Hello hello

[k8t.louise]

Hey, I am new to this site and just wanted to say hello :) , is great to find a place where you can talk to people who understand what you are going through

[suzi]

hi and welcome to DWD, look forward to chatting, jump on in and join the conversations!

[k8t.louise]

thank you :)

Is great to finally find a place on the internet where you can talk with people and ask tough questions. After years of struggling with depression and anxiety it all come to a head about a month ago, have been signed off work since then and struggling with the 'take this time to fix yourself!' I have been lucky to have a very caring gp but it really nice to other people's stories and to learn from their experiences

[jerseygirl]

Hi there k8t.louise and groupw

Look forward to getting to know you better, don't worry about opening up and spilling your guts!! You just say what you want as and when biggrin1

No-one here will judge you, I too am an anxiety sufferer as a result of depression ~ ask away!!

This forum is fab ::)

[lizzie]

hello and welcome :)

[Emmie]

Hello Louise (can I call you Louise) welcome, we're all very friendly here and we've all either felt the same as you or we're living with someone who has (I'm in the former group unfortunately).

The great thing is you can completely rely on this place, when you're having a bad day someone will be there for you (usually everyone piles in!) and all of a sudden you feel better than you did!

So don't worry about it, just dive in where you see a gap, or just make a space of your own and we'll all join you :-)

[hurtinghusband]

Hello and welcome

[k8t.louise]

thanks guys it is great to be made to feel so welcome :D

[Watson]

Welcome on board, pull up a chair and join in at whatever level you feel comfy with.

[suzi]

thanks guys it is great to be made to feel so welcome :Dbut you are welcome, VERY welcome!

Stay and chat, or read and join in as and when you feel comfortable! noone will judge, everyone to some extent understands and you can ask anything here and generally people will respond!! LOL

[k8t.louise]

gosh hard to know where to start, so used to bottling everything up, one of the major issues i think and have been trying to talk to people but somethings are hard to say, you are scared of how much you can say to friends and family without scaring them off. i am luky that my gp has been very supportive and have been signed off work for the past month and yesterday was signed off for a further month. feel such a burden to my friends and family, they all have their own lives but with all this time on my hands what am i supposed to do? my partner is trying to be supportive, we don't live together and i worry how hard this must all be for him and why doesn't he just head off and find an easier relationship, he is one of the only people i feel really comfortable spending time with and want to see him but he has his own life to lead. man way too confused by everything at the moment :?

[hurtinghusband]

see if your partner will use this site as it helped me, I dont suffer from depression my wife does and getting any support when it's not you is nigh on impossible. get him to read living with the black dog, it's aimed at partners and has some good tips on how to cope and stay strong. remember you aren't alone now, you have this site and everyone will help you as much as poss, dont be afraid to vent as it helps

[mummyhill]

Hello and Welcome.

All I can add is the comment I received on my intro which was to get a cuppa and dive right in.

[k8t.louise]

thanks for the suggestion, maybe i'll drag myself out of the house and get him a copy, the sun has even come out :D

[suzi]

gosh hard to know where to start, so used to bottling everything up, one of the major issues i think and have been trying to talk to people but somethings are hard to say, you are scared of how much you can say to friends and family without scaring them off. i am luky that my gp has been very supportive and have been signed off work for the past month and yesterday was signed off for a further month. feel such a burden to my friends and family, they all have their own lives but with all this time on my hands what am i supposed to do? my partner is trying to be supportive, we don't live together and i worry how hard this must all be for him and why doesn't he just head off and find an easier relationship, he is one of the only people i feel really comfortable spending time with and want to see him but he has his own life to lead. man way too confused by everything at the moment :?
start where you feel comfortable.
talk as much as you want here, you wont frighten us off!!! you arent a burden, get that straight to start with!

[jerseygirl]

gosh hard to know where to start, so used to bottling everything up, one of the major issues i think and have been trying to talk to people but somethings are hard to say, you are scared of how much you can say to friends and family without scaring them off. i am luky that my gp has been very supportive and have been signed off work for the past month and yesterday was signed off for a further month. feel such a burden to my friends and family, they all have their own lives but with all this time on my hands what am i supposed to do? my partner is trying to be supportive, we don't live together and i worry how hard this must all be for him and why doesn't he just head off and find an easier relationship, he is one of the only people i feel really comfortable spending time with and want to see him but he has his own life to lead. man way too confused by everything at the moment :?

All I will say is this, take this time to maybe try and figure out some of that stuff that goes on in your head. It doesn't matter about work, or anything like that ~ you are what is important here!! And don't you go calling yourself a burden to your dp!!
If that was the case then my dh has been dealing with a large burden for the last 5 years!! We have been married for 8 yrs this year and only 3 of them were before my breakdown - together we have pushed on and worked through stuff, but it has been together!

Just make sure you let your dp know how you are feeling, try not to bottle stuff up, tell him that you don't expect him to fix this for you, but you need him to understand how you are feeling......................if you can't talk to your friends and family, don't worry, come and talk to us!! I don't talk to my parents anymore about my stuff because they just don't get it - they work from the "pull yourself together" book and I got fed-up with it!!

