"putting the SPRING back in our step - village support for depression and anxiety"

[LEMmingaround]

Heres the new thread guys. What is this, thread 9?

This is a thread that is situated in a virtual village of support for those suffering from mental health issues, or just those struggling with what life throws at them.

Please feel free to join in.

[LEMmingaround]

Just checking in. So pleased to see new people on the thread. Am doing ok this week. Because am busy. Will read thread latrr x

[SnowyMouse]

Gosh, lots of new people, welcome.

[BluBurd]

I'd really love to join in too if I may. I have depression and anxiety, currently on day 10 of 50mg sertraline. Had a couple of really bad days but think it's pmt making things worse.

I'm a lone parent to 4 dc, turn 30 this year. Hope everyone is doing okay today.

[BluBurd]

In terms of apps, I have a few I use, for iPhone:

Mindifi - there are a few of these, they are hypnosis apps, not free but they are brilliant. I listen to one every night and usually fall asleep to it.

Thought Diary Pro - cbt app that allows you to enter your thought, evaluate it and make it into a more positive one.

Lift - this is a goals app, you can join in other peoples or make your own.

Gratitude journal - allows you to write what you are thankful for each day and add a picture.

Mindshift - useful anxiety app with help for better thoughts, anxiety tracking etc.

Mood kit - this app sets you various little challenges to do, good for motivation.

[ColouringInQueen]

Hi all and welcome bluburd hang in there with the sertraline - Pmt cetainly makes my dep and anx worse, tho it has started to improve a with fluoxetine.

khimaira hope you're surviving the kids party stress. Your plans sound great to me.

Just back from college. Knackered. Head is not good. Did have a chat with my gp who was lovely and really appreciated her listening and taking on board what I ws saying. She's going to ring me back on Monday to see how the weekend went. I just want to go to bed and sleep now.

[BluBurd]

Thanks CIQ, sorry to read your head is not good but glad to hear you have a supportive GP.

I have been okay this afternoon after a bad morning. Even managed to cook everyone dinner which I haven't done in a while and having a cup of decaf tea, first in about a week too. Took my wee boy to the park for half an hour earlier too. That's more than I have done in the last six weeks.

[mouse26]

Can I join please? Been on citalopram for just over 7 Weeks, currently at 30mg. I'm so fed up of being up and down. I thought I was doing really well, had 2 great Weeks, then started to slide back down. My dosage was increased from 20Mg to 30Mg and I was good again for another couple of weeks but now I'm feeling like I'm sliding again. I have an awful cold at the moment so it could be because of that

[DumDum32]

Evening all hope everyone has had an ok day.

ciq sorry ur head has been funny. What a lovely G.P I have though so glad ur getting the support u need. Hope ur having a restful night :)

Welcome mouse everyone is lovely on the thread & will support what ever way we can so just keep posting. A cold can make things feel a bit more worse then they are so hang in there.

Welcome bluburd thanks for sharing the apps u use they sound like ones we could all explore to help us as well :) I use to be on sertraline it's a good drug stick with it. Pmt a certainly makes things worse for me too so ur not alone there.

I'm knackered today been a busy day with DD and social services visiting. Good visit on the whole but now I'm ready for my night meds & bed. Hope everyone has a good night :)

[puds11isNAUGHTYnotNAICE]

Hi all, I'm going to join in if you don't mind

I'm hoping that I will pick up again soon, have had a massive slump, which brings with it the unshakeable exhaustion.

I've also lost all focus, so haven't been able to get on with my uni and am now stressed and anxious that I won't get it done in time and that it'll be shit

[SnowyMouse]

Do you have to wait until you can sleep, CIQ? Sorry you're not doing so well. Anyone can join mouse26, welcome! Well done on getting things done, Bluburd! I'm glad your visit went well, must have been nerve wracking DD32

I really want to go to bed, need to wait unfortunately.

[kazza446]

Hi all. Want a lovely supportive thread here..

