Discussion & help on depression & mental health related issues

[kithnou]

back from the hospital, was quite productive. got me out of the house and exercised my legs lol. my nurse is arranging an x ray and a consultation with my oncologist for Friday. I know theres not a lot they can do except experiment with meds to make things a bit easier for me but it's like coming on here just knowing that there's someone out there on my side and that i'm not alone, best way I can explain it.
attention seeking whore I know but that's the way things are for me at the moment.

you minx

 

[Goonymook]

Welcome mate, you don't ever need to feel alone on here.

Speaking from my own personal experiences, that feeling of emptiness is all part of your depression ( I'm sure you know that ). At my lowest I wanted to lock myself away from the world due the bleakness I felt inside me. This is going to sound completely mad, but it was my dog that got me through this dark period. She was a constant in my life and the big thing was that she needed walking every day. No matter how low I felt I had to take her out and this small thing and the meds slowly brought me back into the world again.

I know a dog isn't for everyone mate, but this is how I got through it.

There's a wonderful book called - The Dogs Came.

It's a true story written by a man who was crippled by depression and had become a recluse as a result. A stray dog came to live in the shed in his garden and gave birth to pups, which meant he had to care for her or she and the pups would die.

It's wonderfully written and isn't soppy in anyway, but if you don't cry when you read it you're not human !

Keep posting mate x

thanks for the kind and positive words of support. The canine companion is always something i contemplated until it i begin to realize i struggle to maintain my own life much less another living being. But just the support from you and others while seeing that my pains are not an patented experience provides hope to march on. For me its always been this feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia that seeps in from anxiety and i guess its about finding tools (pets, friends, hobbies, other strategies to fend these sensations off. It sounds weird to describe it but for me it reminds of Frodos first encounter with the wringwraiths in the fellowship just that level of intensity and dread and guess just like that movie comaradarie and moving forward will aid in overcoming the darkness. hope i wasnt too corny but i appreciate this space and if there's any hope or comfort i can offer just contact me.

 

[COYBL25]

thanks for the kind and positive words of support. The canine companion is always something i contemplated until it i begin to realize i struggle to maintain my own life much less another living being. But just the support from you and others while seeing that my pains are not an patented experience provides hope to march on. For me its always been this feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia that seeps in from anxiety and i guess its about finding tools (pets, friends, hobbies, other strategies to fend these sensations off. It sounds weird to describe it but for me it reminds of Frodos first encounter with the wringwraiths in the fellowship just that level of intensity and dread and guess just like that movie comaradarie and moving forward will aid in overcoming the darkness. hope i wasnt too corny but i appreciate this space and if there's any hope or comfort i can offer just contact me.

You mention in your second sentence that you " struggle to maintain your own life ".

That's why I believe pets are so good for depression sufferers, as they don't judge you and are a constant companion. Plus it gives the sufferer something on rather than themselves.

I only used a dog as an illustration, could be any pet really, but dogs get you out of the house, even when you don't want to.

Have a think about it ?

 

[BiggyRat]

You mention in your second sentence that you " struggle to maintain your own life ".

That's why I believe pets are so good for depression sufferers, as they don't judge you and are a constant companion. Plus it gives the sufferer something on rather than themselves.

I only used a dog as an illustration, could be any pet really, but dogs get you out of the house, even when you don't want to.

Have a think about it ?

You've never owned a Cat then... lol

 

[degsy]

I really hit a wall last weekend. After a bender with with some friends, I woke up with a real hangover last Sunday, but the worst came on Monday night. All of a sudden I was scared for everything. Couldn`t look at my little daughter without thinking about how her life would be without me. I couldn`t eat and was afraid too sleep in case I wouldn`t wake up. For a few months I have been suffering from this, after reading an article about Patton Oswalt`s wife, so I have been averaging 4-5 hours sleep every night for about four months. This has been brewing ever since my daughter was born four and a half years ago though. A dramatic birth which my girlfriend lost a litre of blood . But then again I sat with a baby completely dependent of me, so you just have to go on. My girlfriend is bipolar, so she has had four years of basically hell in need of my support, until she finally this spring found a therapist helping her immensely. My mother fell into a coma at christmas four years ago ago, but recovered, but an operation the following christmas she never recovered from. The next weeks I had to support my father, and my daughter and girlfriend needed me as well. Now though, everything has been very good for a while, despite my lack of sleep. The feeling of not being able to enjoy anything, and that destiny has it in for you is devastating, but tomorrow I`m gonna try to find some way forward with my doctor, so I can learn how to deal with it. I turned 40 earlier this year and that maybe has something to do with it as well. All I know is this is not not how I want to live my life, and hopefully I will get the help I need to go forward. I have grown up with a mother who was bipolar, and my girlfriend suffers from it, and for the first time I have experienced first-hand for a short time how depression and anxiety completely takes over your life, and I feel so sorry for what they I have gone through. Even though I have been supportive, I really never knew how bad it is. A little medication has got me through the weekend, but I realise I have a battle in front of me, because I refuse to be strangled by this. We all know life can be hard at times, but when even the good times are feeling hard, it`s fu***** awful. Sorry for the rambling, but it felt good just to get it out some way or another.

