Discussion
goforbroke said:
I've read a lot of this thread, and others like it. Some of the things people write seem like they could be about me.
I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
You describe the actions of a brain overloaded. it's often the case that the bigger things in life are manageable (or at least can be got through in the moment they occur). But you are describing a trivial matter in the course of a day and that is often when the overstressed mind slips up. I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Sometimes the process of writing is itself a hugely powerful process - and now you are presented with the 'what now? question. What do I do with 'it'?. It being all that I wrote and all that I think and feel. The answer is another question. What do you want to do with it. Drawing things to the surface is a huge positive step forwards, but now you need to take the next, and that is to seek the help you need to get beyond where you are now. I've written lots of lists at certain times of my life. Some I discarded, some became very important. This first one, keep it and when you feel a little more settled re-read it. From it, write another list, this time of the things you need to change in your life. That is the next step forwards - to take a muddled mind and start to get it to focus on being proactive. And this first step away from depression needs to be taken by you and this is a very self-empowering way of doing it.
All the best,
DMN
I hope the following helps some people who might read this thread.
A member of my family suffers from depression, or so we thought. There have been two suicide attempts which, thankfully, were intercepted by the swift action of friends and family. One of these attempts was very recent and a lot was learnt from it. The sufferer had lived with the condition for years and it expressed itself as anxiety, depression and then severe alcohol abuse. This time round the very bright young therapist that was assigned to my relatives case thought that there had been a miss-diagnosis and that both the anxiety and depression were symptoms , not the cause. The real cause was a form of 'silent' OCD. Its called 'silent' because none of the conventional OCD external symptoms are presented by the sufferer, it all goes on internally. The condition leads the sufferer to obsess over a negative, which can in reality be quite be trivial. This obsession is utterly consuming and leads to anxiety, depression and the use of alcohol abuse as a means of escape from the stress.
The result of this diagnosis is that a different drug and therapy regime is being followed with great success. In the process we learnt that the condition was inheritable and have since discovered that another member of the family has the same condition and it is possible that one of the children in our extended family has inherited it as well. We also learnt that this condition starts in childhood and, because it is inconceivable to most parents that their child may have a mental health problem, the child comes to accept their anxiety and depression is 'normal' and that everyone feels as they do. They therefore fail to be diagnosed until far later in life.
The reason for sharing is that until this recent diagnosis the sufferer had been diagnosed and treated for depression. This was reasonable in that the symptoms were the same, but the underlying cause was going untreated. Mental problems are common in the general population, just as common as physical ailments, but it seems they are much harder to diagnose properly. Hopefully this information will help someone. Depression as a symptom rather than a cause is something I had never considered was possible before.
A member of my family suffers from depression, or so we thought. There have been two suicide attempts which, thankfully, were intercepted by the swift action of friends and family. One of these attempts was very recent and a lot was learnt from it. The sufferer had lived with the condition for years and it expressed itself as anxiety, depression and then severe alcohol abuse. This time round the very bright young therapist that was assigned to my relatives case thought that there had been a miss-diagnosis and that both the anxiety and depression were symptoms , not the cause. The real cause was a form of 'silent' OCD. Its called 'silent' because none of the conventional OCD external symptoms are presented by the sufferer, it all goes on internally. The condition leads the sufferer to obsess over a negative, which can in reality be quite be trivial. This obsession is utterly consuming and leads to anxiety, depression and the use of alcohol abuse as a means of escape from the stress.
The result of this diagnosis is that a different drug and therapy regime is being followed with great success. In the process we learnt that the condition was inheritable and have since discovered that another member of the family has the same condition and it is possible that one of the children in our extended family has inherited it as well. We also learnt that this condition starts in childhood and, because it is inconceivable to most parents that their child may have a mental health problem, the child comes to accept their anxiety and depression is 'normal' and that everyone feels as they do. They therefore fail to be diagnosed until far later in life.
