Dear Forum.. I'm worried about my mental health

[LibertyBell 10]

With any issues like these, you need to address the root cause.............My own advice would be to do the research in to CBT ( Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) I sware by it and once you get in to the swing of it, it is a habit that you can utilise for the rest of your life. My thoughts are auotomatically positive now, but it has taken a while for me to get to that.

 

Good Luck.

 

This is slightly contradictory as one of the main selling points of CBT is that you don't need to look for causes, just solutions.

 

I do agree that CBT is worth looking at though.

[waxonwaxoff 13]

Hi I have been in this situation and am currently I feel at my worst. I have struggled with depression in my life because of some difficult situations. Some I have talked about on here. Whilst I was going through those situations I carried on and forced myself to keep going. Mainly because I had to and people relied on me to keep going. Mainly my children and my family. However since then I have met a man I really love and moved out of a house I didnt want to be in and had another beautiful baby. Bizzarely enough this seems to have made me finally break down. Apparently even good things make you down. I had got into a routine of not going out and avoided it because I have panic attacks a number of times through the day. Even my panic attacks can be brought on by nothing at all or completely at random or even when something good happens. I have become scared of being happy. The hardest thing is feeling like you have fought for so long but cant seem to get through it now. But you know fighting is hard work and we were always bound to hit shut down when we couldnt take anymore.

 

With regards to my period of struggling to go out. It was over the winter and everything had built up and I just couldnt bear the planning it takes to get out and then what happens if I panic while Im out. IT is very frustrating going from being so independant to having everything restricted. I cant bear a crowded shop. I get confused and dont know what I need. My panic attacks are not visible (I dont think) I tremble inside and feel sick and dizzy. Sometimes I get really hot then cold and cant think straight. But you know, you are not going to die from a panic attack. Who cares if somebody sees you upset like that. if anything they could help. The worse thing is you have to walk out of the shop.

 

I usually text my partner (I bet I drive him nuts) and he talks me round and then starts sending me stupid jokes to distract me. I think he realizes it is my own warped thoughts that get me distressed. I worry all the time about my loved ones getting hurt and bad things happening.

 

You dont have to be put on tablets if you dont want to. THey do help some people but they are not right for everyone. There are many ways you can work through it. First of all doctors will advise you if you ask them on herbal remedies like st johns wort. Some people say they dont work but others think they help alongside other things. Its your choice. I would also look at your nutrition. I am at my worst when I am eating more junk. You can also ask your gp to be referred for counselling but also to see if there are any groups in the area that meet. Sometimes you just need someone to say oh yes you are not an alien I have felt like that too.

You should also take time to relax yourself. because you feel unable to do anything when you are depressed you think you have enough time to relax but sitting there with your own thoughts is very exhausting. Take proper time to do something you enjoy each day even if only for 5 minutes.

 

Feel free to pm me I hope you get things sorted.

[espadrille 10]

This is slightly contradictory as one of the main selling points of CBT is that you don't need to look for causes, just solutions.

 

I do agree that CBT is worth looking at though.

look at the root cause first and then learn how to use CBT

[Scruff 10]

You should ask if there is a primary mental health worker based at your GP surgery who could work with you around your issues. Or a referal to community mental health team for an assesment, as you could then get a diagnosis and they can refer you to relevant services

[Rashspateen 10]

Sorry Medusa but I echo Alistairs post and submit that someone with obvious mental issues should not be at the forefront of a discussion forum whereby your decisions could lead to someone being banned because their opinion conflicts with yours, my mum had agraphobia for sodding years and I had to make up for what she could not do and that does not end at going outside.. Agraphobia leads to a whole host of other psychological problems that affect daily life/decisions and as such I am shocked that you are a member of admin left with the decision to allow or deny someones opinions posted on the forum...

[cooperman1 10]

stick with your docs decision not the goons on Sheffield forum these bafoons will try and diagnose you with anything. when not many of them will have gone trough what you have and they just goggle every hurdle they come across in life do your self a favour don't seek advise on Sheffield forum get medical help asap your not on your own.

[blurt 10]

hold on a bit theres one who comes on here who has had nearly every disease known to man and she will be more than willing to pass the fruit of her experience on

Edited March 25, 2009 by blurt

[medusa 16]

Sorry Medusa but I echo Alistairs post and submit that someone with obvious mental issues should not be at the forefront of a discussion forum whereby your decisions could lead to someone being banned because their opinion conflicts with yours, my mum had agraphobia for sodding years and I had to make up for what she could not do and that does not end at going outside.. Agraphobia leads to a whole host of other psychological problems that affect daily life/decisions and as such I am shocked that you are a member of admin left with the decision to allow or deny someones opinions posted on the forum...

 

I don't have agoraphobia, nor any other phobia to my knowledge.

 

I don't have OCD, schizophrenia, any sort of borderline personality disorder, psychosis, dementia or any other mental health problem which prevents me from living in the real world.

 

If you think that suffering depression because of increasing physical disability somehow negates every bit of my life experience and prevents me from applying forum rules and being objective then I suggest you email the site owner to protest to him. I wouldn't imagine that you're going to get very far because he is completely aware of my medical issues and took me on in full knowledge of them.

 

Expressing an opinion as extreme as yours does say rather a lot about your feelings towards a condition which will affect almost half of people at some point in their lives. If working as a volunteer on a website is not a suitable occupation for someone who has depression, what would be?

