mental health issues

[jcgrumbles]

I don't think those involved with people who have a mental condition really understand what it's like.

No disrespect JC. And I don't want to bring you further down.

It's like watching a video demonstration on hanging wallpaper. You can watch it & understand the principles...but until you try to decorate a room you have no idea on the reality of the task.


The person who helped me the most was my mam's neighbour (and not just because she had a fit daughter). She was the one who told me it never really leaves you, it's always there in the background.
She was right. But she knew this because she had been there before. Sure, a member of a mentsl health team could of said the same thing. But it's the feelings that go with the statement.


I'm leaving this now. Gonna snuggle up with the dog.

No probs mate,im snuggling up to my second single now,my head will be full of cartoons in the morning...

[Nariana]

Lainie im glad you have started a thread about this as i believe that practically everyone will suffer from some form of mental illness in their lifetime, most commonly depression. I know i have suffered in the past from depression and never even knew about it until i seen a doctor. He wanted to put me on prozac and that was enough to snap me out of it and pull myself together. Unfortunately some folk cannot do that and the consequenses are often tragic.

I totally agree and am surprised how many men answered this thread as men find it more difficult to talk about their feelings!.Have to say i had a bout of depression a few years back and did not know i had,just thought it was tiredness mainly as i had 4 small kids @the time,(Had the baby blues)also mistaken for depression!so i did my spell of 2 weeks in hospital and had 2 take the tabs i was given but did not suit me atall so i used pretend i was as every one else seem to be like walking zombies to me,but saying that i met the nicest people there,talking about it that time helped me more and having support from family and friends helps you get through it a lot quicker,thank god i never got addicted 2 prozac or the likes,it is a battle for anyone thats going through it and not a nice place to be but you can fight it with a little help from your friends,The upside of depression is,(there is an upside)and that is it makes you a stronger person and more aware of other peoples feelings Anyone that dont understand is because they are just ignorant and never will know untill they or someone close to them need their help and support and sometimes it is too late!

[Lainie]

tbh some of my friends have absolutely no idea how bad i am at times. one of them is my hairdresser and one night when i was getting my hair done i tried to tell her. i got round this by asking about someone else she knows and has had encounters with (you know) was doing. she started ranting saying oh he aught to pull himself together and get on with it. i tried stating it was an illness etc but she just kept ranting saying she has had plenty of times in her life to be depressed but she just gets on with it.

mind you in times gone buy she said she was a bit down - however still went out every friday and saturday and loved being the centre of attention. nothing wrong with that but someone who was depressed would never do that.

ive been on pills for over 20 yrs and dont think i will ever be without them. i see it as so what i need a few pills to help me cope (but many times i dont). me personally i have to work. theres nothing worse than being at home all day feeling useless. i know if i wasnt working id prob spend half my life in bed.

i attend a place called C.O.P.E. and they are lovely people.


CBT didnt work for me as all it does is try to make you think good thoughts in the future. it does NOT deal with why you think the way you do and again in my own personal opinion its very over rated. too many docs say oh go for this and you will get better.

i have found there is not much help in my area re mental health issues and i live next to a very deprived area. they dont seem to cater for those of us that do work as they dont open afte 5 or weekends. my work are completely intollerent of it and make me worse.

@ JAY pm me if you ever need to talk to anyone.

[Baldy Bob]

I'm on citalopram at the moment.

I didn't realise how bad I was until these (citalopram) got into my system, it's not a case of snap out of it, you can't, it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. I needed a mixture of medication and counselling.

Suffered from severe depression, anxiety, paranoia and panic attacks for years, why I didn't go to the docs then is beyond me, and how I never killed somebody or killed myself is a miracle, the bad thoughts I used to have would keep me awake for 72 hour spells and more, yeah, only advice I could give to people suffering from mental health issues is...... go to the docs, tell them EVERYTHING, don't hold back or feel embarrassed, tell them the lot.

[Nariana]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_O24tnqs_U&feature=player_embedded"]A Theory of Mental Health - YouTube[/ame]

[Nariana]

Good for you bob,everyone is different and it is a chemical imbalance in the brain and some subcribed drugs do help when you find the right one that works,Snap out of it and pull youself 2gether does not help saying,its darker than that and should not be a stigma attached 2 it,,esp in this day and age..

[stanburyfam]

When it comes to mental illness I am afraid that it will always be a very difficult subject to broach for most people but especially the all knowing all powerfull "alpha male" and he is the one most in danger.

It took me many years to seek help and it was only when my wife decided to leave if i did not get help that i went to see a doc BUT i still played down the symptoms and I think the doc caught on because she asked my wife to be present in my next visit.

On the second visit I was not allowed to speak the doctor only asked if she could ask my wife personla questions about me. What I heard my wife say shocked me to the core and when she was finished I realized that I did truely have a major problem and then started the sectionings etc(I had already tried suicide a few times by this time)

Even after i was officialy diagnosed with bipolar i never said a wrod to anyone the only people outside of the nhs who knew i had BP was me and my wife


Today 5 years down the line I make no secrets about it to friends family and people I meet I tell them about my sections my interesting times spent in hospital some of the odd effect my meds have on me(manboobs anyone) the reason for this is simple there are people out there putting a rope around their neck or gun to their head because they would prefer to be dead then to be seen as "crazy"

I have never discussed this topic on the internet before because there are some real bastards out there and if i was caught at a bad time by a sicko then i think they could set me back in ways i dont want to go so i have to date kept quiet.