The reason for sharing is that until this recent diagnosis the sufferer had been diagnosed and treated for depression. This was reasonable in that the symptoms were the same, but the underlying cause was going untreated. Mental problems are common in the general population, just as common as physical ailments, but it seems they are much harder to diagnose properly. Hopefully this information will help someone. Depression as a symptom rather than a cause is something I had never considered was possible before.
GCH said:
Doctor has suggested sertraline. Anyone on here have any experience of that?
You probably don't want to hear it but as you asked. I was put sertraline for anxiety. Some people have trouble coming off these types of meds, for me the "on-boarding" experience was bad. It made me extremely tired. I drove to work one day and had to stop by the side of the road for an hour because I was just too tired to carry on. All I wanted to do was sleep and when I did I felt all over the place, felt like I was going mad at one point. Because of my size (6'5'' 17+ stone) the Dr put me on a strong dose. The side effects eased after a couple of weeks but to be honest they really didn't make much difference to how I felt after.Coming off them was fine for me and in the end I didn't try anything else.
Make sure you have support around you when you start and if you can combine it with some time off work then all the better.
Not trying to put you off, from what I have heard these tablets work wonders for some people and not everyone has side effects. Just sharing my own expereince
Anyone had any experience of low testosterone and or Vit D and their problems?
I have had anxiety for quite sometime (which is linked to depression I believe). There was a separate thread I started about that and someone suggested getting blood tests done to look for biological causes. I mentioned this to my Dr and he did full blood work. It came back that testosterone was marginally low and I was deficient in Vit D. Need to repeat the T test in a month and they have to check something todo with calcium and then they will prescribe high does Vit D and if the T level is still low then I guess be referred.
Some people on other forums say Vit D changed their life, others say it made no difference.
I have had anxiety for quite sometime (which is linked to depression I believe). There was a separate thread I started about that and someone suggested getting blood tests done to look for biological causes. I mentioned this to my Dr and he did full blood work. It came back that testosterone was marginally low and I was deficient in Vit D. Need to repeat the T test in a month and they have to check something todo with calcium and then they will prescribe high does Vit D and if the T level is still low then I guess be referred.
Some people on other forums say Vit D changed their life, others say it made no difference.
goforbroke said:
I've read a lot of this thread, and others like it. Some of the things people write seem like they could be about me.
I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Sounds like anxiety to me.I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Disasterising little stuff.
GP.
I expect they'll give you Temapzepam to calm you down and see what lies beneath, then Citalopram.
Life saver.
Soov535 said:
goforbroke said:
I've read a lot of this thread, and others like it. Some of the things people write seem like they could be about me.
I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Sounds like anxiety to me.I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Disasterising little stuff.
GP.
I expect they'll give you Temapzepam to calm you down and see what lies beneath, then Citalopram.
Life saver.
I fall into the trap of disasterising/catastrophising things. Something happens at work for example, nothing massively major but I go from that to -> its a disaster -> client will go ape s
t -> we will lose client -> company will go tits up -> I will lose my job.One thing the counselor said to me was when you start doing this and worrying about what might happen ask yourself "where's the evidence", the last time you worried about something did the worse happen? If you look back more often than not your worse fears never happen.
944fan said:
Soov535 said:
goforbroke said:
I've read a lot of this thread, and others like it. Some of the things people write seem like they could be about me.
I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Sounds like anxiety to me.I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Disasterising little stuff.
GP.
I expect they'll give you Temapzepam to calm you down and see what lies beneath, then Citalopram.
Life saver.
I fall into the trap of disasterising/catastrophising things. Something happens at work for example, nothing massively major but I go from that to -> its a disaster -> client will go ape s
t -> we will lose client -> company will go tits up -> I will lose my job.One thing the counselor said to me was when you start doing this and worrying about what might happen ask yourself "where's the evidence", the last time you worried about something did the worse happen? If you look back more often than not your worse fears never happen.
Get to the GP. Do it now.
