Author Topic: Hi, new to forum  (Read 5088 times)

Lady_Bird

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Hi, new to forum
« on: December 04, 2013, 08:14:37 PM »
Just joined the forum and thought I'd say hi.
I've had depression since I was about 13 due to sexual abuse. I also have quite bad anxiety, think I have general anxiety disorder, not sure exactly when this started though, I've always been a worrier. Lost my mom 3 years ago and having trouble getting over it. Also, my partner has mental health issues aswell and is sometimes really horrible to me, but I stay because I love him and we have a little boy. I'm finding life quite difficult at the moment and I don't really have any family, not many friends. I find it difficult making friends as I'm quite shy. Anyway, hope this is okay for now...........

JC

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2013, 09:15:15 PM »
Hi Lady_Bird

You have had very traumatic early life experiences. Your anxiety may be related to those experiences, have you discussed this with your GP and, if so, have you been referred to the appropriate support?

Sorry to hear about the loss of your mum, losing a parent is very hard to deal with; that combined with dealing your partner's mental health issues and being a mum yourself must be very difficult for you to cope with.

Making friends is not easy for some people, even if they do not have other things going on in their lives. I only joined here very recently and have found members to be very supportive; hope it helps you to have somewhere to talk about how you are feeling.

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2013, 10:30:13 PM »
Hi JC,

I have been to my GP in the past about the depression and they put me on citalopram and referred me to a mental health nurse, but I didn't really find her very helpful. I had to switch to amitriptyline when I was pregnant, but they just made me feel worse and I ended up stopping those. So, at the moment I'm not on any medication, which is probably why I'm finding it hard to cope. I know I should go back to the GP, but I just don't see the point. I think I need counselling rather than tablets but it seems difficult to get that here. In fact, the mental health services in this area seem to be a bit rubbish generally - I've heard others say the same. Also, I'm a bit worried that if I make a fuss about my problems that social services will think I'm an unfit mother or something. Not sure what to do. It's good to know that the other members are supportive here, as I can't really talk to my partner. He has said in the past that if I'm feeling depressed, it brings him down too, so I tend to keep things bottled up around him.

JC

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2013, 11:22:01 PM »
Sorry to hear that your experiences with support services have not been positive in the past but, although you say you don't see the point, it would be worthwhile seeing your GP again to talk through that.

Funding to mental health services has been cut drastically, which doesn't help people in your situation. Mental Health Nurses are brilliant at what they do but, as with GPs, they often treat the symptoms and not the cause. Counselling could help you to get to the root of your depression and anxiety and, hopefully, help you with strategies to manage it.

I can understand your worries about Social Services but a depressive illness and anxiety does not mean you are an unfit mother. From what you have written it seems you are coping amazingly well, under the circumstances and, if there are no safeguarding concerns (risk of harm to a child), they would not think you an unfit mother. They could even help by giving your GP a nudge towards referring you to appropriate support services.

It is a shame you cannot speak to your partner but keeping your feelings bottled up is not good, I speak from experience here Lady_Bird, I kept things bottled up until I nearly cracked and I am now taking medication and having counselling; the jury is still out on whether it is helping but without it I could possibly be a lot worse. As I said before I hope coming here helps, it is a good place to offload to others who have some understanding of what you are going through.

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2013, 07:46:02 PM »
Thanks JC  ^-^
I know bottling things up doesn't do any good, I just don't really have anyone I can talk to.....until now.
I don't know about amazingly well, but I've been coping somehow. Thing is, I don't know how long I can keep coping. It feels like I'm just clinging on by my fingertips. I can definitely definitely say though that my children are not at risk and nor am I likely to do anything stupid. I tried that once and immediately regretted it afterwards when I was realised how it would have affected my daughter  :(

So, I will have to go back to my GP, I suppose. Just hate taking anti-depressants  :bash:

JC

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2013, 07:59:36 PM »
I am glad that coming on here has helped Lady_Bird, even if only a little!

Good luck with your GP, tell him/her everything that is bothering you; the more they know the better they can help you.

