What happened to the mental health support village?

[sadandanxious]

I'm sure a while ago there was a thread running for mental health support - a sort of supportive village where we could all come and talk about our mental health worries or just general life and feel safe and supportive. I posted under a different name back then and can't seem to find it any more.

Does anyone else remember it or have I just imagined it? Either way, would anyone else be up for it? Perhaps a yurt would be a safer, more comfortable place than a village?

Can you help? (have asked this on Eating Disorder thread but not much traffic there).

How do I respond to txt from friend asking whether I'm OK (I'm not) and that I seem un-communicative and short and sharp (via txt, haven't seen her in person for quite a few days).

I just want her to leave me alone. It's me not her. She cares, but I don't want her thinking I'm going under.

I have said to friends before that I'm just not very well at the moment and need a bit of time and space to myself and might not be up to chatting at the moment.

Afternoon all. Sorry I've been so quiet, haven't been feeling very well over the weekend. Upped my meds again as per psychiatrist's request and it's left me in a bit of a fog. Being in work right now feels like the hardest thing in the world - as stupid and pathetic as they may sound

brave what anxiousmunchkin has written sounds okay. If your friend is a good friend I am sure she will understand.

joto happy birthday for yesterday

I think I'm going to slump in the corner of the yurt on our fluffy cushions under a fluffy blanket. I managed to get out for a walk at lunchtime, it definitely helped my mood a little but now I'm exhausted.

How is everyone getting on today?

Hi there! !!! Thanks for the birthday wishes. Anxiery levels slightly up but two stress days with interviews at work and one of my team having a melt down. Plus the other half being a selfish t*t. On the plus side I've bought me a ticket to go see olly murs to tomorrow night 😊😊😊 how are you??

I'm sorry to hear you've had two stressful days. It sounds very difficult.

Have a fantastic time seeing Olly Murs tonight!!

I am absolutely exhausted. Final increase of my medication last night and it's hit me for six. Thankfully my manager understands and is okay with me just hiding in my office for most of the day being very unproductive.

Hi sad! Part of being a line manager but it's settled a bit. Just in time for the period from hell!!!!! You sound like you have a good manager which is a bonus xxx

Hi everyone. Not checked in for a few days I have been very very low and had so much on it was just work/commitments and then crashing out at home feeling useless and paranoid, struggling to maintain basic self care etc. But then today my mood has jumped from a 2/3 (I am tracking on the BipolarUK mood scale) right up to a 7! I feel fab! Did 6 hours of gardening today and it is looking amazing, getting really organised, I even made some videos which is unlike me, just like YouTube vlogs. Not sure who for but was chattering away happily at a million miles an hour :) I went to get chips for dinner mainly just to chat to the man in the chip shop. Chatted on the phone to anyone who would answer! Body is now pretty worn out but mind really isn't, I'll take a Sominex with my meds tonight to help me sleep properly.

I'm aware that I'm technically hypomanic (or maybe just hyperthymic? Not sure what the distinction is) but I don't think I'm losing insight or taking risks or anything, not getting sidetracked just really super efficient, feeling really creative, and boundless enthusiasm for everything. Life would be fab if it was like this all the time! OCD thoughts are all still there but with my mood up like this it's easy for me to just obey them and do the behaviours quickly and efficiently, and often my mind is distracted from the anxiety by being off thinking up wonderful ideas anyway, so the distress is much much less. In fact I give myself massive credit for handling the intrusive thoughts well and that just boosts my self esteem more .

Hope you're out enjoying the gig joto and glad your line manager is being understanding sad, fingers crossed the dose increase side effects even out for you asap.

Onwards and ever upwards! Going to take meds now, as I plan to get back out in the garden at sunrise, there's 2 hours daylight before I need to leave for work that I can keep on planting and building stuff

Can I sit in? I'm not great with communicating with people but I really need to reach out to someone (or someones) completely neutral who understand.
I'm having a shitty few days, or months. I have been awful over the last 48 hours angry and lashing out at everyone and there's no real reason for it at all just being an arse. I really want to self harm but I can't stand the way my DH looks at me when I do like I'm letting him down. No appetite, no will to do anything and the fucking crisis team is as useful as a sack of potatoes trying to sign me off to the organisers of DBT who just aren't in a position to help! Argh I just feel like no-one wants to take responsibility for me a fully grown adult who feels like throwing a serious toddler tantrum.
I'm waiting to hear back from ESA too after my 3 year reassesment, I was in the support group the forms had to be back by 20th January and I've heard nothing since and it's making me so anxious.