944fan said:
You probably don't want to hear it but as you asked. I was put sertraline for anxiety. Some people have trouble coming off these types of meds, for me the "on-boarding" experience was bad. It made me extremely tired. I drove to work one day and had to stop by the side of the road for an hour because I was just too tired to carry on. All I wanted to do was sleep and when I did I felt all over the place, felt like I was going mad at one point. Because of my size (6'5'' 17+ stone) the Dr put me on a strong dose. The side effects eased after a couple of weeks but to be honest they really didn't make much difference to how I felt after.
Coming off them was fine for me and in the end I didn't try anything else.
Make sure you have support around you when you start and if you can combine it with some time off work then all the better.
Not trying to put you off, from what I have heard these tablets work wonders for some people and not everyone has side effects. Just sharing my own expereince
Yeah I wanted to hear it - warts & all. Exactly the sort of experiences I am wary of.Coming off them was fine for me and in the end I didn't try anything else.
Make sure you have support around you when you start and if you can combine it with some time off work then all the better.
Not trying to put you off, from what I have heard these tablets work wonders for some people and not everyone has side effects. Just sharing my own expereince
Thanks
Soov535 said:
I'm not a pusher of meds, but I promise you they WILL sort this, from experience.
Get to the GP. Do it now.
I'm not anti meds, but they don't always work, can have unpleasant side effects and can mask the underlying problem.Get to the GP. Do it now.
Either way you are right on the GP front. Get to see them and discuss the options. Combination of meds and counselling can work well but you have to find what works for you.
]I hope the following helps some people who might read this thread.
A member of my family suffers from depression, or so we thought. There have been two suicide attempts which, thankfully, were intercepted by the swift action of friends and family. One of these attempts was very recent and a lot was learnt from it. The sufferer had lived with the condition for years and it expressed itself as anxiety, depression and then severe alcohol abuse. This time round the very bright young therapist that was assigned to my relatives case thought that there had been a miss-diagnosis and that both the anxiety and depression were symptoms , not the cause. The real cause was a form of 'silent' OCD. Its called 'silent' because none of the conventional OCD external symptoms are presented by the sufferer, it all goes on internally. The condition leads the sufferer to obsess over a negative, which can in reality be quite be trivial. This obsession is utterly consuming and leads to anxiety, depression and the use of alcohol abuse as a means of escape from the stress.
The result of this diagnosis is that a different drug and therapy regime is being followed with great success. In the process we learnt that the condition was inheritable and have since discovered that another member of the family has the same condition and it is possible that one of the children in our extended family has inherited it as well. We also learnt that this condition starts in childhood and, because it is inconceivable to most parents that their child may have a mental health problem, the child comes to accept their anxiety and depression is 'normal' and that everyone feels as they do. They therefore fail to be diagnosed until far later in life.
The reason for sharing is that until this recent diagnosis the sufferer had been diagnosed and treated for depression. This was reasonable in that the symptoms were the same, but the underlying cause was going untreated. Mental problems are common in the general population, just as common as physical ailments, but it seems they are much harder to diagnose properly. Hopefully this information will help someone. Depression as a symptom rather than a cause is something I had never considered was possible before.
That's very interesting to read. Thank for posting.
When I've suffered severe anxiety in the past, mine always seems to start by having a trigger, which can be fairly trivial, certainly nothing to worry about like its life or death but, that worry builds to such an extent in my mind, that I go into complete turmoil and can think of nothing else and that's when the physical symptoms become much worse- shaking, sweating, not being able to face the world.
Many times in the past, i've hit the bottle hard, trying to numb the horrible physical effects but of course its just throwing fuel onto the fire (meds don't work either then).
My worst time started at the end of August last year. Again, it started over something that wasn't a big deal. I'd finished with my girlfriend a month earlier (I ended it). I was in the pub and met a woman id known years earlier, got talking/got on well. I took her number with the idea of meeting up/going on a date. The next day, started to panic that I wasn't ready to date again yet/not good enough for her and id be a disappointment to her.
These worries built to such an extent that I basically just drank for the next week to initially blank it and then to stop the terrible physical anxiety symptoms. It got so bad that in desperation my family booked me into the Priory Hospital for a 5 day detox, just to get me away from the booze. I was very scared too and thought id never be able to stop so agreed to go in.
