Last Chance

[ExmoorPeace]

Day 1. Visited drs with numerous problems some possibly related to perimenopause. Main problem is anxiety which is leading to depression. My dad has aggressive neck cancer. My mum is getting frail. I have one child who has just started secondary school. I feel old and lonely. No friends anymore. Very small family.
Prescribed Sertraline 50 mg after a week of 25 mg. Took the first dose as soon as I got back from docs. Felt a bit odd after a few mins. A bit of nausea. Dad phoned to tell me he needs an urgent operation (he is 83). Waves of panic consumed me until I went to bed. No sleep. lay there thinking everyone I love is going to die on me.
Day 2: took another dose. Same side effects but they are bearable. Desperately hoping this drug will help. Have had GAD since primary school and depression off an on since A levels.

So sorry you are feeling so rough. You’ve a lot of really stressful and upsetting things going on so it’s not surprising you feel shitty. The thing with antidepressants is they can take up to 6 weeks to kick in. Did the gp say to come back in a week? Often when you start antidepressants the gp will monitor you weekly at first.

Do you think doing some guided relaxation to a YouTube video might help with the anxiety a bit? Just trying to concentrate on the instructions regarding breathing and relaxing the muscles can sometimes help. It’s so hard when you are faced with the declining health of your parents. It really is tough no two ways about it. Are you eating, sleeping? Is there anything you can do that you’d find interesting, absorbing? Doesn’t matter what but anything that you can focus on and maybe distracts you from your thoughts for a bit?