Depression

[Dons_1988]

Yeah, hats off to you for completing the marathon.  I managed to get up to 5k on the Couch To 5k programme and it was torture, but the reward of completing it more than compensated.
I just can't imagine extending that to a marathon though, so well done again.
Incidentally, has this curbed your cynicism and and your general '30 going on 70' views on life?

It has yeah. My outlook on just about everything is different.

My work was going through redundancies recently. Thankfully I survived it but in the build up I wasn’t stressed at all. Just felt like even if I did get binned that I’d be fine, just confident in myself and got more perspective.

[Bert Raccoon]

12 hours ago, Dons_1988 said:

Warning - emotional, happy clappy annoying c**t post coming up. Apologies in advance but it’s too embarrassing to say to actual people so I’m sharing with P&B instead.
 

Well done! That's an amazing achievement and a great story to read.

Slightly similar to yourself, I had a shit year last year, split up with my girlfriend whilst we were planning on buying our first home. We were staying with her parents at the time so I had to move out and basically stay with mates and eventually move back in with my mum until I could get the money together for my own place. A year on and I'm on the verge of buying my own place and although it's not a marathon, I'm planning on running the 10k at The Great Scottish Run in September raising funds for Mental Health UK. It's been rough but I definitely feel like my life is back on track and it's great to read about other people who've managed to turn their lives around.

[D.A.F.C]

Usually someone that stoops that low is in a bad way themselves.

If not a few boots to the pie would help.

Edited May 28, 2019 by D.A.F.C

[Dindeleux]

Thought I'd tell you depressionists that [mention=4520]Dindeleux[/mention] is back mocking mental illness. 

It's time, this time that we said no to the stigma of mental illness.   It's Ok not to be Ok and it's never not Ok to mock mental illness or the cause of mental illness.    

Quite the opposite in fact.

In any case there are some threads on P+B that the other nonsense shouldn’t be brought into and this is one of them.

[Dindeleux]

You might think it's cool to sympathise with mental illness on the depression forum and mock it elsewhere.   I and others don't.  
#itsoknottobeokay. 

Ok

[Ziggy]

I think the two of you should take it elsewhere.

[Jacksgranda]

12 Ruel Street, and bring their mas?

[welshbairn]

8 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

12 Ruel Street, and bring their mas?

Back and quarantined in the dotting thread asylum.

[Raidernation]

Ok. Sober living is going well, got a part time tutoring job for now and had a successful interview on Tuesday so I have a full time teaching job starting July.
Positive news all round

[mathematics]

5 hours ago, Raidernation said:

Ok. Sober living is going well, got a part time tutoring job for now and had a successful interview on Tuesday so I have a full time teaching job starting July.
Positive news all round

Brilliant news Raider - good luck with the teaching!

[stuartsmfc]

I've not managed to read all this topic but was wondering how many people have tried antidepressants? I struggle with really bad anxiety that can result in feeling down and like my life is falling apart. I can become quite manic. 

Ive had this now probably since my late teens so 15 years. I've been for counselling etc and it helped a bit but the anxiety and depression still comes and goes. My doctor prescribed me sertraline a couple of weeks ago, was never keen on medication but thinking of giving it a go. Anyone any experience with sertraline in particular?

I used to be fit and healthy but let myself go a bit, know what I should be doing but just have no get up and go and thinking about the gym actually makes me anxious, sometimes staying indoors is the only thing thing that makes me feel 'safe'.

[RH33]

57 minutes ago, stuartsmfc said:

I've not managed to read all this topic but was wondering how many people have tried antidepressants? I struggle with really bad anxiety that can result in feeling down and like my life is falling apart. I can become quite manic. 

Ive had this now probably since my late teens so 15 years. I've been for counselling etc and it helped a bit but the anxiety and depression still comes and goes. My doctor prescribed me sertraline a couple of weeks ago, was never keen on medication but thinking of giving it a go. Anyone any experience with sertraline in particular?

I used to be fit and healthy but let myself go a bit, know what I should be doing but just have no get up and go and thinking about the gym actually makes me anxious, sometimes staying indoors is the only thing thing that makes me feel 'safe'.

There is no one answer to this I’m afraid. It’s really a try and see if it works for you. I’ve never had sertaline but I found citalopram sent me crazier. 