I didn't receive any therapy in there- just Librium ( to ease the withdrawl of alcohol) and vit tablets.
Once home again because the real issues hadn't been dealt with, I did drink again but not to the same high levels but it was still adding fuel to the fire and I wasn't "right" by any stretch.
Towards the end of October, I was doing a little better but then my good tenant of 4 years at my flat gave me notice and I really started to panic about getting another decent tenant- would the agency find anyone? what if they were bad and trashed the place/ didn't pay the rent etc etc. Hence severe anxiety/panic back again.
Things got worse. One sunday morning , was feeling extremely distressed so thought I would drive to the hills and go for a long walk to try and feel better. I didn't really consider that id been drinking heavily the night before- didn't feel drunk or unsteady just really distressed/ anxious.
Of course, if id been well, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near the car that day but when you're going through a nervous breakdown, thinking sensibly and rationally isn't at the forefront of your mind.
I was driving down a really narrow lane, when an animal ran out from the hedge on my nearside( thought it was a dog as just passed a farm but was a daman fox)
Unfortunatly, where I instinctively swerved, I hit a tree and although I was only doing about 20, the front of my pickup was damaged to the extent it was undrivable
The farm residents had heard the bang and called the emergency services. Police were really good. Then they said we'll just do a breath test as its procedure. I failed.
That's when I knew id reached rock bottom. The absolute shame but thank god no one else was involved in any way.
I ended up losing a large chunk of salary at work ( that was probably eventually going to happen as a new job evaluation is due and they need to save money) but was a big price to pay. At least I still had a job.
I had more time off as I was still in such a state ( more so because of what happened) but in February, I was so determined to get my life on track and beat this bloody anxiety thing so it didnt completely ruin my life anymore.
I decided I wouldn't drink any alcohol at all- as doctors/therapists had told me that with me, even one drink could be enough (if I was in a low place) to ignite the severe anxiety.
I also decided to really get back into my fitness/gym again as its always been an interest of mine.
Well, 10 months later, at 44 , I am in the best shape of my life, haven't touched any alcohol at all and generally feel great. I'll always be prone to anxiety ( seems to be genetic, my mum and her family have suffered in the past) but I seem to manage those life worries we all get at times, much better now.
I've feel very fortunate that things have turned out this way (Wasn't sure originally if my life was effectively over).
My plans are to keep happy, healthy and well and put all of that horrible time behind me now.
I get my licence back in a few months which will be good ( although I mustn't give up all the cycling!).
I've said loads here- wasn't planning to but, it just came out! Sorry if ive waffled on but was your realative's issues with " silent OCD" sort of the same in that there mind was fixating on something over and over?
I've never had a thing like arranging/cleaning and constantly checking things like most people assume with OCD but I can see that this silent ocd could be something I have regarding anxiety issues.
[/quote]
A member of my family suffers from depression, or so we thought. There have been two suicide attempts which, thankfully, were intercepted by the swift action of friends and family. One of these attempts was very recent and a lot was learnt from it. The sufferer had lived with the condition for years and it expressed itself as anxiety, depression and then severe alcohol abuse. This time round the very bright young therapist that was assigned to my relatives case thought that there had been a miss-diagnosis and that both the anxiety and depression were symptoms , not the cause. The real cause was a form of 'silent' OCD. Its called 'silent' because none of the conventional OCD external symptoms are presented by the sufferer, it all goes on internally. The condition leads the sufferer to obsess over a negative, which can in reality be quite be trivial. This obsession is utterly consuming and leads to anxiety, depression and the use of alcohol abuse as a means of escape from the stress.
The result of this diagnosis is that a different drug and therapy regime is being followed with great success. In the process we learnt that the condition was inheritable and have since discovered that another member of the family has the same condition and it is possible that one of the children in our extended family has inherited it as well. We also learnt that this condition starts in childhood and, because it is inconceivable to most parents that their child may have a mental health problem, the child comes to accept their anxiety and depression is 'normal' and that everyone feels as they do. They therefore fail to be diagnosed until far later in life.