Getting it out there is good, it's part of the process of admitting there's a problem. Your mother and your girlfriend don't define you, YOU do, you're talking about it so you're winning...slowly, but you are.
1 day at a time.

 

[Fat Larry]

@Groucho @l4toffee

Thanks for the advice. Started taking them, I'm certainly sleeping better if nothing else!

 

[flippa]

You mention in your second sentence that you " struggle to maintain your own life ".

That's why I believe pets are so good for depression sufferers, as they don't judge you and are a constant companion. Plus it gives the sufferer something on rather than themselves.

I only used a dog as an illustration, could be any pet really, but dogs get you out of the house, even when you don't want to.

Have a think about it ?

I would definitely agree with this; when my fiance died and I moved back to the UK, my parents bought me a dog. For the first year or two he was the only thing that made me get out of the house and keep going. He also listened to me sobbing and screaming and allsorts but still loved me and snuggled with me. He saved me for sure.

I'm taking him on holiday to the Yorkshire Dales in a week- my annual thank you to him for being there for me

 

[Frankattack]

Hi, a little update! Today`s been a good day. It started with meeting a therapist, where we laid a plan how to deal with my situation. Another thing that has been lingering is that when I went to the doctor on Monday, who also was my mother`s doctor, I told him that one of my fears was the aorta in my stomach since my mother had problems with it. He then blurted out if I had ever checked it, and that really freaked me out. And yesterday I was told there was an opening to screen the aorta. That freaked me out even further! But, everything was fine, so now that`s off the list. I know I still have to work hard to cope with my anxiety, but it felt good to face my fears today and overcome them.

 

[COYBL25]

Hi, a little update! Today`s been a good day. It started with meeting a therapist, where we laid a plan how to deal with my situation. Another thing that has been lingering is that when I went to the doctor on Monday, who also was my mother`s doctor, I told him that one of my fears was the aorta in my stomach since my mother had problems with it. He then blurted out if I had ever checked it, and that really freaked me out. And yesterday I was told there was an opening to screen the aorta. That freaked me out even further! But, everything was fine, so now that`s off the list. I know I still have to work hard to cope with my anxiety, but it felt good to face my fears today and overcome them.

Well in mate, one step at a time.

 

[Deleted member 28206]

Hey,

First time poster. I recently discovered the site after growing tired of the other forum I frequented (mentioning no names)

I was really surprised to see this thread, but incredibly pleased. I think it's incredibly important, especially for men to have a safe space to discuss issues surrounding mental health as well as accessing support.

I am a filmmaker, working in Liverpool, with personal experiences of depression and anxiety.

I am currently delivering a project exploring men's mental health, aiming to raise awareness, reduce stigma and signpost to appropriate services.

The project is funded by the Mark McQueen Foundation and supported by The Richmond Fellowship, Imagine and the Liverpool CAMHS Partnership.

I am looking to speak with men, living in Merseyside, aged 18+ with experience of mental health issues. For a series of short films scheduled to shoot in the coming weeks.

If anyone is interested in sharing their story, or want more information, feel free to drop me an email: info@thinkingfilm.co.uk

Thanks,
Danny

Can you do this anonymously? I mean without appearing on film?

 

[kithnou]

Hi, a little update! Today`s been a good day. It started with meeting a therapist, where we laid a plan how to deal with my situation. Another thing that has been lingering is that when I went to the doctor on Monday, who also was my mother`s doctor, I told him that one of my fears was the aorta in my stomach since my mother had problems with it. He then blurted out if I had ever checked it, and that really freaked me out. And yesterday I was told there was an opening to screen the aorta. That freaked me out even further! But, everything was fine, so now that`s off the list. I know I still have to work hard to cope with my anxiety, but it felt good to face my fears today and overcome them.

Brilliant

 

[Deleted member 28206]

Is citalopram OK to take before bed? Does it make anyone else drowsy? Or is it best taken in the morning? Looking for people's experience.

 

[COYBL25]

Is citalopram OK to take before bed? Does it make anyone else drowsy? Or is it best taken in the morning? Looking for people's experience.

If it's making you drowsy mate, night time.

It'll just be your body getting used to it, should be okay after a couple of weeks.

You need to take it at the same time everyday for it to work properly.

I know with some of them, even being an hour late, can throw it off kilter .

 

[Deleted member 28206]

If it's making you drowsy mate, night time.

It'll just be your body getting used to it, should be okay after a couple of weeks.

You need to take it at the same time everyday for it to work properly.

I know with some of them, even being an hour late, can throw it off kilter .

First time I've had them, so was thinking before I go to sleep.

 

[COYBL25]

First time I've had them, so was thinking before I go to sleep.

I used to take mine, first thing in the morning, so they kicked by the time I was up an about.

The thing with them is that they can work slightly differently on everyone.

Try them in the evening first and take it from there.

You may have weird dreams though, that can be a side effect !