I’d suggest keeping some kind of mood diary to see if you can track any patterns of anxiety triggers and also what makes you feel ‘manic’. 

I suffer from anxiety so I can empathise with the staying in house as it feels safe. 

I’ve been on medication for most of the last 13 years and probably will be for life. No one questions why a diabetic takes insulin so we shouldn’t have stigma because it’s mental health.

[Lisa Cuddy]

1 hour ago, stuartsmfc said:

I've not managed to read all this topic but was wondering how many people have tried antidepressants? I struggle with really bad anxiety that can result in feeling down and like my life is falling apart. I can become quite manic. 

Ive had this now probably since my late teens so 15 years. I've been for counselling etc and it helped a bit but the anxiety and depression still comes and goes. My doctor prescribed me sertraline a couple of weeks ago, was never keen on medication but thinking of giving it a go. Anyone any experience with sertraline in particular?

I used to be fit and healthy but let myself go a bit, know what I should be doing but just have no get up and go and thinking about the gym actually makes me anxious, sometimes staying indoors is the only thing thing that makes me feel 'safe'.

I've been on sertraline for 6 months. It has helped a lot. My anxiety has improved a bit, though I still struggle when I'm really stressed. The side effects were bearable except for the constant dry mouth, which drove me mad for the first month but it settled. Drinking fluids near constantly didn't seem to help much, but chewing gum relieved it a bit. 

 

I still wish I could pull the duvet over my head and not have to leave the house, but nowhere near as bad as I used to be. I never missed a day of work and, despite feeling a bit groggy for the first couple of weeks, it didn't effect my day to day ability to work. I've had paroxetine before, which made me feel completely numb and unable to function - far worse feeling than depression for me. Citalopram made me feel constantly sick with no positive effects. Sertraline seems to have been the best I've had. 

[Raidernation]

I’ve been on escitalopram since going into residential treatment back in April and it seems to be working for me mostly.
Big test in the next 2 weeks, anniversary of my last wife’s death on the 13th and her ashes were interred on the 18th, coincidentally the birthday of the other late Mrs. RN

[Guest Moomintroll]

I've not managed to read all this topic but was wondering how many people have tried antidepressants? I struggle with really bad anxiety that can result in feeling down and like my life is falling apart. I can become quite manic. 
Ive had this now probably since my late teens so 15 years. I've been for counselling etc and it helped a bit but the anxiety and depression still comes and goes. My doctor prescribed me sertraline a couple of weeks ago, was never keen on medication but thinking of giving it a go. Anyone any experience with sertraline in particular?
I used to be fit and healthy but let myself go a bit, know what I should be doing but just have no get up and go and thinking about the gym actually makes me anxious, sometimes staying indoors is the only thing thing that makes me feel 'safe'.

A lot of what you said there could have been written by me. When I finally admitted I needed medication, they started me off on Sertraline but it somehow made me feel even worse although, to be fair, I was at my lowest ebb at the time. After I was switched over to Citalopram there was definitely an improvement although I still have times where I cannot leave the house. Worst side effect for me is that it makes me sweat regularly & excessively for no reason which makes me self conscious about exercising/going to the gym, everyone is different but that is by far the biggest downside for me.

[AL-FFC]

9 hours ago, stuartsmfc said:

I've not managed to read all this topic but was wondering how many people have tried antidepressants? I struggle with really bad anxiety that can result in feeling down and like my life is falling apart. I can become quite manic. 

Ive had this now probably since my late teens so 15 years. I've been for counselling etc and it helped a bit but the anxiety and depression still comes and goes. My doctor prescribed me sertraline a couple of weeks ago, was never keen on medication but thinking of giving it a go. Anyone any experience with sertraline in particular?

I used to be fit and healthy but let myself go a bit, know what I should be doing but just have no get up and go and thinking about the gym actually makes me anxious, sometimes staying indoors is the only thing thing that makes me feel 'safe'.

I was prescribed  with Mirtazapine helped a lot get me back onto some sort of a sleep pattern, lifted my mood a bit. Side effect of it is weight gain, i wasnt exactly slim before hand but it has.  I can relate to the wanting to stay indoors and shut yourself off the worst of it is You know in your head you need to get out, go to gym etc as it will be better for you its when your that low the last thing you want to do is go to the gym let alone see anyone.



 

[Dons_1988]

I tried several different anti depressants and spent the most time on mirtazapine.