The reason for sharing is that until this recent diagnosis the sufferer had been diagnosed and treated for depression. This was reasonable in that the symptoms were the same, but the underlying cause was going untreated. Mental problems are common in the general population, just as common as physical ailments, but it seems they are much harder to diagnose properly. Hopefully this information will help someone. Depression as a symptom rather than a cause is something I had never considered was possible before.
That's very interesting to read. Thank for posting.
When I've suffered severe anxiety in the past, mine always seems to start by having a trigger, which can be fairly trivial, certainly nothing to worry about like its life or death but, that worry builds to such an extent in my mind, that I go into complete turmoil and can think of nothing else and that's when the physical symptoms become much worse- shaking, sweating, not being able to face the world.
Many times in the past, i've hit the bottle hard, trying to numb the horrible physical effects but of course its just throwing fuel onto the fire (meds don't work either then).
My worst time started at the end of August last year. Again, it started over something that wasn't a big deal. I'd finished with my girlfriend a month earlier (I ended it). I was in the pub and met a woman id known years earlier, got talking/got on well. I took her number with the idea of meeting up/going on a date. The next day, started to panic that I wasn't ready to date again yet/not good enough for her and id be a disappointment to her.
These worries built to such an extent that I basically just drank for the next week to initially blank it and then to stop the terrible physical anxiety symptoms. It got so bad that in desperation my family booked me into the Priory Hospital for a 5 day detox, just to get me away from the booze. I was very scared too and thought id never be able to stop so agreed to go in.
I didn't receive any therapy in there- just Librium ( to ease the withdrawl of alcohol) and vit tablets.
Once home again because the real issues hadn't been dealt with, I did drink again but not to the same high levels but it was still adding fuel to the fire and I wasn't "right" by any stretch.
Towards the end of October, I was doing a little better but then my good tenant of 4 years at my flat gave me notice and I really started to panic about getting another decent tenant- would the agency find anyone? what if they were bad and trashed the place/ didn't pay the rent etc etc. Hence severe anxiety/panic back again.
Things got worse. One sunday morning , was feeling extremely distressed so thought I would drive to the hills and go for a long walk to try and feel better. I didn't really consider that id been drinking heavily the night before- didn't feel drunk or unsteady just really distressed/ anxious.
Of course, if id been well, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near the car that day but when you're going through a nervous breakdown, thinking sensibly and rationally isn't at the forefront of your mind.
I was driving down a really narrow lane, when an animal ran out from the hedge on my nearside( thought it was a dog as just passed a farm but was a daman fox)
Unfortunatly, where I instinctively swerved, I hit a tree and although I was only doing about 20, the front of my pickup was damaged to the extent it was undrivable
The farm residents had heard the bang and called the emergency services. Police were really good. Then they said we'll just do a breath test as its procedure. I failed.
That's when I knew id reached rock bottom. The absolute shame but thank god no one else was involved in any way.
I ended up losing a large chunk of salary at work ( that was probably eventually going to happen as a new job evaluation is due and they need to save money) but was a big price to pay. At least I still had a job.
I had more time off as I was still in such a state ( more so because of what happened) but in February, I was so determined to get my life on track and beat this bloody anxiety thing so it didnt completely ruin my life anymore.
I decided I wouldn't drink any alcohol at all- as doctors/therapists had told me that with me, even one drink could be enough (if I was in a low place) to ignite the severe anxiety.
I also decided to really get back into my fitness/gym again as its always been an interest of mine.
Well, 10 months later, at 44 , I am in the best shape of my life, haven't touched any alcohol at all and generally feel great. I'll always be prone to anxiety ( seems to be genetic, my mum and her family have suffered in the past) but I seem to manage those life worries we all get at times, much better now.
I've feel very fortunate that things have turned out this way (Wasn't sure originally if my life was effectively over).
My plans are to keep happy, healthy and well and put all of that horrible time behind me now.
I get my licence back in a few months which will be good ( although I mustn't give up all the cycling!).