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2013, 08:18:15 PM »
Thanks again  :smile:
I haven't told them about my anxiety problem before, partly because I only recently found out that it could be a disorder, so I'll definitely mention that this time round.
Another thing is, I am constantly battling with myself because my mother was a very strong woman and didn't believe in mental illness. Her view was that you should just "pull yourself together". For this reason, I often feel like a failure or that if I seek help that I'm making a fuss and should just stop whinging and get on with it  :-[

Pip

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2013, 09:35:11 PM »
Hi Lady_bird and sorry I haven't welcomed you before now, Thursdays and Fridays tend to be busy for me.  I'm sorry you haven't had a good start with support.  It can be the luck of the draw whether you have a good mental health team or not. 

Personally I have found that GPs have been more helpful to me.  I was under the crisis team for about 3 weeks in 2011 but they didn't really do much to help.  In 2012 I did a CBT course online with telephone support which helped with anxiety as I don't cope with busy places too well such as busy shops.

I took citalopram for several months which did help at first but eventually stopped working.  I take amitriptyline for pain relief along with paracetomal, tramadol and naproxan and to help me sleep.  It does help relieve depression for me though.

Having a partner / husband / wife that has mental health issues can make you feel worse.  My husband suffers with depression as well so when we are both feeling down it's not great at times.

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2013, 12:33:34 AM »
Hi Pip, nice to meet you  :smile:
Yeah, it's not easy when both of you have mental health problems. I certainly feel like I can't be depressed around my partner because he has commented in the past about the negative effect it has on him  :( I tend to push my problems aside to try and help him. And when he is snappy and horrible to me, it really brings me down, even though I know he can't help it sometimes.

stewart

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2013, 05:37:40 PM »
Hi Lady_Bird, welcome to the forums, sorry to see you lost your mum, the loss of someone close can be very hard to cope with, even more so if you already have depression, and anxiety on top of depression makes everyday issues seem a lot worse.

There are a wide range of anti depression medication, Mirtazapine is one that is widely used, it can also help with sleeping if taken at night.

With your partner having mental health problems as well does not always work, specially if you both have a low at the same time, is he on any medication?

Talk to your doc about how you feel and your anxiety, they may prescribe diazepam starting with a low dose, 2mg is the lowest I think.
Without Love we are just a handfull of chemicals suspended in water

Grace

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2013, 06:55:15 PM »
Hello (((((LAdy_Bird)))),
My heart goes out for you!!! I wish I could sit next to you and tell you about myself so we could share and tell you that you can get over the aftermaths of sexual abuse. You see I have been abused when I was a little child too!!
I think you really need to find a counsellor.... just keep on going and try to share your story and do get the medical help you need. You are not a fragile person if you need to take antidepressants, they will help to go ahead in life with your head high!!
I'm in a bit of a hurry right now .... but know that though we're hundreds of miles apart (I'm wiritng from Italy) I really care about you!
Grace

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2013, 11:50:23 AM »
Thanks Grace  :hug:
Thanks for the welcome, Stewart  :smile:
My partner is on meds (venlafaxine) but we don't think it's working and we're currently waiting to be referred back to the psychiatrist  :(

JC

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2013, 04:08:51 PM »
Hi Lady_Bird

I know exactly what you mean about the "pull yourself together" attitude, some people around me seem to think I should be doing that. Of course they have never been in this position themselves  ::)

I have always been considered, by other people, to be a strong person, in fact I have mentioned elsewhere on these boards that some people call me the 'Ice Queen', but there are time when all of us need some support. You should not feel like a failure for seeking support, it takes strength to admit you have a problem and get help to deal with it.

Lady_Bird

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2013, 10:45:18 AM »
You're probably right, JC.
I did used to be a strong person and I wish I could be again  :(

Pip

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Re: Hi, new to forum
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2013, 01:01:01 PM »
Although I have suffered with depression most of my life I hid it well.  When I was really down I would also be told to pull myself together but as we all know it's not that easy.  In 2005 when I had a major meltdown my husband found it hard as I was always the strong one.  Although my dad knows now that I suffer with depression he doesn't know how bad it gets at times but he finds it hard to talk to me about it.  It's something he can't control or make it better so it upsets him.