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I need help but not sure what

10 replies

Peaceloveandhobnobs · 22/03/2015 17:55

Hello
I have a long history of mental illness. I'm diagnosed with PTSD and avoidant and dependent personality disorders. I've recently name-changed, but I've posted here and elsewhere about it before. I was discharged and was very stable for a year - eighteen months, and had a baby in December. I struggled very much in the first six weeks, but things have brightened up more recently. But I'm now extremely depressed. I haven't been typically depressed for so long that it has hit me like a slap in the face, and I don't know what to do practically to make myself feel better.
I'm concerned that I can't take care of my son; I just don't have the energy, and when he cries I can't bear it.
I was re-referred to the CMHRS so I do now have a CPN who I speak to most weeks, but he doesn't think I need further therapy or my meds increased. He thinks that I'm anxious due to financial difficulties (I am, but I accept there's nothing I can do about them. I need to pull myself out of this gloom though), so I'm not sure how much help he is going to offer me.
Things that have changed in the past two weeks which may have affected my mood: I had an implant fitted and I started full-time breastfeeding again after six-eight weeks of bottle feeding.

What the hell do I do to feel better? I'm exhausted. I'm also nervous of being vocal about my concerns that I'm not looking after my baby well enough, because when I was re-referred it was because I was having hallucinations that my baby was having malicious thoughts about me (I was very unwell. I accept this was complete nonsense!) and I was frequently asked whether I thought I was a risk to him. I would never dream of harming him; I love him and I feel that I am at fault, rather than him. It's just that I'm exhausted and so sad, and I don't see the point in anything anymore.

My DH has been off work this week but goes back tomorrow, then my mother will arrive tomorrow night for a week, but I'm scared about getting through tomorrow on my own. I don't have any money so can't go out.
Meh!

OP posts:
Peaceloveandhobnobs · 29/03/2015 21:49

I'm terrified of being alone with my baby. All I want to do is sleep, and he needs so much from me.

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wfrances · 29/03/2015 22:25

hi peace
how old is your baby?

Peaceloveandhobnobs · 29/03/2015 22:39

Hi. He's three months old.

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Peaceloveandhobnobs · 29/03/2015 22:45

(Thanks for responding!)

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wfrances · 29/03/2015 23:10

congratulations
i had a breakdown when dd was 4 weeks old (shes now 18)
i couldnt be left alone for long periods of time , and i missed most of her babyhood.
but we dont chose when our illness becomes uncontrollable.

i also had a extreme paranoia i would harm her, but the psychologist i saw weekly helped me understand why i was thinking that..
she helped me a lot ..kept me grounded and had complete faith in me that i couldnt harm her - it helped
.
i think it all came down to having ptsd and not having any confidence that i was capable of looking after such a vulnerable baby because i had no faith/ trust in myself iykwim.

Peaceloveandhobnobs · 29/03/2015 23:18

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm thinking about calling the crisis line tonight. I'm not sure who I'm supposed to tell that I'm not coping, or what anyone can do about it tbh. It's fine on the weekends because my DH looks after him and I just feed him, but my heart is racing thinking about it being just me and him for four days (thank goodness for Easter bank holidays).
Of course now that I have the opportunity to sleep I'm wide awake worrying.

OP posts:
wfrances · 29/03/2015 23:36

have you been left alone with him at all?
i was dosed up with sedatives and cant remember much .
i think psychiatrist coordinated my care - they originally thought pnd.

Peaceloveandhobnobs · 29/03/2015 23:57

Yes it's usually just me and him on weekdays, but I haven't been on my own for around two weeks and I can't remember how I coped before then. It's completely pathetic. DH met me on the way to the phone and he talked to me, but I don't feel any different really. Thanks for chatting to me.

OP posts:
wfrances · 30/03/2015 09:49

how you doing this morning peace?

Peaceloveandhobnobs · 30/03/2015 10:41

Thank you for asking! I managed to persuade the baby to sleep until 10am with me in bed, so that's most of the morning over already! Confused I wish I could feel better and enjoy this precious time with my baby instead of wishing the hours away until I get to hand him over to his dad.

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