I've said loads here- wasn't planning to but, it just came out! Sorry if ive waffled on but was your realative's issues with " silent OCD" sort of the same in that there mind was fixating on something over and over?
I've never had a thing like arranging/cleaning and constantly checking things like most people assume with OCD but I can see that this silent ocd could be something I have regarding anxiety issues.
[/quote]
944fan said:
Anyone had any experience of low testosterone and or Vit D and their problems?
I have had anxiety for quite sometime (which is linked to depression I believe). There was a separate thread I started about that and someone suggested getting blood tests done to look for biological causes. I mentioned this to my Dr and he did full blood work. It came back that testosterone was marginally low and I was deficient in Vit D. Need to repeat the T test in a month and they have to check something todo with calcium and then they will prescribe high does Vit D and if the T level is still low then I guess be referred.
Some people on other forums say Vit D changed their life, others say it made no difference.
Vitamin d3 is a wonder drug for me, and I'm saying that from not being shy of taking pretty much anything. It's made me feel a lot lot better in myself, kind of more motivated, but underneath that if you will. It's really hard to describe, I have a bit more zip about me, clarity and focus, and whereas I used to make deals with myself to do things I didn't want to do, I kind of embrace them now as something I should do. I have had anxiety for quite sometime (which is linked to depression I believe). There was a separate thread I started about that and someone suggested getting blood tests done to look for biological causes. I mentioned this to my Dr and he did full blood work. It came back that testosterone was marginally low and I was deficient in Vit D. Need to repeat the T test in a month and they have to check something todo with calcium and then they will prescribe high does Vit D and if the T level is still low then I guess be referred.
Some people on other forums say Vit D changed their life, others say it made no difference.
A lot of it is mental preparedness but it all kind of works together. I use the 5000iU pills from Amazon. Don't bother with the Holland and Barrett stuff, it's low grade s
t at 400IU, the £7 for 365 pills on Amazon are good. You can do up to around 20,000iU a day without too much hassle (I do this the morning after doing the deed, we're trying for a kid and I'm worn out the day after) and it picks me up quite nicely and lifts the fog. Supposedly you can do 50,000IU a day, but you'd need to add magnesium as too much vitamin d eats up magnesium in your body.
I'm not on any ADs, I was on venlafaxine for a good 18 months but I don't know what vitamin d3 + an AD would do. It'd not be put off by it, but have a chat with your GP
Ocean glad you have recovered so well. He explained the symptoms as obsessing over a negative. It could be a comment at work, an event or simply a fear that occurs. It then completely dominates his thinking to the extent that he could not focus on anything else or sleep. The only thing that helped him was a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol, obviously a very dangerous combination and this lead to an overdose.
I don't think its appropriate for me to say much more, I am not a doctor and have only learnt about this condition, not suffered it. If you suspect you might have a similar experience talk to your GP about it as others have suggested. Its a complicated job diagnosing these problems. You sound like you are doing great. Well done.
I don't think its appropriate for me to say much more, I am not a doctor and have only learnt about this condition, not suffered it. If you suspect you might have a similar experience talk to your GP about it as others have suggested. Its a complicated job diagnosing these problems. You sound like you are doing great. Well done.
Edited by OldandGrumpy on Wednesday 2nd December 16:59
Edited by OldandGrumpy on Wednesday 2nd December 17:00
944fan said:
I'm not anti meds, but they don't always work, can have unpleasant side effects and can mask the underlying problem.
Either way you are right on the GP front. Get to see them and discuss the options. Combination of meds and counselling can work well but you have to find what works for you.
944- you're right- meds aren't going to work with some people and aren't the right thing- for them but, for many people they are and its only the stigma with them that stops them taking them when for some, they wouldn't think twice if it was for a physical thing.Either way you are right on the GP front. Get to see them and discuss the options. Combination of meds and counselling can work well but you have to find what works for you.
All drugs "can" have side effects- even everyday painkillers. In fact, at my worse,if you're that bad, I would have taken anything even if it had a 25% chance of killing me!
A very individual thing of weighing up the "risks" against the benefits.