AT the moment I am hypo manic so the trolls can line up and I will show a good BP beatdown



sorry promise will shut up now



JAY


for those interested my meds include quetiapine 200mg,depakote 1.5 grams, fluoxetine 20mg, lorazipam 1mg when needed,zopiclone when needed

[ChelseaBun]

It's funny(possibly not right choice of word) but i find it easier to put a picture of myself on this forum than i do talking about when i had depression.

Maybe im not ready to do that yet. To me, to say it is to admit it, and to admit it is to accept it. Im not there yet.

Im one of those 'push it to the back of your mind and block it out' types of people. It seems to be working so far. My mind is being overly occupied with baby bun right now.

Well done to everyone who has shared there experience, im sure there will be lots reading this, and maybe a few will relate to what some of you say and realise there is help waiting for them once they are ready to ask for.

I don't have a good experience and i was let down by the doctors (mainly to do with doctors own personal opinion on teenagers with depression) so im not gonna say for possibly putting people off.

[gmb45]

just to add from personal experiences for quite a few years ( not going into details some on here know already ) any one suffering from mental health probs, in my experiences the biggest majority of doctors are not trained in dealing with mental health issues, you NEED to be seen by a psychiatrist.

[Evastar]

i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder nearly twenty years ago, and suffered with bouts of depression and anxiety for years, mainly severe anxiety.

it's only since i started doing reiki and other holistic therapies that i feel that i have genuinely improved, to a stage where a lot of people tell me i'm now one of the calmest people they know! (most of the time anyway, i still have the occasional wobbly day)

[mattybhoy]

A bit late coming onto this thread, but I just want to thank Lainie for opening this thread and starting it off on a great note.

Like most posters on the thread I've suffered with mental illness and still are suffering. I have a Mrs who suffers more than me who often thinks about suicide, but thank God has not followed it through up to now.

Like most CBT didn't work for me or her, so up to now it's just the happy pills and counselling for us. I've noticed that different local authorities in the UK seem to take mental health more/less seriously. Has anyone got any good experiences of help that's been provided by their LA (Lainie's group sounds encouraging and helpful).

I'm sure those of you who are currently suffering find it helpful to talk on here about it, I certainly do.

Last word for the posters. Been some excellent ones guys, nice to know their are others out there with simular experiences.

[Lainie]

@ stanbury - you dont need to shut up. you and many others have had the honesty and courage to post in this thread - that takes guts and i thank everyone for being open and honest.

although i go to cope and i was there today i only saw her for 15 mins as she was running late from prev client and i dont go back for 2 weeks. im having a really really difficult time at work as well and really needed her today.

[mark36]

When it comes to mental illness I am afraid that it will always be a very difficult subject to broach for most people but especially the all knowing all powerfull "alpha male" and he is the one most in danger.

It took me many years to seek help and it was only when my wife decided to leave if i did not get help that i went to see a doc BUT i still played down the symptoms and I think the doc caught on because she asked my wife to be present in my next visit.

On the second visit I was not allowed to speak the doctor only asked if she could ask my wife personla questions about me. What I heard my wife say shocked me to the core and when she was finished I realized that I did truely have a major problem and then started the sectionings etc(I had already tried suicide a few times by this time)

Even after i was officialy diagnosed with bipolar i never said a wrod to anyone the only people outside of the nhs who knew i had BP was me and my wife


Today 5 years down the line I make no secrets about it to friends family and people I meet I tell them about my sections my interesting times spent in hospital some of the odd effect my meds have on me(manboobs anyone) the reason for this is simple there are people out there putting a rope around their neck or gun to their head because they would prefer to be dead then to be seen as "crazy"

I have never discussed this topic on the internet before because there are some real bastards out there and if i was caught at a bad time by a sicko then i think they could set me back in ways i dont want to go so i have to date kept quiet.

AT the moment I am hypo manic so the trolls can line up and I will show a good BP beatdown



sorry promise will shut up now



JAY


for those interested my meds include quetiapine 200mg,depakote 1.5 grams, fluoxetine 20mg, lorazipam 1mg when needed,zopiclone when needed

As Lainie says please don't shut up
Fortunatly I dont believe i suffer what some of you folks go through although as with everyone i have up and down days but i guess thats just normal
From reading this thread you seem a level headed sort of person who would know when to back off if you felt things getting out of hand and indeed i hope you and others are getting some comfort and positivity by being able to share feelings on this thread.

[witts end]

mental health problems are a *****

apparently i have plenty

but george bush is sane..

i will never be rid

but everything is so much better

why

cos i don't try and get better

or feel bad about being me

i dont accept the labels that are placed upon me

cos

i am me

i am kind and i smile

and that will do me me

cos

i am me


sending man hugs for everyone

[r3gill]

had a cousin commit suiside not too long ago, everyone I know with any form of depression were not unable to have proper sleep at night. So from what i understand depression is its when you are unable to sleep well 7-10 hours everynight. So I came up with this theory "f*ck everyone and go to sleep and we'll see what happens tommorow" It may not work for eveyone else but does for me very well. We just have to remember not everyday is the same. You will have some bad days in the office but you can't carry it over next day. IE be selfish for your nights sleep. It helps.