I can't remember who had asked me what, but here goes... I'm still on mat leave, my baba is only 10 weeks old. My work have only just decided this week and communicated with me they aren't paying my additional leave. I'm still owed money from December which they haven't paid or acknowledged. I'm not on meds at moment, had felt that being away from work was enough and most of my anxieties had disappeared. Had the odd irrational thought but was able to self manage it. I went for counseling just before baby was born and it was absolutely shocking. I bared all and was then basically told work was my problem and as I was on mat leave I didn't need any further help unless I got pnd afterwards. I was hoping not to go back on meds as I am breast feeding and felt shocking when I came off them last time. Had such a bad day today trying to resolve issues with work which has made me think I may need something to help me along. Bloody hate it that feeling so crap can debilitate me but it does. Hope everyone else has had a good day

[ColouringInQueen]

Hi mouse and puds welcome. This is a lovely thread for having a rant, having a chat and supporting others as much as you're able.

mouse sorry to hear you're feeling worse at the moment. Hopefully once the cold is gone that will help.

pudsthat sounds tough. Can you get some sort of extension?

snowy I did end up just going to bed and slept til dh woke me up for dinner, so not quite so tired now. Sometimes wonder if I'm just making a mountain out of a molehill and shouldn't just get on with life tho.

dd thanks, am back on the sofa with the tv on now... my gp was unexpectedly good - made me quite emotional in fact!

[kazza446]

Sorry my last thread was supposed to read, "what a lovely thread" not want! Makes me sound like a real diva!!

[BluBurd]

Evening all, glad you got a little sleep CIQ and I don't believe you are making mountains out of molehills. Worst thing about depression is that no one can read your mind and see how much suffering it actually causes. Do whatever you have to do to feel comfortable.

Hello to the other newcomers like me, glad there is a place for us all to come to.

I am curled up on the couch with my teddy bear, I recently discovered how comforting hugging him is to the point I googled it and yep, hugging teddies can help with anxiety and depression! I feel no shame :)

I am really puzzled over myself at the moment. The last three days have followed a really clear pattern. Mornings, can barely drag myself out of bed. Get the kids to school. Have a breakdown around 11am, as in completely and utterly devoid of hope, telling my brother I want to die, can't take another day etc etc. struggle through the afternoon and then....evening comes and it's like I don't have anxiety or depression. I feel totally normal. It's bizarre. I have an hour long appointment with the psychiatrist tomorrow morning, hoping he can explain what's going on. I can't keep up with myself.

[mouse26]

Thanks everyone

I find evenings are my best time too BluBurd

I feel bad when I wake up, but have been feeling better by the time its time to drop the kids at school. I get to work and I'm up and down all day, one minute I can be laughing with my colleagues, the next I feel like my skin is crawling and I just want to shred myself out of existence Then by the evening I feel relatively ok and think things are looking up, tomorrows going to be better . . . except it isn't.

Sometimes I think I am sabotaging myself - I start to feel better, then start worrying that it won't last and before I know it I can feel myself spiralling back down again

[TheShimmeringPussycat]

Bluburd ask your psych whether timing of taking meds might be relevant here. (When I went onto Olanzapine, I was taking them too late at night, psych at follow up appt said to take them at tea-time, made huge difference)

[Khimaira]

Thanks for all the advice. Party went well, I thought. DC well behaved (phew!) and people seemed to like the food. Made the mistake of asking DH to come and take the DC upstairs whilst I tidied up. He did, but was annoyed about it. I made a couple of trips up with the food and was accosted each time by one child begging for a drink. DH was pissed off with them because they wouldn't play nicely (he had got out a construction kit) and where whining. Ummmm, yes, they both wanted a drink, have been running round like lunatics for the past 4 hours and you want them to do something sensible? Seriously??? So he was ignoring them. He said it was a result of the ridiculous idea to have a party because then they are over tired and excited. He said he wouldn't eat as I hadn't sorted dinner (I proposed left overs) and moaned at the DC. I took them to get them ready for bed, and asked him to watch DS in the bath whilst I put DD in bed. He came, complaining and making comments on how I hadn't hoovered the flat today. Didn't even ask if DD had enjoyed it. Walked out the bathroom as soon as I got back in, so he's definitely angry with me. Fortunately DS went to bed ok and I cleaned up downstairs. Now just have the flat and washing up to do! Feels a bit of a let down, maybe it was a bad idea to have a party. Just please pray my DC don't get ill else he will be furious with me.

A self indulgent, moany post. Feel free to ignore. I'm too selfish and self centred to post on here I think. I can't process anything beyond what I have to do now, can't follow the posts at the moment. Sorry.