As AL-FFC said it helped me sleep when I was going days without any. I did gain a lot of weight but difficult to know if that was the drugs or the fact I was just severely mistreating myself, most likely the latter.

In all honesty I never found that anti depressants ever made a difference for me other than the sleep.

Can also relate to the locking yourself indoors problem, it’s always tempting but I’d say the reality is it’s the worst thing to do. You might surprise yourself that fresh air/other people’s company may make you feel better.

[Sermani]

First time I've posted on this topic but been reading it ,  suffered from anxiety from my school days, mid eighties and it took me 30 years to seek help.  What finally broke me was a couple of sections of road I drive daily I just couldn't, absolutely scared stiff started taking back roads all to avoid 2 one mile sections. Then had to go to a couple of funerals over a short period, sitting in a church all peaceful and quiet just sweating buckets and wanting out.  Over the years I've at various times, been unable to stand in queues, fly, drive, travel on trains,  buses, even stand or even sit at the football. I managed to do everything eventually but it felt like torture. Even gave up drinking thinking it was messing with my mind.

Eventually went to the doctor feeling like a time waster. Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, put me on Sertaline. Small dose at first built up and the cut down again. Now on my last strip of pills after nearly 3 years. I feel great, something I wish I had done earlier. It took a lot of determination, grit,  soul searching and some home truths.  Had my first drink over 3 years at the weekend never felt like I missed it. It will still take a lot positive thinking but hopefully I will be able to live a lot less stressed live. Fingers crossed.

Reading this thread has helped. I know everybody is different but i hope everyone perseveres and eventually has a positive outcome. Many thanks

 

 

[Hedgecutter]

On 10/06/2019 at 08:29, AL-FFC said:

I was prescribed  with Mirtazapine helped a lot get me back onto some sort of a sleep pattern, lifted my mood a bit. Side effect of it is weight gain, i wasnt exactly slim before hand but it has.  I can relate to the wanting to stay indoors and shut yourself off the worst of it is You know in your head you need to get out, go to gym etc as it will be better for you its when your that low the last thing you want to do is go to the gym let alone see anyone.

... which in turn makes you feel like even more of a failure and just makes things worse.

I was put on Mirtazapine having eventually seen my GP (I can totally relate to Sermani having put this off and off) and I think that it did some good.  However, the best thing I did was get out and volunteer for some self-worth, which in my case was become a helper with the local Scout group.  As I did both at pretty much the same time, it's tricky to work out which was the better of the two.

With regards to getting out, my lowest moment was when I eventually got out the house after somebody suggested geocaching (great for getting outdoors even if you're in the city on your tod).  I was struggling to find one down a lane and some guy came out asking why I was snooping around the back of his office. "You're not another one of that GPS lot are you? Get lost!" had me walking off to a bench at the bus stop pity party to end all pity parties.  Noticing that there was a bus to Stonehaven, I genuinely considered taking a trip to the cliffs that day.  Thankfully one never passed by, but that was the moment I realised that I really needed some help.

Tip:  Don't take up a hobby where there's a good chance of failure finding things that other people seem to find an "easy find!".  Terrible idea, don't do it.

[buchan30]

... However, the best thing I did was get out and volunteer for some self-worth, which in my case was become a helper with the local Scout group.  As I did both at pretty much the same time, it's tricky to work out which was the better of the two.
With regards to getting out, my lowest moment was when I eventually got out the house after somebody suggested geocaching (great for getting outdoors even if you're in the city on your tod).  I was struggling to find one down a lane and some guy came out asking why I was snooping around the back of his office. "You're not another one of that GPS lot are you? Get lost!" had me walking off to a bench at the bus stop pity party to end all pity parties.  Noticing that there was a bus to Stonehaven, I genuinely considered taking a trip to the cliffs that day.  Thankfully one never passed by, but that was the moment I realised that I really needed some help.
Tip:  Don't take up a hobby where there's a good chance of failure finding things that other people seem to find an "easy find!".  Terrible idea, don't do it.

You say that you are helping with a scout group which is fantastic, I do beavers and find it rewarding, it’s something that keeps your mind occupied. Its a shame that bellend had that effect on you, especially how tough it would have been for you to go out and try it. If you still had an interest in it i see on Facebook etc that a lot of scouts/cubs/beavers are starting to do geocaching.