For me, it was a no brainer(excuse the pun). They have helped me immensely with negligible side-effects and along with fitness and a good diet, they keep me from falling off my perch!
Some folks take aspinin every day- I take a low dose Paroxotine!
andy-xr said:
Vitamin d3 is a wonder drug for me, and I'm saying that from not being shy of taking pretty much anything. It's made me feel a lot lot better in myself, kind of more motivated, but underneath that if you will. It's really hard to describe, I have a bit more zip about me, clarity and focus, and whereas I used to make deals with myself to do things I didn't want to do, I kind of embrace them now as something I should do.
A lot of it is mental preparedness but it all kind of works together. I use the 5000iU pills from Amazon. Don't bother with the Holland and Barrett stuff, it's low grade st at 400IU, the £7 for 365 pills on Amazon are good. You can do up to around 20,000iU a day without too much hassle (I do this the morning after doing the deed, we're trying for a kid and I'm worn out the day after) and it picks me up quite nicely and lifts the fog.
Supposedly you can do 50,000IU a day, but you'd need to add magnesium as too much vitamin d eats up magnesium in your body.
I'm not on any ADs, I was on venlafaxine for a good 18 months but I don't know what vitamin d3 + an AD would do. It'd not be put off by it, but have a chat with your GP
That's good to hear. The Dr said they would put me on large dose to start with and monitor to get my levels back up to normal and then lower the dose.A lot of it is mental preparedness but it all kind of works together. I use the 5000iU pills from Amazon. Don't bother with the Holland and Barrett stuff, it's low grade s
t at 400IU, the £7 for 365 pills on Amazon are good. You can do up to around 20,000iU a day without too much hassle (I do this the morning after doing the deed, we're trying for a kid and I'm worn out the day after) and it picks me up quite nicely and lifts the fog. Supposedly you can do 50,000IU a day, but you'd need to add magnesium as too much vitamin d eats up magnesium in your body.
I'm not on any ADs, I was on venlafaxine for a good 18 months but I don't know what vitamin d3 + an AD would do. It'd not be put off by it, but have a chat with your GP
Not surprised I am low in it. I drive to work, drive a desk all day. Exercise is mostly swimming and weights (even when I do swim in the lake I wear an wetsuit. Plus I have skin that tans easily and that supposedly makes it harder.
OldandGrumpy said:
Ocean glad you have recovered so well. He explained the symptoms as obsessing over a negative. It could be a comment at work, an event or simply a fear that occurs. It then completely dominates his thinking to the extent that he could not focus on anything else or sleep. The only thing that helped him was a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol, obviously a very dangerous combination and this lead to an overdose.
I don't think its appropriate for me to say much more, I am not a doctor and have only learnt about this condition, not suffered it. If you suspect you might have a similar experience talk to your GP about it as others have suggested. Its a complicated job diagnosing these problems. You sound like you are doing great. Well done.
Thanks for the information.I don't think its appropriate for me to say much more, I am not a doctor and have only learnt about this condition, not suffered it. If you suspect you might have a similar experience talk to your GP about it as others have suggested. Its a complicated job diagnosing these problems. You sound like you are doing great. Well done.
Edited by OldandGrumpy on Wednesday 2nd December 16:59
Edited by OldandGrumpy on Wednesday 2nd December 17:00
That does sound very similar to how my thinking went and then escalated.
Also, thank you for your kind words. I am doing really well and want it to continue but I know I am susceptible so I have to be aware when I am getting into a negative mindset.
Without a doubt, with regards this, the best thing I,ve done is stay away from alcohol. I know many people grab a drink when they're feeling stressed and most are fine afterwards and has no real negative effects in moderation but for me it can light a big fire that burns for a long time and takes a hell of a lot to put out!
Little problems I've had over the last few months, yes ive got really anxious about some but because I ve not resorted to alcohol I've dealt with them much better ( almost like a "normal!" person).
I wish your relatives well and thanks again for posting.
goforbroke said:
I've read a lot of this thread, and others like it. Some of the things people write seem like they could be about me.