Hello to all the newcomers. Hello to everyone else. Hope your day has been ok.

[HotelFromage]

Hello all, can I join in?

Have been on AD's since 2006 on and off, mainly on, initially PND after DS born (I think I had anxiety before that, looking back) but now I can't seem to get rid of it and it keeps coming back. Was back on Sertraline in 2010, through DD's pregnancy and ever since.

I ran out of meds a couple of weeks ago and had a major meltdown after about a week. That'll teach me.

Two questions:

1. Does anyone else have the sensation of running out of breath - when I breathe in it's as if I cant get enough breath no matter how deeply I breathe.
   
2. Also, do you find that if you have a very stressful event (Ofsted in my case) it triggers a big trough in mood which lasts about a week. It's as if I'm ultra sensitive to stress now and I was never like this before the PND.

[ColouringInQueen]

Hi all
welcome hotel sorry to hear you've been struggling for such a time
1 - I have feelings of tightness of chest so its hard to take a deep breath - apparently its an anxiety symptom
2 - yes I've been feeling worse the last week or so reacting to something - and it does feel a bit of an over-reaction. I do sometimes wonder if its related to the meds...

khimaira moan away we all do now and then! Sounds like your dcs party went well despite your dh being really grumpy, bet your dcs had a lovely time. Hope you can put your feet up tomorrow.

bluburd I have a cuddly cat I take to bed - it def helps! Oh and I'm pretty sure the low mornings, picking up in the evenings is to do with Seratonin levels in the body during the day.

Well I've been looking about on t'internet trying to find a way to explain a bit more how my head doesn't feel "right" recently. The best description I found was Brain Fog. Feeling spaced out/detached, can't think straight, can't concentrate, difficulty finding the right word, can do short term memory tasks like remembering to buy a present, but not more challenging tasks. It's a symptom of anxiety (and depression) also know as cognitive fatigue, also caused by gluten sensitivity/coeliac, anaemia and some other toxic stuff... So will try and mention this to GP on Mon. Trouble is once you're diagnosed with mental health probs, I feel they put every other symptom down to that... (tho mum is coeliac so the gluten thing is a possibility I think).

Anyhow must switch laptop off....

Night all x

[BluBurd]

Hotel - when I am particularly anxious yes it feels I am not getting a proper breath. I do breathing exercises when that happens. You know it means you are hyperventilating don't you, and the fix is breathing through the nose and making sure your exhale is longer than your inhale.

CIQ - I relate to all your symptoms. The brain fog and inability to concentrate, spaced out, detached is all anxiety. It's taken me a while to accept that, but it is. I hate anxiety so much, it's very distressing. I hope things ease up for you soon.

I have reached medication time and know I need to start thinking about bed. Breaks me heart each time I go, because I have to say goodnight to normal me and good morning to depressed me :(

[ColouringInQueen]

(((Hugs))) hotel I know what you mean about going to bed - I often delay it too... it does get better tho - my depression is now loads better, just the anxiety to sort . Goodnight

[BluBurd]

I'm the other way round CIQ, the panic has stopped but the depression has worsened or become more noticeable now the panic isn't there. We will get better. There is a fantastic website to read about anxiety, I will grab the link, it's very long but it's very worth the read.

[BluBurd]

Here it is: nothingworks.weebly.com

[ColouringInQueen]

Thanks bluburd. Are you on ADs? Im on fluoxetine and trazodone. I do sometimes wonder if the anxiety has been worse since I started the fluoxetine though.

[metoo22]

Hi everyone

Bluburd I have the same pattern, much better in the evenings. pretty much my normal self, mood wise. But mornings I just feel so heavy and tired and lacking in motivation. Afternoons are getting better though and I think the meds are helping me. It's my first time on them, actually my first time recognising anxiety and depression in myself. Its a lot to come to terms with. I will have a look at the article, thanks

Hotelfromage Ofsted was a shocker for me too, I wasn't diagnosed as anything then but was shocked how deeply I felt the stress and worry, and for how long.

Khimaira it sounds like the party went fine, well done! I am quite glad that my dcs are well past that stage now. There's something lovely but uniquely stressful about childrens parties!

It's past midday, hope everyone is starting the positive path towards an OK afternoon/evening.