, not the other way round.

Feeling bad today too - was on sertraline a few years ago and found it really good but it does make you feel worse to begin with. Just keep telling yourself that you can ride this wave and you will start to feel better soon. Lauries advice is brilliant. Need to take her advice today too. Will try and hoover the living room i think.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, i really do appreciate it.Iam going to have a go at sitting in the back garden.

It's really normal to have up and down days and it will take a couple of weeks for the ad's to kick in. I've been on ad's for depression and anxiety for 1.5 years now and still get odd days like that. On those days I try not to be too hard on myself, recognise I'm having a down day and if I can manage it get up and do something. Like yesterday I made some muffins. Really tiny thing but made me get up off sofa and I enjoyed eating them afterwards Please be reassuted that it will get better and you have to be kind to yourself.

yes laurie's advice is good - it may sound trite in the way you're feeling but it really is like that. though sometimes when things are really bad it's waiting for enough of a tiny crack in the clouds where you CAN do those little steps iyswim.

feeling a bit of a coward as i namechanged to come and post a thread. not sure if there is any point to starting a thread. maybe just nice to chat to others who are struggling and remind myself i'm not alone and these things really do come and go and it isn't just me who is a huge abject moral failure because here i am feeling fragile and hiding in my bed today when i should be at work.

blah blah.

give the meds time OP. distract yourself however you can - play silly facebook games, read for as long as you can concentrate, have lots of hot baths - whatever. just hold yourself and hold on till the light breaks through.

How you doing today tadpoles? Did yesterday get easier?

Morning laurie, iam feeling quite positive today, (still not 100%, but better than yesterday.) Yesterday was tough and didnt seem to get any better, but hey, that was yesterday.

The sun is shining here today and that is helping alot.Fingers x'd that my positive mood continues.

I hope you are feeling well today laurie and thank you ever so much for your message, it really is very kind.It also helps me to know that iam not alone.

That's great. It's good that you notice that the feeling does pass and that week after week isn't uniformly shit.

The next bad moment or day that you have you can say that to yourself.

My day got better yesterday after I'd been outside. Today everything is going wrong (dog has just tramped poo through the house and dh has taken the toolkit to work - I only realised this after I'd put rawl plugs in the wall in the wrong place and can't get them out without pliers!) but I feel ok even with external things going wrong.

I've brought the day under control by taking up a pot of paint (which I only need a brush for) to paint a blackboard wall in dd's room.

Hope today goes well for you