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Discussion & help on depression & mental health related issues

JimmyJeffers said:
Can totally relate to how you feel about your uni work. Did an MA last year and just couldn't engage myself and didn't care which spiralled into feeling worse. I did get counselling and prescribed anti depressants halfway through my course as a lot of things came to a head at once.
If you can, try going private as I had to wait a few months to see anyone and to be honest even when I did I felt like they thought I was not a lot wrong with me.
I spoke openly to my tutors and was able to get extensions and if I'm being honest I reckon they upped done of my marks on the sly as well
Click to expand...

Great advice re going private if you can afford it. It's wrong that people have to do it, but can save months of waiting .
 
COYBL25 said:
Great advice re going private if you can afford it. It's wrong that people have to do it, but can save months of waiting .
Click to expand...
Aye man. Think prices vary from about £40 a session to about £100 . Probably different in other areas. I thought I was going insane and it took three months before I could speak with someone on the NHS.
Have to say that this thread helped me through those times.
 
JimmyJeffers said:
Aye man. Think prices vary from about £40 a session to about £100 . Probably different in other areas. I thought I was going insane and it took three months before I could speak with someone on the NHS.
Have to say that this thread helped me through those times.
Click to expand...


Keep posting mate, you've got a lot to offer others on here. I'm sure there's a lot of people who look on here for help, but have their own reasons for not posting, so it's helping all those people too.
 
TheAlmightyFloater said:
So I seen my doctor, chatted for 5 or 10 minutes and she agreed that I had many of the symptoms of depression.
She referred me to a psychologist (wrote them a letter I think) and that was that.
It took over 2 weeks for the psychologist to reply, they rejected my referral and instead recommended I try an online self help program (I think it's called Beating the Blues or something).
I've looked it up and it reeks of "High School guidance teacher, draw a picture" crap.
I looked at the demo and I can't help but feel totally underwhelmed.
It feels to me that they haven't taken what I've said seriously and they think that their time is better spent on other patients (perhaps if they are more at risk).
Maybe they are right but the whole thing feels dismissive.
I'll give it a go & I'll do every online session but my hopes aren't particularly high that I'll feel anything other than patronised by the end of it.

In other news, I've made a fitness schedule that I've managed to stick to for well over a month now.
Up at 7am every Monday, Wednesday & Friday and pop down to the local gym.
At the start I could barely jog for 5 minutes without my chest burning, now I can jog for 15 minutes.
My hope is that I can add 5 minutes on every month.
It feels so good to realise you've just ran a mile and feel totally fine, other than some sweat.
Did my first bench press today as well, I had no idea the bar alone was so heavy!
I get a lot of satisfaction being able to tense and see muscles (even if they are tiny).
The only problem is that the high lasts only about as long as it takes me to get changed and drive home.

As well as fitness I've tried to work on my diet and overall health.
Cut out crisps and chocolate and replaced them with nuts, bananas and apples.
I don't need to lose weight (I probably need to gain weight really) but it feels good to know you're treating your body better.
Finally got rid of my seemingly permanent chapped lips too by using lip balm about a million times a day.

Still struggling with uni work though.
At times it feels totally overwhelming because I've left it all so late.
Still can't seem to force myself to care though.
It's such a weird situation, to know you are drowning but not really bothering to swim at the same time.

Apologies for the wall of text folks.
Main point here is that looking after your body is pretty rewarding, even if you still feel like crap the rest of the day.
I urge any of you to pick up walking/running or some really basic home fitness stuff, it could be the only bright spark in an otherwise dull day.
Click to expand...

Does your university have a student welfare service / counsellor? It may be worth talking to them about how your feeling and the struggle with work. They can be quite helpful.

Sounds like the psychiatrist has gone down the Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) route. Some find it effective but not others. If you're up to it and aren't getting anything out of it, go back. Mental health services aren't the best and the irony is persistence is sometimes needed, which is hard if your in a rut with depression.

Best of luck
 
Forgive me if this is stuff already posted / known to folks, but I thought it might be useful info for people trying to navigate NHS mental health services (esp those considering obtaining help).

Most people will got to their GP which can be a lottery. The NHS have rolled out the improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) service across England which is essentially the first port of call for an assessment. In some cases you can self refer to IAPT and cut out your GP. I say in some cases because it does vary depending on the local NHS trust or clinical commissioning group (CCG). You can find out more about IAPT and how to find your local service and referral info here:

http://www.iapt.nhs.uk/

I hope this is helpful to someone, sometimes knowing what you can ask for / the likely process is helpful esp. when consulting GPs.
 

kithnou said:
Loving all your efforts at self improvement right there mate :)
All I'll add for now to your awesome attempts at improving your nutrition is try to get as much soy/vegetable based protein into you as well. Not meat based. It has shown, above other health benefits, to improve moods, energy levels etc. And drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. Water and protein. Small steps. I can probably guarantee most people don't get their daily requirements of both. You'll feel better for it :)

Keep us updated. Use this place to keep you on track if you want.
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Cheers mate.