 

Would you prefer that everyone with depression is excluded from society and the working world? I'm sure that this would work wonders on recovery rates.

 

How about a bit of realism? There are people all around you with mental health issues of all kinds, most of which you aren't aware of because they simply don't concern you. This thread is not about my mental health issues or your bigoted opinion either- it's a thread on which someone else has asked for help not being judged.

[corkneyfonz 10]

With the greatest respect to the original poster, do the admin team ever consider the effects of such downbeat threads on people who may be battling mental health issues. I should imagine that most users visit this site for entertainment and engaging debates. Most people with mental heath problems try to forget them, not be reminded ad nauseum that they themselves are also ill. I wonder how many people have felt like self harming after reading. The simple reply is if you've already been referred to a mental health team, you can always contact them on their out of hours crisis no. To those wannabe doctors, most OCD is normally treated with Fluoxetine a generic brand of Prozac, the anti depressant. Unfortunately mental health is a postcode lottery in Sheffield. If you're lucky enough to have a care co ordinator then express your feelings to them. There is a Sheffield based charity which they can refer you to, these people will then visit you at home and offer support a few hours a week, maybe building your confidence up until you can leave the house albeit under their supervision.

[Dozy 11]

With the greatest respect to the original poster, do the admin team ever consider the effects of such downbeat threads on people who may be battling mental health issues. I should imagine that most users visit this site for entertainment and engaging debates. Most people with mental heath problems try to forget them, not be reminded ad nauseum that they themselves are also ill. I wonder how many people have felt like self harming after reading. The simple reply is if you've already been referred to a mental health team, you can always contact them on their out of hours crisis no. To those wannabe doctors, most OCD is normally treated with Fluoxetine a generic brand of Prozac, the anti depressant. Unfortunately mental health is a postcode lottery in Sheffield. If you're lucky enough to have a care co ordinator then express your feelings to them. There is a Sheffield based charity which they can refer you to, these people will then visit you at home and offer support a few hours a week, maybe building your confidence up until you can leave the house albeit under their supervision.

 

Just because people have mental health problems it doesn't mean we are morons! We are just as capable as anyone else when to comes to reading a thread title and deciding whether we want to read the thread or not.

 

And I don't agree that such threads are necessarily "downbeat" - a lot of posters are able to offer support based on their own experiences. So many people with mental health problems feels isolated and alone with their problems - it helps for them to realise that lots of others have/have had similar problems and it's possible to beat them.

[Dozy 11]

I am quite worried at the moment. I am 22 years and show some classic signs of agoraphobia, paranoia and OCD and I will be mentioning this to my new doctor when we sign up to them as talking to my present doctor is useless.

 

However I am even worried about talking to a doctor about this as they will just try to give me pills, which I really don't want to resort to as I have dealt with my own growing depression for 13 years in my own way and if possible I want to continue this.

 

I was wondering if anyone knows of a place I can or someone else can contact that would be able to help me counselling wise with my problems or even if someone could give me a more indepth description of OCD, Paranoia and Agoraphobia.

 

In terms of Agoraphobia I know I need to get out before this get worse, but I feel going out is going to make me worse.

 

I hope someone can give me some advise on this.

 

thank you.

 

Doctors cannot make you take medication if you don't want it. Please don't write off your doctor before you've had the chance to discuss the situation with him/her. Some surgeries have doctors who specialise in mental health issues, perhaps you could ask about that before making an appointment.

 

My late partner suffered from agoraphobia for years, eventually she was referred for CBT - and it worked!!

 

I really think you need to talk to a trained professional about your problems - not all doctors are useless when it comes to mental health (though some of them could certainly do with a good kick up the backside).

[Stainboy 10]

To the OP: Don't be afraid or willing to write off pills without trying them, they really can help you function enough to make more steps forward. People think of pills and think "omg! so fake it means i'm too weak to do it on my own". It's only a matter of chemicals in your brain, chemicals you may have a different balance of than some and need adjusting. We need the chemicals in food to survive as well and everyone needs different amounts of them.

 

But of course if you do try them you have to pay attention to what they're doing to you. The antidepressants I went on in December have made it much worse, I could tell you how much but it would be a terribly dark story. Yet I was told to keep taking them when I first reported it.

 

However since then I have met a man I really love and moved out of a house I didnt want to be in and had another beautiful baby. Bizzarely enough this seems to have made me finally break down. Apparently even good things make you down.

 

I know what you mean with this, last summer I started an unexpected whirlwind romance, it was the best I'd felt for years. She was moving so I moved in October to be with her. That time of year tends to be my habitual time for anxiety to start but I thought I'd be okay this year. I wasn't. Became afraid of going out, couldn't get out of bed, felt useless and hated myself. It ruined the relationship and the meds I took to fix it put the final nail in the coffin.

 

Sorry Medusa but I echo Alistairs post and submit that someone with obvious mental issues should not be at the forefront of a discussion forum whereby your decisions could lead to someone being banned because their opinion conflicts with yours,

This is a terrible thing to say to someone. When I was at uni I went through a bad phase of mostly anxiety with some depression due to it. I was afraid of going to classes. Yet I had a job at the weekends driving students home, I loved this job it was my sancuary, it meant I could never drink at weekends so could never develop a problem there, it gave me a decent amount of money so I never had to worry about that and it gave me enough responsibility to feel important. That's one of the most valuable things for someone who's illness makes them feel so useless. If you were to even think that I should never be doing that job without even knowing me then you have no feelings or real empathy for others.