Hi all. Early morning waking again which is no good as I didn't get in til 11 so it's going to be a long day. On the plus side Olly Murs was amazing!!!! Brilliant seat which didn't get used much as up and dancing!!!! It was 24 miles from home and on the way there had an anxious agoraphobic ten minutes or do which was forgotten once I got there. Ok on the way back. Yesterday I had a great day until I had to cover a class for 2 mins which turned into ten and as I'm non teaching the kids misbehaved and wouldn't listen to me. It completely threw me and when I got in the car (I left afterwards) I was a mess! Tears almost panic - totally overwhelmed. I then had counselling which was really good. She doesn't see depression but a hight level of stress and anxiety plus a lot of 'fear ' . I guess this is where the hard work starts. Hi Lady D and welcome 😊😊 pull up a fluffy cushion

Welcome Lady D sounds like a lot of stressful things going on at the moment. Have you done the DBT yet - how have you found it?

Sounds like the concert was fun Joto and perhaps the excitement overruled the anxiety for a bit, not a bad thing! Sorry you were thrown by the last minute class babysitting though. Was it really your fault though? Could you really have altered that situation, if the children were all restless at the end of the day and were left being kept an eye on by someone who wasn't their teacher? As long as none of them injured each other I reckon you probably did an alright job

I'm up, woke up about half an hour ago, had to take extra painkillers this morning after yesterday's activity. Now chomping at the bit and can just see the first orangey hints of sunrise on the horizon so I'm going to scoot out to the garden and get cracking. In here you can consider me buzzing around the yurt keeping everything nice and tidy, fluffing cushions, smoothing out rugs and generally making everything beautiful and peaceful and organised for everyone!

How is everyone's weekend going? I feel really weird today - slow, easily confused/sidetracked, dizzy. Fair bit of physical pain and a little mobility difficulty because I've exacerbated my injuries by spending well over 10 hours gardening in the past few days. I know I've been a bit hypomanic the past few days - as well as the gardening I was on fire at work, competed loads of tasks I had been struggling to manage, super efficient & cheerful. I furiously researched learning to unicycle as I came up with the idea of unicycling to work(!) and decided we absolutely needed to get a fish tank - DP sensibly suggested not right now, already have lots of pets to care for.
So this morning I don't feel like that, but I'm not exactly low either, just kinda confused? Some slightly paranoid and derealisation type thoughts. I still got up at 5.30am and did 2.5 hours in the garden before I accepted I felt too weird and should come in. Ate some toast and DP is running me a bath.

Not quite sure what is going on with me, but I don't feel right.

Hi everyone in the yurt. I could use some support right now - I'm having a difficult time. Thought I'd come to the yurt. I like the idea of a support yurt.

Hi erinaceus I'm sorry to hear you're having a difficult time. Pull up a pew and some fluffy cushions.

I had a reasonable weekend - some ups some downs. A friend cut me out of their life (definitely a big downer) but on the upside DP and I got out in nature. I found the small things like seeing the very beginnings of buds coming through, flowers beginning to come up symbolising new life and the start of spring help a great deal. I find sort of mindfulness walking helps a great deal. Work is going well this week - for once!

At one point do you think it's reasonable to stop counselling and accept it's not working? I've had 5 sessions with my current one and I just don't feel able to open up at all. Is it reasonable to look for a new one or do I just need to try a bit harder? I feel like a failure if I give up but then another part of me tells myself it's okay and that sometimes these things just don't work out.

Hi sadandanxious. Thanks for your good wishes. I'm extremely tired. I'll just post this message then curl up for a snooze.

My opinion is that 5 sessions is enough to decide that a therapist is not helpful for you. I don't think this makes you a failure - far from it.

Could I please join? Just really struggling at the moment.

sadandanxious- I think the main thing in therapy is the relationship you develop with your therapist. Sometimes you just know it's not going to work out with them. There are so many different therapy types out there some may work better than others, but it's not a reflection on you. I saw two others before I found my current one and I finally feel like I'm making progress even if it is slow and rather painful. I found mine online at: www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk

My advice would be to not be afraid of emailing 2-3 at the same time, to ask if they do have experience dealing with the main issue your facing and any other questions you may have. I picked just based on the way he responded back to me. and thankfully we clicked.

Hi orange and welcome.