I do drink plenty water every day, at least 2 litres (not counting coffee and water from fruit etc) but I'll definitely look into the protein.

My diet is actually pretty good I think. I don't drink fizzy drinks, I don't eat crisps or sweets & chocolate and I've cut out takeaways as well.

I think it is helping with my overall well-being and would definitely recommend it to everyone!
 
JimmyJeffers said:
Can totally relate to how you feel about your uni work. Did an MA last year and just couldn't engage myself and didn't care which spiralled into feeling worse. I did get counselling and prescribed anti depressants halfway through my course as a lot of things came to a head at once.
If you can, try going private as I had to wait a few months to see anyone and to be honest even when I did I felt like they thought There was not a lot wrong with me.
I spoke openly to my tutors and was able to get extensions and if I'm being honest I reckon they upped some of my marks on the sly as well
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I've been putting of talking to my lecturer because she'd be shocked at just how little I've done. I think I need to suck it up and arrange a meeting.
 
Daveysgingerlovechild said:
Does your university have a student welfare service / counsellor? It may be worth talking to them about how your feeling and the struggle with work. They can be quite helpful.

Sounds like the psychiatrist has gone down the Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) route. Some find it effective but not others. If you're up to it and aren't getting anything out of it, go back. Mental health services aren't the best and the irony is persistence is sometimes needed, which is hard if your in a rut with depression.

Best of luck
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I've looked into student help and there are counselling services I could go to. I think the waiting times might be pretty high but I'm willing to give it a go.
 
TheAlmightyFloater said:
Cheers mate.

I do drink plenty water every day, at least 2 litres (not counting coffee and water from fruit etc) but I'll definitely look into the protein.

My diet is actually pretty good I think. I don't drink fizzy drinks, I don't eat crisps or sweets & chocolate and I've cut out takeaways as well.

I think it is helping with my overall well-being and would definitely recommend it to everyone!
Click to expand...
Great stuff. Yes mate protein is important. But you are well and truly on the right path. ;)
 

TheAlmightyFloater said:
In other news, I've made a fitness schedule that I've managed to stick to for well over a month now.
Up at 7am every Monday, Wednesday & Friday and pop down to the local gym.
At the start I could barely jog for 5 minutes without my chest burning, now I can jog for 15 minutes.
My hope is that I can add 5 minutes on every month.
It feels so good to realise you've just ran a mile and feel totally fine, other than some sweat.
Did my first bench press today as well, I had no idea the bar alone was so heavy!
I get a lot of satisfaction being able to tense and see muscles (even if they are tiny).
The only problem is that the high lasts only about as long as it takes me to get changed and drive home.
Click to expand...
I hesitate a bit to write this as I'm in a completely different position to your own, but for me when I'm running it adds a completely different aspect to my life and "the high" is long lasting . As I say I'm in a different position to yourself , Mrs blueloon just thinks I'm a miserable bugger when I'm not running! Its impressive the commitment you've made to exercising , your progress is good and your targets are pretty sensible. What I believe you will find is that as you gradually get fitter, run longer for instance, then the "high" will start to last longer too, I suppose its a bit like "good medicine", the more you partake the longer the effect !
 
JimmyJeffers said:
Do this as quickly as possible. You'd be surprised at how much leeway they can actually give
Click to expand...
Also, delaying this type of conversation is something that makes it bigger and bigger in your mind. Starting the conversation will become a huge relief - even if it takes multiple chats with your tutors to identify what progress you've made, where you need to continue working, etc - you will feel immensely better just by getting the conversation started.

Been there, done that - hate that feeling, but it does get better.
 
Daveysgingerlovechild said:
Forgive me if this is stuff already posted / known to folks, but I thought it might be useful info for people trying to navigate NHS mental health services (esp those considering obtaining help).

Most people will got to their GP which can be a lottery. The NHS have rolled out the improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) service across England which is essentially the first port of call for an assessment. In some cases you can self refer to IAPT and cut out your GP. I say in some cases because it does vary depending on the local NHS trust or clinical commissioning group (CCG). You can find out more about IAPT and how to find your local service and referral info here:

http://www.iapt.nhs.uk/

I hope this is helpful to someone, sometimes knowing what you can ask for / the likely process is helpful esp. when consulting GPs.
Click to expand...
Excellent post mate
 

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