Anxiety/Depression/Mental Illness Support

[Shell B]

I have noticed that a significant portion of our members suffer from one sort of mental or mood disorder or another. This thread is meant to be supportive, so let's not mention the mental illnesses of those who have yet to realize they are nucking futs. At any rate, not all of you get the support you need from your families and often come here to talk about what is vexing, hurting or just plain fucking with you and I think that is great. So, I thought it would be cool to start this thread as something of a support group for those of us who are going through these types of issues. Feel free to post encouraging facts about mental/mood disorders, quotes, coping techniques or rants. Really, post anything that makes you feel better or you think will make someone else feel better. I heard that most people who suffer from depression are of above average intelligence. So, next time you are bummed, remember, you are smarter than those peppy assholes.

I feel compelled to add that I take suicidal thoughts seriously. While it would be cool if we could help each other through that sort of thing, I don't think it is feasible all the time. If you feel that depressed, don't be a afraid to call a suicide hotline. You can even chat in here while you chat with them if you want.

Here is a helpful number for the U.S. 1-800-273-8255

If anyone else has numbers for other countries, that would be very helpful. I will try to check in and add them to this post as often as possible.

Please try to be encouraging in this thread and supportive. Please do not give out medical advice, such as medication doses and cessation of medications.

My inbox is always open if someone wants to chat about this topic, but does not want to do so in a public thread.

[Erinome]

This is a great idea.

I suffer from depression, but I haven't attempted suicide since I was 17.

I nearly had a nervous break down about a week ago. I'm going through a lot of shit with my youngest daughter's father, and I'm constantly worried when she is with him, which is most of the time. I filed a petition Friday for full custody, but court is not until the middle of February, and I'm constantly having panic attacks, especially since I had to quit smoking my medicine because I don't want there to be any risk of me losing this fight. He is an alcoholic, and has recently been accused by his 7 year old daughter of drinking and driving with the children in the car. His wife has filed for an emergency restraining order to protect her children from him, but they will not let me have one because we live in different states. WTF?

I'm going to my doctor on Friday to get something for my anxiety. It's just more than I can handle!

Normally I would be all over a thread like this, willing to help those in distress, but I am not in a mental state that is ideal for doing such. I won't even be seeing patients at work for a while, so I'll just be doing paperwork, which sucks, but it's what's best for the moment.

[Shell B]

Then come here for a little encouragement. You can give it later.

I dealt with a very long custody battle for my stepson. I will not get into details, as I have a strong policy against publicly insulting his biological mother and it really is his business why we had to get custody, so I like to keep his business private. At any rate, I know exactly how you feel. During one stretch of the custody battle, which usually went well for us, but was still nerve-wracking, I caught a gastrointestinal virus that had me floored for months. It eventually settled in my heart, leaving me with arrhythmia. (I've told this story here, but it belongs in this thread, really.) In the meantime, I was given a beta blocker. The beta blocker made me want to die. I was so depressed on top of being sick that I was just done with life. I was taken off the beta blocker, but I have had lingering anxiety attacks, which suck, given that I sometimes have trouble figuring out if I just need to calm down or if I need to get my heart checked out. Most of the time, I know what is up. At any rate, going through the anxiety, depression, illness and court was horrible. In the end, it turned out all right. I still talk to my ex-husband and see my stepson quite often lately. I still have anxiety, but I live with it. You can too. Exercise seriously helps a lot. Go for a very long walk, run, ride a bike . . .

[LastPoet]

I had a bit of social anxiety after a period of seclusion while quitting drugs. Most of it went like: I wanted to go out and have fun, then my brain triggered deep rationalizations of why I shouldn't go out, raising my anxiety, makng me avoid leaving the house, this in a vicious spiral. I solved it by going to the Psychologist and she used a technique called "Cognitive-behavioural therapy". It worked and now looking back it all seems so foolish the rationalizations I made.

Now I'm just CRAVING FOR A FUCKING CIGARETTE!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Shell B]

Cognitive behavioral therapy is extremely useful. They use it for PTSD and OCD as well, which are very persistent types of anxiety. I'm glad it worked for you.

I never really had social anxiety, though it runs in my family (I don't care what anyone says. That shit is genetic.). I had a sort of existential anxiety, I suppose. I just assumed I was a worthless piece of shit, so I would be nervous about doing anything. It still happens. I mostly freak out about freaking out. In other words, I'm afraid I'll have an anxiety attack or heart problems (which produce uncomfortable symptoms for me) and ruin everyone else's time or put someone else in danger, such as when I am driving, then I have a fucking anxiety attack. If I don't think about it, I'm fine . . . most of the time.

[LastPoet]

I think that deep down everyone has its own quirks, the problem is getting people to admit they need help. Not sure about the US, but here, people still have the idea that people that need therapy are 'crazy', it carries a stigmata. It goes very much as the psychologist joke:

-How many psychologists are needed to change a light bulb?

-None, the light bulb must want to change!

[reverendjeremiah]

So what is my problem Shell?

[Shell B]

I think that deep down everyone has its own quirks, the problem is getting people to admit they need help. Not sure about the US, but here, people still have the idea that people that need therapy are 'crazy', it carries a stigmata.

I think the word you are looking for is stigma, dear. Stigmata are the wounds of Christ.

There is stigma with mental illness here too. I think it is the same everywhere. Most people do not realize that mental illness does not necessarily mean you are licking the walls or planning murders. I liken it to fibromyalgia. It is just pain in a different way.

---

So what is my problem Shell?

I don't know. If you figure it out and come back, I can try to be encouraging.

[downbeatplumb]

Looks around for pel.

[reverendjeremiah]

Hmm..okay, I have had suicidal thoughts before, but not very often, nor recent.

They usually dont last long either..something like "You know, all of my problems would be solved with one bullet to the head"...

then I think of how that would suck, go crack open another beer, and try to figure out what my other options are.

Is that normal?