Just remember, there is always someone here sweets, we may not always have the answers, but we do have ears (or eyes, iyswim...?!?!)

It's also a good place to just get stuff out of your head - if you can't work something out, or it is bothering you, put in on here and you will be amazed at how each of us will interpret stuff and maybe spot something that you hadn't considered...........................

We are all here to help and hug xx

Has you gp put you on any meds or mentioned counselling?? Do you mind if I ask what triggered the signing off from work in the first place??

Please don't feel like you have to answer, only if you want to x

[k8t.louise]

my gp has put me on citralopram, started off on 10mg four weeks ago and they have been upping it, currently on 30mg, once i am on 40mg they will start some cbt. got referred to see a psychiatrist three weeks ago, was a long session and he thinks there are a number of issues, but the straw that broke the camels back was just having no support at work for the past year. see my psychiatrist again next week so we'll see how he thinks i am doing

btw happy to be called katie or katie louise or louise :)

[suzi]

cool katie!

glad that you are being treated very well and being referred to the right people too!

How are you finding the citralopram?

[jerseygirl]

Ooo, pick a name!! I'm going with katie, always liked that name!!

Will make this quick as I have to go and meet dh, but I am glad that you have an understanding gp ~ most of them just shove pills and say see ya!

With regards to the CBT, I actually started that a few weeks ago and have had three sessions - if you go to the "related illnesses and treatments" section you will find my diary - I will point out though that as I live in Jersey, it does seem that things are different on the mainland so don't take it all as it is!!

I will update it more as soon as I can, and good luck with yours!!

[k8t.louise]

ok, not had too many side effects, found that straight away i felt better but feel that was more the relief of finally doing something about it, since then have been yoyoing back up and down, found myself pushing myself too hard and have just been exhausted the last couple of days. wondering if i will wake up one morning soon finding the medication has made a difference, but i guess it is a long slow process

unsure whether i should be completely obstaining from alcohol or not, my gp said a glass was fine, but got a wedding this wedding, will be the first time i have seen anyone but close friends for a month and feel i will need a couple of glasses at least to cope but don't know how this will mix with the medication, so scared about seeing people i don't know

[k8t.louise]

Ooo, pick a name!! I'm going with katie, always liked that name!!

Will make this quick as I have to go and meet dh, but I am glad that you have an understanding gp ~ most of them just shove pills and say see ya!

With regards to the CBT, I actually started that a few weeks ago and have had three sessions - if you go to the "related illnesses and treatments" section you will find my diary - I will point out though that as I live in Jersey, it does seem that things are different on the mainland so don't take it all as it is!!

I will update it more as soon as I can, and good luck with yours!!

oooo will go have a read, not quite sure what it entails!!!

[Emmie]

feel such a burden to my friends and family, they all have their own lives but with all this time on my hands what am i supposed to do? my partner is trying to be supportive, we don't live together and i worry how hard this must all be for him and why doesn't he just head off and find an easier relationship, he is one of the only people i feel really comfortable spending time with and want to see him but he has his own life to lead.

I keep saying the same thing to Mr Emmie, when it gets very bad I just tell him to leave, he would be happier with someone else, he doesn't deserve this etc. He just keeps telling em that he doesn't want someone else.

My theory (which I have just made up now so please correct me if I'm wrong chaps) is that from where we are on the inside it looks like a full stop, that it's all dreadful, we're always going to feel horrible what's the point we're never going to make anyone happy.

From the outside they see, well actually it is going to get better this is temporary, you will feel better soon and because they love us they want to help us get better. Take the rough with the smooth and all of that.

It's difficult to get your head around when you're feeling dreadful but the best piece of advice I was given was from my friend, when I got very bad last year she used to come round to my house, take me out, ring me up and she just kept telling me, it will pass, it will end. I didn't believe her at the time but dammit she's right! Your boyfriend and friends will stick with you because they know that you're just poorly and you will get better.

Does that make sense? Unbelieveably, dammit I made myself cry! (In a wussy watching the sad bits in ER kind of way so don't worry!)

Edit: Blody hell I missed loads writing that, there's been about nineteen other posts! whoospie

[Emmie]

unsure whether i should be completely obstaining from alcohol or not, my gp said a glass was fine, but got a wedding this wedding, will be the first time i have seen anyone but close friends for a month and feel i will need a couple of glasses at least to cope but don't know how this will mix with the medication, so scared about seeing people i don't know

I was on citalopram, just came off it a month or so ago, I had very very bad side effect at the beginning but you've not got them so congrats! don't worry about the up and down, that's really normal for a good while, you'll settle down soon.

Alcohol is your call basically. My mental health nurse said essentially alcohol can stop the tablets from working, it's also a depressive, anecdotal evidence also suggest that you get drunker quicker! I generally avoided it as I found it made me feel poorly (but in perspective I react to everything so you might not feel that way!) but it really is up to you. They say essentially if you want to have a little it won't do you any harm, just you're probably best off avoiding a huge bender!

[k8t.louise]

wow thanks emmie, those are very wise words, i will keep them in mind :D

[Emmie]

wise? bloody hell that's a first *faints* ;-)

[seaspirit]

Hello and welcome to DWD you have come to the best place....looking forward to getting to know you xxx