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I just want out

88 replies

Anon8253 · 04/01/2020 00:44

I've suffered with mental illness for a long while but over the past 2 years, things took a drastic drop. After having my youngest, I was hospitalised several times for suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. I have bpd, gad, depression and agoraphobia.

I've been in therapy for a year and it's helped massively, I haven't had any admissions for nearly a year now but I'm really struggling. I feel like I try so hard to keep my head above water but I can never keep it there for long, all that effort and it still leads to the same result. I have three kids, I know they need me. I can see that now but I don't think I can do it. My partner is wonderful, tries everything to help me but there is no magic wand that can fix it all. I've been sat downstairs for over an hour on my own, sobbing. I feel so alone, I can't bother my partner with my feelings as he always gets upset and I can't deal with that either as it just makes me feel guilty. I want so bad to be happy but it doesn't seem possible. I went to the Dr's today but they didn't care, gave me diazepam and sent me on my way. I suppose there's nothing they can do anyway. I've tried so many different medication and none of it has helped.

I feel so completely alone, I don't feel like this is ever going to get better. I've tried and tried, I feel like there is only one way out now but then I image my kids finding out I'm dead and it breaks my heart. I don't know what to do. It's never going to get any better and I can't keep going any longer

OP posts:
Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 04:55

@Mummaofmytribe thank you, it does help to know I'm not alone ♥

@apileofballyhoo thank you so much, I'm really not in a good place at the moment and your words really helped. I don't blame my parents so much, it was very much a cycle of neglect. My mums parents abused and neglected her, the alcohol helped her cope and as a kid I found that so so hard to understand, I hated her and that sounds awful but I did. She was physically there but not really, could never turn to her for help but I do know given her mental health issues, she tried her best and I give her credit because she did it as a single mum.
My dad has always been alcoholic but he wasn't as present and didn't really struggle with it as much as I didn't have to see him often. I hope you didnt read it as my dad abused me. I meant my former partner who is my eldest's daughter father, I was 15 when I fell pregnant. I met him at 13, abuse went on till I was 18 and found the courage to leave. That may clear things up if they were muddled before. My childhood could have been much much worse, its just hard to realise that as a child.

I don't feel much better than my parents if I'm honest, I'm very worried they will feel km not present enough. I struggle with getting out of bed, with doing fun things. Daddy is the fun one. I really want out, I can't deal with all these issues. I can't deal with the little things, let alone come to terms with anything else that is going off in my brain. I saw my cpn and psychiatrist, told them how I felt and they still discharged me which I'm fine with because she was pretty useless anyway. I want to end things but I'm scared for my kids, I don't want them to hurt. I don't want to hurt them by killing myself. They didn't ask for this. I just don't know what to do because I'm rapidly going downhill but nobody seems to care 😭

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Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 04:57

@inmyshoos thank you for thinking of me, that's very kind x

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Mummaofmytribe · 15/01/2020 05:44

Anon maybe you need to ask your H to take you to A&E or at the very least get you an emergency GP appointment. Suicidal feelings should absolutely never be ignored. I know you don't want to damage your precious kids, so you really need more support than the useless cpn you describe. Please get alternative help. Best of luck.

Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 06:14

I can go to the doctors but they'll only refer me to the crisis team who are absolutely dreadful across the board, one even told me to try harder next time. A and e also means you fall under the assessment team under the crisis team. I've tried, I really have, but as you can see there is no other option really. I'll speak with my partner but he's at a loss too and it only breaks his heart, he deserves much better 😔

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Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 06:35

I just hope my kids know I tried. I tried so hard, it just isn't enough

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polkadotpixie · 15/01/2020 06:48

You are enough OP and your kids love and need you!

I know it's hard (I have mental health problems too) but you can do this and you are doing this. Just hold on ❤️

Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 07:55

I don't know if I can. I don't know how much more my partner can take before he breaks. He asked me if I'm still feeling suicidal and when I said yes, his reply was a sarcastic yay which hurts me more than he realises. I think they'll all be relieved when I'm gone

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Apileofballyhoo · 15/01/2020 08:39

Oh Anon, they wouldn't be glad. They really wouldn't. Your DC would miss you forever.