I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
Just go to the doctors bud.I don't think I have the balls to go to the GP. I don't know where i'm going with this, I've always just attributed it to me being lazy and miserable...but i'm not sure.
Its taken me about three weeks to get to posting this. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a three page document about things and about how I think/feel, it helped to write it down. But now I don't know what to do with it. I thought writing things down might help, and might give me some ideas about where to go, but i'm in the same place now as I was then.
This morning there was a mix up at the kids school, I got so stressed about it, I couldn't function clearly, and what was a small simple mistake seemed like the biggest issue in the world. It started my whole day badly
See what they can do for you.
Regarding writing it down, have a think about your biggest triggers. Write them down on some bog roll, sit next to the toilet for 5 or 10 minutes, think about how you can cope with it, accept it, and think of how to work with it, then throw that bit of bog roll in the toilet and flush it.
Actually does help.
oceanview said:
Thanks for the information.
That does sound very similar to how my thinking went and then escalated.
Also, thank you for your kind words. I am doing really well and want it to continue but I know I am susceptible so I have to be aware when I am getting into a negative mindset.
Without a doubt, with regards this, the best thing I,ve done is stay away from alcohol. I know many people grab a drink when they're feeling stressed and most are fine afterwards and has no real negative effects in moderation but for me it can light a big fire that burns for a long time and takes a hell of a lot to put out!
Little problems I've had over the last few months, yes ive got really anxious about some but because I ve not resorted to alcohol I've dealt with them much better ( almost like a "normal!" person).
I wish your relatives well and thanks again for posting.
Ocean you are very welcome and thank you for your kind comments. Do please consult with your GP. You sound like you are making excellent progress and I wish you well. That does sound very similar to how my thinking went and then escalated.
Also, thank you for your kind words. I am doing really well and want it to continue but I know I am susceptible so I have to be aware when I am getting into a negative mindset.
Without a doubt, with regards this, the best thing I,ve done is stay away from alcohol. I know many people grab a drink when they're feeling stressed and most are fine afterwards and has no real negative effects in moderation but for me it can light a big fire that burns for a long time and takes a hell of a lot to put out!
Little problems I've had over the last few months, yes ive got really anxious about some but because I ve not resorted to alcohol I've dealt with them much better ( almost like a "normal!" person).
I wish your relatives well and thanks again for posting.
Do any of you long term sufferers get days off? Times when all of a sudden that burden is lifted, the black skies part and you just feel great or 'normal' for a while?
I was talking with an old friend of mine today, he likes to talk as he says it helps, I've also just helped him out with a private counsellor which is giving him hope after years of taking ADs and not going anywhere. Anyhow, sorry to get to the point, he mentioned these times, has thought about them before and come to the conclusion that there is no rhyme nor reason to them.
What do you think? Do you have these times, if so can you attribute anything to them?
I was talking with an old friend of mine today, he likes to talk as he says it helps, I've also just helped him out with a private counsellor which is giving him hope after years of taking ADs and not going anywhere. Anyhow, sorry to get to the point, he mentioned these times, has thought about them before and come to the conclusion that there is no rhyme nor reason to them.
What do you think? Do you have these times, if so can you attribute anything to them?
I've posted this before, but it won't do any harm to post it again..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
A very good short video.
If you are waking up early in the morning with the black dog, don't just lie there, the chances are you won't get back to sleep, as it will just be a few hours with you and your dark thoughts.
GET UP, make a brew, have a read or potter about a bit, THEN go back to bed, chances are you will feel a bit better and break that cycle.
Depression is nearly always worst in the mornings for some reason.
You WILL get better, you have to keep focusing on that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
A very good short video.
If you are waking up early in the morning with the black dog, don't just lie there, the chances are you won't get back to sleep, as it will just be a few hours with you and your dark thoughts.
GET UP, make a brew, have a read or potter about a bit, THEN go back to bed, chances are you will feel a bit better and break that cycle.
Depression is nearly always worst in the mornings for some reason.
You WILL get better, you have to keep focusing on that.
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