Hope you have a restful snooze erinaceus

Thank you both. I have a few colleagues who've used Mind to help find a counsellor. I think I will give it a try and see if I get anywhere. In the meantime I'm reading a few self help books, mostly in relation to the BPD to try and help me understand why I respond the way I do with a lot of things.

Hello all, I remember something like this a long time ago. But perhaps it was an earlier incarnation. I posted how naps were not necessarity bad, and how I find it hard to have a bath or shower at the best of times.

Just "been round"* myself (technical term I invented while in), and found myself thinking a lot about Fluffy (among others) and shedding tears...

They seem to be suggesting I should take up knitting again, and that I start with a square for the blankets they make in there.

*manic episode, quite short

Morning everyone.

Welcome erinaceous orange and silvery. The Fluffy yurt is starting to feel like a welcoming safe place. Soft and calm and cosy.

erinaceous sometimes resting is all we can do. Try and get the basics of self care - eat something, attend to personal hygiene, and resting. If we set ourselves small realistic targets then we have a better chance of meeting them and then feeling a small sense of achievement to boost us further.

sadandanxious for me it would depend on what the counselling/therapy is for - is it specific therapy to treat something, or general counselling to give you space to work things out yourself and feel supported. I feel that personal connection is more important for the latter. The former we can expect to be more challenging. I totally get what you mean about mindful walking. I do that. I was in the garden for an hour yesterday, didn't do much actual work but just kinda looking at the new flower buds etc and thinking about the cycle of everything.

Well I've been struggling a bit again the past few days and feel like I'm not getting anywhere. My brain feels stuck, I'm supposed to be writing a first email to my new counsellor for online counselling but I have writers block about it! Where do you start?!?! Also I had another phone call from IAPT offering me the CBT-ERP I'm waiting for - the last time they wanted to do it via online messaging (nope!) and this time they offered a time I cannot do, despite me having told them EVERY time they've asked when my days off are. Grr. At least I know I'm near the top of the list now when a time slot on my days off does come up. But to be honest I don't know if I'm ready. I just feel like I have quite a tenuous grip on things and my mood is fairly far from stable, and trying to do ERP is going to need me to be tough. I don't want to waste this chance at successful therapy for the OCD because my mood is too unstable to cope with it.

I only have to go into work for a few hours this morning, and plan to spend the rest of the day pottering in the garden and house. Just trying to be gentle on myself. It's so easy to be self critical.

Anxious, if it was me I'd start with a piece of paper and just write what comes. (As I am fussy it would be narrow feint and lined, and a decent blue biro...)

Then have a or something, and go back to it. (Pottering in the garden sounds nice, mine is minute, and its main feature is a telegraph pole!)

AnxiousMunchkin- Start with bullet points if you can.Then you could build up a later. Try to include the key things that would help them really get to know you from the word go .Would the online therapy be via skype or text messaging? When you get your slot you will be ready, even if you don't really feel like it. Human hearts forget how strong they actually are.

erinaceus- Hello ;)

TheSilveryPussycat- I make up names to describe things too. How are you feeling now?

I was on an atypical antidepressant for 5 months and slowly reduced over a month. It's been 15 days since my last dose and I'm in the middle of a bad depressive episode.

Therapy session today- I was honest and told him that I was really just struggling. I've been seeing him twice a week since we first started 3 months ago. But I personally really struggle each weekend, when I'm just alone and have four days in between sessions. I know it sounds unreasonable, but I just wish I could talk to him in between sessions. I feel like he knows how much I struggle, but he just leaves me alone. He did say that I could email, but that he couldn't always respond quickly. I've only emailed him once since we started and I respect that he needs his own time.

I headed to the gym despite the fact that I felt so drained. I did feel better afterwards though, but it didn't last. The idea of a cross fit class tomorrow seems too arduous but It's something I've already paid for.

I'm trying to practice self care- booked a massage on saturday.

Hello all I'm back for a chill on the fluffy cushions! Not a bad week so far. Just utterly exhausted and fed up of feeling constantly (pretty much) spaced out. Damned annoying and just want to shake it off! Haircut this evening and tomorriw i habe an hour aromatherapy massage. Had a nice weekend with family for mums birthday high included a go on the zip wire my nephews were playing on. Have me a real giggle!!!! GP tomorrow to talk about why I'm so tired and this zombieness. All bloods ok so assuming it's just stress and related hormones plus starting to go through the change. I'm sure it'll be the usual no you can't have HRT have some ad's instead 🙁 ps nana naps rule!!!!

Excuse typos!!!!