It's ok to be angry about stuff, and it's ok to be overwhelmingly sad too. If you had a physical illness that prevented you doing things you wouldn't blame yourself. You have had so much shit happen to you that you're overwhelmed by it. It's completely natural and no fault of yours, and you can heal from it.

My parents were rubbish and I grew up afraid and not trusting anyone. My life could have been different if I'd had different parents, who took responsibility for themselves and their DC. Your life could have been different too, and it's ok to be angry and sad. It really is. You can say all you like that it's not their fault and you don't blame them, but you can't skip the process of anger and grief or dismiss the enormity of what happened to you. You have to process it all so that you can come out the other side.

We all love our parents and it's very difficult to accept their failings without excusing them. But you can't skip the stage in between. You were a little girl who needed love, support, a normal family life. You should have got those things, no excuses. You are allowed be sad, upset and traumatised.

You can forgive your parents later, you can understand and accept later. Right now you need to acknowledge the unfairness and pain of it all.

Very few people have gone through as much as you.

What medication are you on?

Strongmummy · 15/01/2020 09:21

Op - we are ALL thinking of you here. I get your thoughts entirely. I had a dreadful episode before Xmas. I just wanted to disappear. I wanted it all to end. I was not mentally there for my kids and really felt the best thing would be to run away. My husband was also not coping well at all with my mental health issues and i was very much in it alone.

However, my friends really helped. I know it’s so hard to reach out when you’re like this, but do you have ANYONE you can speak to? Even if it’s a quick coffee or phone call?

Your children/husband would be devastated if you weren’t there. You know this in your heart of hearts. It’s the depression making you feel like this.

I would also strongly advise you to go back to the GP.

I’m sending so much love to you .

Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 16:39

@Apileofballyhoo I don't want to hurt them, I don't want for them to miss me but I'm so tired of going on. I'm being selfish, I know but it's so hard. This isn't how I pictured my life at 23, I wouldn't want anyone to feel the way I do right now.

I'm very sorry to hear that your childhood was so awful, it's something that is very hard to deal with but it seems like you've done a fantastic job despite it all, you're a lovely person and you can give yourself credit for that.

I'm not quite sure how to deal with trauma if im honest. I lock it all up and now I don't really feel anything about it, just numb. I wasn't really allowed to show my emotions as a child and now I really struggle to take down that happy facade. The thing is, my front is so good, I've spent so many years perfecting it, that even when I hit the lowest of lows, even when all I want to do is cry and beg someone to help me, I just end up sounding very robotic and numb when speaking about my problems which seems to mean I'm not bad enough for the help.

Oh, I don't know about that. Many people have had far worse and still manage to be a better person, mother and friend than I will ever be.

I've spent the whole day in bed, although i did see the doctor this morning. They were lovely but unfortunately nobody has a magic wand to fix all this mess, so ultimately all they can do is prescribe me diazepam and send me on my way.

I've spent the whole day in bed as I hadn't slept at all, all night. I've now come downstairs and dealing with the kids is too overwhelming. My OH is moody from being stressed from caring for kids on his own for what probably feels like forever. I just keep thinking of ending things, I think of the relief I'll feel. I know how selfish it is of me, I know its unfair to everyone but I want it to all stop.

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Anon8253 · 15/01/2020 16:43

@Strongmummy I'm very sorry to hear that you've been through a similar episode. It's not nice and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Im so glad you're friends helped you ♥

I have one friend but she works a lot. Ill send a message and see if she's up for a coffee at hers but idk if it'll help. I won't be open with her about things, i struggle massively to open up. She's been my friend since I as 8 so just seeing her may cheer me up.

I know they'll be upset at first but long term, it may be more beneficial for them if I wasn't around.

