Anxiety support, Hand hold or chit chat come say hi #2

[Fairydust26]

Hi everyone this is part 2 as the original thread is full up! But as the title says this thread is support for all that are struggling and could do with a handhold and a chit chat so come and say hello😊.

Hello new people. @threelittlesoldiers I also have had social anxiety in the past but am much better socialing now. I have the opposite problem sometimes now where I can't stop chatting to anyone that will listen. What helped was mostly my job, spending less time on social media and talking therapy. Talking through my anxieties and realising people aren't constantly judging me and it doesn't matter if I say something stupid. I'm still awkward with eye contact and touch. I have self diagnosed myself with all sorts including autism but decided it's really not helpful. Nothing is a quick fix, I'm on antipsychotic quetiapine, after a bad experience with setraline. I didn't want it because I was not psychotic but I took it after a doctor explained it helps to stabilise my mood as well as being both an antidepressants and an antidepressant. It's not as safe long term as antidepressants though. Lardarse, I'd say try and speak to your gp again and do some research yourself, mind is a good resource. You can use other treatments as well as/instead of medication. I've found the local NHS cbt app on anxiety really useful so you could ask your gp about that.

@Embracethechaos thank you for taking the time to reply. I've tried the nhs counselling and then online counselling. Both of which I didn't find useful. I'm hoping to see a private counsellor when I can afford it. My anxiety revolves around my relationship and also social. I've had it for years but undiagnosed. I just want to be normal

I don't believe anyone is normal. I saw a Councillor through occupational health as I work at the hospital. I didn't find her great either, was very awkward but she did challenge a few misconceptions I had. Good luck with setraline. I've read often after people take antidepressants they find councilling more helpful.

I've been on antidepressants in the past... I just need to pluck up the courage to start these citalopram:/

I was too scared to my prescribed citalopram in pregnancy. At my next appointment they referred me to the mental health team where I was prescribed quetiapine...i felt out of control when I first took them as I haven't got the same choice I had before I was pregnant... Effects baby too so family was more involved in the decision and there are safeguarding laws which mean you can't refuse treatment without concequences... Was good for me really as quetiapine is right for me, I just had bad stories from friends and online about citalopram and the doctor who prescribed it didn't even see me to discus... I was happier when I got a long appointment to have a proper discussion but it felt like an interigation at the time... And unnecessary for me when I was getting on OK....

So I'm not the best person to ask about courage to start meditation as psycatric medication itself is one of my biggest anxieties.

Think I may have to take a few days off work and bite the bullet

Thank you fairy dust, looking to start them this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks embrace. I've cut back on social media and it's helps my mental health massively. I'm a SAHM, and socialising is limiting so I know that's an issue too. I'm really looking forward to working again but unable to afford childcare so I'm making do for another 3 years! Just need to push myself into baby/toddler groups (which I hate). I'm hopefully starting talking therapy soon, just waiting on dates, but I think that may also help.

I've just got an app mush, maybe not so good to use another social media site, but it's specifically for mums meeting mums with similar interests. Good luck, I'm soon entering the scary world of motherhood. I also like futurelearn as I place for doing free courses might be helpful long term carrer wise, depends how interested you are and whether you have time/ it would help you.

Lardass88 I tried CBT before and it got me absolutely nowhere. In fact I felt like it made my depression worse. I'm now trying interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) which I hadn't heard of before. It's mainly for depression but I do feel like it is helping a bit and I'm only a few weeks in.

I agree that taking your meds before bed is a good idea. It's the only way I made it through the first couple of weeks of Citalopram, that and starting on a low dose and gradually building up.

I did find cbt made my depression worse, even though it was a general anxiety course but it helped with anxiety... The weekly questionnaires asking me to rate exactly how depressed I felt made me more depressed....I can still aceses the app without support but to get support and feedback I need to do the questionnaires so they can access and monitor effectiveness, comes down to money at the end of the day... So actually being constantly monitored also made my anxiety worse. I did learn some good techniques along the way though. My favourite is worry time which I did for a couple of weeks then life got busy and I never got back into it. Just had another look on the app, it's important to do it regularly for it to work so I'm going to get back into, set aside 10 minutes every day. For me setting a 10 minutes timer was important and then stopping and doing something relaxing immeadly after to stop myself thinking until next scheduled worry time. I copied and pasted the technique from the app in case anyone else fancied giving it a go.

How to set up your “worry times”:

Set aside a ten-minute period once or twice a day, at a regular time. Schedule these in advance and put them in your diary. Choose times when you can devote all of your attention to thinking about what is worrying you and when you are least likely to be disturbed or distracted.
To start worry time, it is really important that during the day you write out your worries and concerns on a page. This helps make your worries observable and clear; many people find it particularly helpful because it symbolically takes worries out of their heads and onto a piece of paper.
What to do during your “worry times”:
Categorise the worries you have written down into hypothetical worries and real worries. Remember, a real worry is something that you have some control over and a hypothetical worry is something that you have no control over (sometimes different aspects of the worry will be in different categories).
Brainstorm different solutions and actions that you might put into action to deal with the worries that you have some control over.
Think about how you would like to respond to the worries that you have no control over. How can you learn to accept or live with the aspects you cannot change?
Make a plan you want to take forward, for both the controllable and uncontrollable worries.
Finish worry time - Once you have made your plan, make sure to end “worry time”.

