Banishing the winter blues, warming each other up in The Village

[LEMoncehadacatcalledSANTA]

Err, we need a new thread guys - I know this is Vicar's job so i hope you like the name.

This thread is a support group for those with mental health issues and generally feeling crap, some of us are on medication, some of us have help.

So come on in, grab a stool at the pub, the fires warm and the welcome is warmer - stay a while or move right on in!

All welcome

Ha! im not very good at this!

Hi Meryl - what is it about work that is distressing you? are you a teacher?

well, i feel similarly to ed (my twin on these threads!) a bit of an imposter these days - though i know in my head and heart i am welcome, as always. Ive just not been around a lot lately.

lem well done on keeping up and starting a new thread! ive been a bit lax....glad someone did it!

i want to say hi to all the newbies and hi again to all the oldies.
snowy - i hope your couple of days away was good for you.

im a bit all over the place. its been suggested by my supervisor at work that i get assessed for AS. quelle surprise.
i worked nights on xmas eve so was a bit out of it xmas day.
im still incredibly tired. ive got loads to do before i go off for the surgery, and im already having horrible dreams about it.
ive missed my meds the last few days and have only just remembered.

on the whole im good but a bit preoccupied. Im still on the sertraline and really dont feel like giving it up yet. i think i need to get all the upheaval over with and before i consider it.

lem my big bear is adorable - he gives me a reason to get dressed and get out for a walk and i really enjoy it. He is such a baby.....im so glad i have him. He is so loving, playful and a real sweetheart. He is good for depression.....every day he does something that makes me smile
and he gets me out and about. (as opposed to mooching around the house in my pjs....which it seems is all i want to do when im not working!)

Welcome Meryl. What is the thing that most worries you, and what can you do to change it? The worst thing is the feeling of powerlessness..we can change stuff..

Saying that i am well into the dog days (no offence, bear) of christmas. bleurgh, DS is 17 today so we are going off for a nice meal in bakewell, but like Queen said, the fear is under the surface.

Happy about starting work on the 6th, but terrified too. I have not worked for three years..

Love to all you gorgeous people, you keep me going

Thanks vicar, it was. I'm glad you've got your big bear
Good luck with starting work, hoochy, you can do it!

oh what a shitty night DD is ill and i hardly slept but of the sleep i did get i dreamt of my ex of 13 years ago & now i feel like i'm cheating on my current BF - just want to cry all the time too now.... something is v.wrong with me

Hi all, thanks for the welcome, weirdly nice to know I am not alone, though sorry others are also not as festive as the world seems to expect us to be.

I am utterly exhausted in every sense, everything seems too hard....I have a life that needs me to keep on going and going (3 little kids, demanding but erratic work and too much of it for past year or so), lost all sense of balance. When I stop I collapse, and just feel total dread about our future, cry a lot, can't stop thinking about all the misery in the world....feel old.

I got a bike for Christmas from dh, really thrilled and have been out on it a few times and it's so much fun, giving me a few moments of forgetting...

Ugh.

Bike is good Meryl - i have one too that my mum bought for me a few birthdays back. Ive called it Ralph and we have had some great adventures together - i am lucky that there are some decent cycle paths around here and i can cycle a good few miles off road. It abolutely helps - one piece of advice though - get a puncture repair kit and practice. I got caught out a few times and both in the middle of no-where. I had to approach a burly looking dog walker once who was mortified to be approached by a lone woman but he had a nice dog despite him protesting that he was worried about his dog with people (doberman) he was even more mortified when i had the dog sitting and giving me his paw - didn't match the image, but hey, i couldnt get my breaks back on my bike and i was miles from home so needs must. DP had tightened them up too tight. I'll literally go anywhere on Ralph - must get him out again soon.

It does sound like you are suffering from anxiety as you sound like i did (still do sometimes). Exercise is really good for this so be positive in that you can make a difference there, but then of course work sometimes means there is no time, and so it goes on. I am on anti-depressants and they help - may be worth discussing with GP. I wont be on them forever but not considering stopping just yet.

Dumdum, you are knackered - it makes things much bleaker. I hope that DD is feeling better soon. Dreams can really play tricks can't they, but one thing, we cant control them and they are a muddle of thoughts and sometimes our brains put them together wrong - there is nothing wrong with you x

I feel awful, not getting on with the citalopram, and fed up with the clozapine making me sleepy. Last time I complained about it, they talked about using depot injections of antipsychotics, which I don't want.

What's the point in taking drugs if the side effects make life too difficult?

snowy the side effects vicar had at the beginning were quite bad, she was suffering quite badly when she started the first of these threads but it was worth it for her. And she is not the only one who has found support to keep on with the citalopram for the first few weeks on that and subsequent threads.

Give yourself a time frame - perhaps six weeks - and just keep taking them as directed for that time. Then review how you are feeling.

Thanks sparkly I don't think my mood is helping me make sensible decisions

Erm, well, you see... No, I've not enrolled yet! I am going to talk it over with family once more, then do it this evening :)

I have, however, had, and responded to, an enquiry about my wedding photography. So I might have a potential booking. For December next year - lots of time to prepare :)

Oh, and I'm currently waiting for my new phone to arrive - hurry up o2! I hope it arrives on Monday, I want to skate on Tuesday morning!

Good Lollipop I hope your phone arrives soon too.

I've screwed up mega!!!!

What's up, DumDum32?

Totally forgot to make the rent payment & today was last day!!! I'm being punished I think for thinking about my stupid ex!!!!! Plus Dd is so clingy & I just wanna cry n cry n cry :(

All you can do now is pay it at the next opportunity, you can't change the past. You're not being punished. Can you curl up with DD, a duvet and a DVD? Or something else reassuring?

I wish I could snowy but I feel too f*ed up in the head now. The voices aren't helping either :( but thanks for the suggestion.

How do you distract/challenge the voices?

Usually just tell them to f* off but today it's not working :(

Can you tell them to wait until later? (set a time each day to deal with them).

If you pay first thing monday it will be fine. Can you possibly pay online? It wont be prixessed until Monday anyway so it will be ok.

Thanks lem that helps ease my mind a bit!

snowy ur idea is good I'm gonna try it :)

It's one of the ideas my old CPN gave me, I hope it helps.

It's a good technique snowy
I'm finding it useful :)