I've been to the doctors, he's lovely and genuinely wanted to help but didn't know how. X

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Apileofballyhoo · 15/01/2020 17:08

I wasn't really allowed to show my emotions as a child and now I really struggle to take down that happy facade.

That's exactly the problem. Me too! I still struggle to say I'm unhappy about things but I've become better.

You have internalised everything. All your upset, all your trauma, all your anger, all your grief and sadness. I wish I lived near you so I could help you properly.

You have so much value and you have so much to give, it's just that you have been running on empty because nobody gave to you. I'd imagine you don't feel loved and you don't feel lovable. Even though you are both loved and lovable!

When I met my DH first he turned around to me one day and said 'how long have you been on your own?' I was so taken aback because (a) since I was about 6 and (b) nobody had ever noticed.

I'm so sorry you feel so shit. If I could carry it for you for a while I would - I know from experience that fighting the feeling of doom, fighting the idea that you are useless and fighting the feeling of wanting to commit suicide is so tiring. It's relentless.

I felt shockingly terrible at times and I still get very very anxious (today hasn't been great) but I haven't been through anything like as bad as what you've been through.

The overwhelming sadness won't go away until you let it out. You need to cry and cry and cry and rage. You need to confront it. It seems more painful to confront and we want to shy away from it but the way you are now is just as painful, maybe even more so.

Sending you as much strength as I can.

Apileofballyhoo · 15/01/2020 17:12

It really won't be more beneficial for them. It really won't. Because this is a temporary thing. You'll come through it. It's not forever.

ErinLee93 · 15/01/2020 17:36

Please don’t feel like you’re alone... I can empathise and understand a lot of what you’re saying. I’ve gone through a lot of the same things and also suffer with BPD. My family aren’t close, I’ve isolated myself from my friends because I’ve felt like a burden but one thing I do know is this... there’s no certainty and end to the pain we feel to be had from taking our own lives. That’s just more uncertainty. What happens after that? No one knows for sure. One thing that IS for certain is that you’ve probably felt like this before (I certainly have) and the pain has eased. With the right therapy and the right plan in place, I promise you that things will get better. I was suicidal last week due to the loss of a parent and relationship problems... but like my support worker told me, there’s people out there we haven’t even met yet that are going to be in our lives and fill it with so much love if we’re just that little bit brave enough and hold on and fight through the days until the emptiness starts to subside and it will, so don’t rob them of that opportunity to know you and love you. The people already in your life love you too, more than you realise.
Things will get easier and better with the right treatment, I promise you.

Apileofballyhoo · 16/01/2020 15:41

Thinking of you, Anon.

Anon8253 · 18/01/2020 12:19

@Apileofballyhoo the problem is, I can't struggle to voice them or I do voice my feelings but not to the proper extent and I just shut down because its all too much.

Thank you, you've been very helpful just by chatting and advising me via this forum and I'm really greatful.

I'm not a very good person, I'm not kind and I don't blame people for not finding me loveable. I certainly don't love myself, my partner loves me very much for some reason I can't quite fathom.

I don't know how to let it out, I can think of all those things that hurt me but I can't let it out. I'm numb from it all.

I'm finding being a mum really hard and that's so depressing. I used to love being a parent but now it's just a house that is full of arguments. My three year old has turned into a brat and there is no nicer ways to describe her right now. My eldest is a very sensitive soul and I'm so scared I'm going to cause damage to her by just being me. My youngest doesn't sleep, he constantly throws tantrums but that's normal for a two year old, it's just I don't enjoy this anymore. I want to end it all, the worries, the sadness, the fear. I want to run away from being a mum and everything that comes with it. I'm pretty sure that makes me an awful person let alone a terrible mother. For the past two days I've doped myself up on diazepam so I don't feel, spent most of my time locked away. I'm downstairs with my OH and dc and I feel like crying. I could quite literally burst into tears, stupid, pathetic tears over silly first world problems

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Anon8253 · 18/01/2020 12:23

@ErinLee93 I'm sorry you struggle with your mental health too, bpd is a horrible thing and can really leave a lasting impression on everything in our life. The thing is, I am certain that there will be peace when I die and not just for me but for many around me. Partner wouldn't have to worry about me and what I'm going to do and the kids wouldnt have an unstable mum.