Been awake since about 2, feeling not well, indigestion and stiff painful pelvis baby kept moving as I was drifting off and felt then panicy when I couldn't sit up. got in and out of bed a few times. gave up on sleep at 4, cleaned the kitchen had breakfast did some gardening then went on a walk with my husband and dog, sitting down for a coffee, (which I probably won't have as it hurts my throat from reflux, all before 730, phew. Got to make some phone calls about appointments today at 9 am as I'm not sure of the time. Seeing an obsetiatrician for the 3rd time today so was feeling nervous about that early this morning. Also called the nesting instinct....Hardest thing about this pregnancy has been distinguishing between mental health symptoms and pregnancy symptoms, and side effects of medication I started in the second trimester. e.g I had no motivation or energy then blood test revealed I was slightly low on iron. That's the only point I don't understand on the information leaflet I've been given on quetalapaine in pregnancy 'do not confuse pregnancy symptoms with getting mentally unwell'. Now how exactly do you do that... The medication has really helped me think clearer and be calmer so I can now properly read through the leaflets, it's just that point I still struggle with.

Embracethechaos how you feeling now better I hope?.

How’s everyone else getting on?

embracethechaos it is hard being pregnant without any extra problems. Try to be kind to yourself.

I’m feeling surprisingly fine after taking my medication for 4 days. I felt rough the first day, very shaky and anxious. But the next day, back to normal.

Hi thanks, I slept well last night so feeling better today. I'm looking forward to starting nct course on Sunday. Had my weekly mental health meeting and we talked about my consultant meeting on Tuesday (not met him yet). My obs meeting has been moved to Tuesday too but at first this made me stressed but during my meeting I realised it will be useful as any questions the psychiatrist can't answer I can take to the other doctor and I can go to my obs meeting well informed about medication. Nothing planned for the next 2 days. I'll try and get back into some art today as I've not done any since starting meds.

That's good Julie, bit of an anticlimax?

Yeah, a bit. I dunno, I expected to feel something. Apart from the first day, I feel exactly the same as normal. I guess I’ll see how I feel after a few weeks.

I have had CBT in the past and I didn’t find it useful. I did not gel with the person doing it though. I hope it’s a different person doing it the next time.

I've never done face to face cbt. I know what you mean about gelling though. I felt that way about my psychiatrist. At first found her patronising then just wooden... She did manage to explain the medication clearly to me, but it took a while and appointments were stressful. I'm not seeing her anymore, she was part 9f the diagnosic team, now I've been referred to the treatment team and am meeting 'the big guy' next week, the much discussed psycatric consultant who coveres a large area. I'll try not to think about it too much.

Maybe best to just not think about the medication and just get on with doing the things. You enjoy. I think if you don't feel different that's good, you can take it slowly. You could keep a mood diary. It was suggested to me before but I could never keep it up.

Sorry, repeating myself...

Has anyone read At Last A Life Anxiety And Panic Free by Paul David? I’ve just bought it so gonna have a read heard a lot of good stuff about it, hope everyone’s doing ok.

Hi fairy dust. Another good night's sleep, I am enjoying this weather. I'll add that book to my read list but unfortunately during pregnancy I've been unable to read due to eye strain and dyslexia. Frustrating as I come from a bookworm family so never remember struggling with reading when I was small..I always had people around willing to read to me. Still need to get round to ordering an audio book app... Got a final reminder from the library about a book I hadn't realised I'd not returned because its lost and I'd returned the rest. My sister, a teacher did a lot of special needs training on her course (and can read a novel in a day or 2). After doing a course on the joys of reading recommended I read poems, magazines and picture books. I've been enjoying magazines and recipe books.

Hi all please could I join the thread ? I am suffering with work related anxiety and having some therapy for it. It started after a job two years ago when I was treated badly and now I panic the same thing will happen and I get panicked if I have to do new or difficult things or might run late and feel I just can't do it. I am applying fur a new job thinking this will be better for me but am now worried actually it won't and I'll feel the same. My therapist has started trauma therapy linking it to a previous incident which affects me for the days afterwards. I'd like just to join in, have hand hold, see if anyone else has the same. Thanks

Well I bit the bullet and have started the dreaded citalopram this morning. Was a bit of a chicken and broke the 20mg tablet in half 😆

Of course Letitgo2018 welcome😊

lardass88 hoping you they work for you and you start to feel the benefits of them soon!.

I feel like I'm slipping...