I'm very sorry you lost a parent, that's such an awful thing to go through. You sound very strong and brave xxx

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Apileofballyhoo · 18/01/2020 15:26

Anon you've lost your logic.

Firstly, it's really hard being a mother of three. Just in general. So put that to one side for now. It's hard. I only have one DC and when my DB was dying life was extremely stressful and I just found it so hard to stay calm with him when he was just being ordinarily annoying.

I can't see anything in your posts to suggest you are unkind. You worry incessantly about your DH and your DC. That suggests to me you are very kind. You show compassion and understanding towards your DM and DF.

You just don't feel lovable because you didn't get enough love as a child. The voices we hear from our parents and the behaviour they exhibit towards us are so powerful. We believe our parents emotionally even if not logically.

Your DH knows you better than anyone else in the world - he lives with you, has had sex with you, watched children grow in your body, has seen you every morning, woken up next to you, fallen asleep beside you, shared meals, seen your joy and your depths of sadness and numbness. And he loves you. He loves you and he knows you.

Go off and have a cry over first world problems. It's ok to cry. It's healthy to cry. If you can cry about what you're calling first world problems at least you can cry. Let those problems be the focus of your grief. It's healthy to cry, it really is. Crying is not a weakness it's an expression of emotion. Did you know that the physical shape and chemical composition of tears are different according to their origin? Emotional tears perform a function.

Fuck whoever told you you weren't allowed have feelings and express them. They were so, so, so very wrong. They couldn't cope with a child's tears and provide a bit of comfort - a reflection on them not you.

You are trying your best. You want out but it's because you want to be better. You remember that you loved being a Mum - because the depression wasn't taking over your life. This is a low point of an illness but it's not permanent. It is temporary.

It's hard getting through the days, it really is hard, and so tiring.

Have you been for therapy to talk about some of what has happened to you? Have you had any help to work through what your childhood and teenage years were like? I can still make my heart beat faster with anxiety right now this minute by focusing on a memory. I sometimes have nightmares and wake up sweating and have to remind myself I'm safe now and married to DH. And really nothing that happened to me was anywhere near as bad as you. I've been for counselling/therapy 4 times - as in 4 sets of counselling at different ages, not just 4 visits in total. My parents were arseholes. Doesn't mean I didn't love them or that I can't view them with compassion and forgive them, but I'm allowed be angry and call them arseholes (here and to myself) and acknowledge that they were selfish, wrapped up in themselves, and they failed me and caused damage. I can do that logically and say there's no excuse on one hand and be right and on the other hand acknowledge they loved me and couldn't see what they were doing, or couldn't face it, or weren't capable.

What are you on besides the diazepam? Personally I think diazepam is great stuff. You can fool DC with normal words and actions and not snap at them and even raise a smile even if it's a fake one.

Books I found helpful Adult Children of Alcoholics (have you ever been to Al-Anon?), The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, Healing the Shame that Binds You, and Homecoming - Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child.

And what all of those books have in common is that they told me having depression and anxiety is not some kind of weakness or inherent fault, it's a result of shit things happening and not being able or allowed express hurt and pain. Having nobody to listen and care and support and getting through it on your own, learning not to trust anyone because nobody helps. But it's not any kind of inherent weakness, anybody else would be the same, and usually are although manifestations can vary. It's just a natural consequence of what the brain does. If you keep rubbing a stone it will wear away.

I remember going to my second counsellor and thinking oh my God, someone is actually going to help me. It was very helpful but I was still in denial about a lot of things and I still pushed a lot of stuff down. It was still engrained into me that things were not my DM's responsibility, and things were not my DF's fault as he'd had a rotten childhood himself. I couldn't look at my then relationship realistically because I was so used to putting up with shit and being the responsible one, until I broke from being too responsible and supportive to everyone else except myself. I was way too hard on myself.

The anti depressant I was put on was Lexapro which I think is called escitalopram, and it saved my life. 10mg first and then 20 quite quickly. For some stupid reason I thought taking the tablets was another sign of weakness but I couldn't cope any longer without doing something.

I no longer take responsibility for things I have no control over. I don't push myself to do things that will put me under pressure and cause me stress or anxiety. Normal people live like this all the time without even thinking about it. They just say no.

I am a kind person but my only responsibility is to myself and my DS. If I can do extra I will but not if it ties me or tires me or puts pressure on me.

And I consider going to the library a huge achievement to be honest. Getting DS to school, clean clothes, dinner every day, some kind of chat and play, my teeth brushed, his teeth brushed, playdates, my few hours of work, shopping done, baths and showers, clean house/not disgustingly dirty house, sheets changed, birthdays attended. They're achievements.

Sometimes we don't get to the library, sometimes we don't make it to hobby night. Sometimes we do. I do think I should be doing more but I'll do what I'm able. I need an enormous amount of time to myself in order not to be overwhelmed. So when DS was little I didn't do anything after he went to sleep at around 7/8. That was my time. Now that he's at school that's my time except for the days I'm working.

I realise I'm saying a lot and a lot is probably nonsense and unhelpful or irrelevant. I just feel for you because I remember how hard it is. Flowers

ErinLee93 · 18/01/2020 18:40

Thanks for the kind words @anon8253 but I promise you, even though we as sufferers of BPD can be very challenging to live with, our loved ones love us unconditionally and want us to get better. They do NOT want you to die or hurt yourself. It’s going to take a lot of work and finding the right combination of therapy, DBT and counselling but please believe me, once you’ve had that you will find healthy coping mechanisms and life will improve a great deal for you. Be strong for your family, they need you even though you may feel like a burden to them - that’s just the illness talking. Feel free to PM any time if you’re struggling and please take care xx

ravensoaponarope · 18/01/2020 18:59

OP, you sound so brave and sad. I used to feel like you for years and I don't now. What helped me is private psychotherapy. The NHS is shit at mental health provision. Is there any way on earth you can fund a private psychotherapist? It could save your life.
And sending you massive hugs too because I know the pain you're in xx

Apileofballyhoo · 20/01/2020 14:31

Thinking of you Anon.

Anon8253 · 20/01/2020 15:24

I'm sorry that I haven't commented at all, I'm really not well. I don't have the energy too but I'd like to thank you all for listening to me, to advising me and sympathising me, you're a lovely bunch and we need more people like you guys. Im off to bed now but I'm unsure how much longer I'll be around for. It's all very hard. I'm so sorry my reply hasn't been better x

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Apileofballyhoo · 20/01/2020 17:22

Don't worry about replying. I meant to say that on my post.

Just remember you didn't always feel this bad and you can get better. I know you want to escape the pain. Just remember it's temporary.

Are you on any medication besides the diazepam?

Anon8253 · 20/01/2020 19:07

You deserve a better reply than what I am capable of right now, your words hit home and you're exactly right.
Medication wise, I'm on pregablin which I'm currently in the process of stopping. I only have diazepam now and again, it's gone now. I've tried so many medications and they don't work. I can't be fixed

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Apileofballyhoo · 20/01/2020 20:33

I don't deserve any replies, you owe a randomer on the internet nothing! You are the most important person here.

So pregablin is just for anxiety, isn't it? Same as the diazepam.

What else have you tried? My DH is on pregablin but his biggest thing is anxiety and stress and it helps him with that. He gave me one once - he takes two a day - and it completely zonked me, I just had to sit and wait for it to wear off. Like being drunk without the drunkenness. Awful. Nothing like diazepam, I find that relaxing but I can function.

And DH gets up, takes that and heads off to work wide awake. Different strokes for different folks. He is on Lyrica and changed to generic pregablin when it came out but didn't find the generic as effective at all.

Have you ever felt as bad as this before?