PDA

View Full Version : Worrying about my mental health



bea360
23-03-14, 16:10
Hi All, I am new to this forum and very much hoping you may be able to help me.

I apologize for my articulation, I am not feeling myself at the moment.

I am a usually very up together woman. I have recently separated from my partner of 8 years which I instigated. I thought we were not right anymore and maybe I was correct but I now find myself completely lost. I have lost my sense of person and who I am.

I am 29 years old, at the age of 21 I went though a very stressful time, family issues, coming to terms with my sexuality and convincing myself I had caught a disease. I went into a deep depression where I could not talk or form thoughts. I have always been an anxious person, I am not sure why. I went into self destruct mode. I did not care what happened to me. I was prescribed citralopram and sent on my way. I started taking them, at the same time getting myself involved in a bad cirle, drinking, coming home late, not turning up for work. Making my already stressful home life even worse for everyone. There is more to the story but I am really stuggling to put words together and I am not sure I am making sense. I was sectioned, because my mum was worried for me. This experience has scarred me and up until afew years ago I had buried it deep. It is only now it is coming back to me, i am left here lost since my breakup and the symptoms of depression, anxiety, panic, have come back with avengance. I used to be articulate now I do not have the answers to anything. I can't get my thoughts together, i have no opinion on anything, i cant remember things that happened even yesterday. I lie in bed thinking and worrying about everything, i worry what people think of me constantly, i feel i come across the wrong way to people but this is due to the fact i have nothing to say. It's like my head is empty. I am constantly on the internet searching my symptoms. I am convinced I have schizophrenia. I do not have hallucinations or delusions but I have paranoia, i am constantly on edge. I know I am appearing strange at work because I feel so anxious. I feel people at work do not like me, the girl I work next to chats all day and I can barely string a sentance together. I can't concentrate on my work, i feel so stressed I don't know how I can get myself out of this hell. I am not fully explaining myself because of my lack of vocabulary and feeling unable to explain things clearly. I feel I am saying things to people and accidentally offending them. I make comments and after I worry they seem sarcastic or rude. I have such deep routed hatred for myself that all I do is radiate negativity. When I speak to people they say I am too hard on myself but I don't agree. I want to be the old me, the happy cheerful, thoughtful girl I once was. I don't know any way out of this at the moment. I have been to the doctors who have prescribed me an anti depressant, people around me say I need to speak to a councellor but how can I when i can't explain myself properly. I come across emotionless, people tell me their problems and I want to reassure them but I am sure I make them feel worse. I am just convinced I have schizophrenia. I have lost all my self, my personality. I have no humor, i could sit and stare out the window, i forget what I am doing constantly. I felt like this afew years ago and went to see a phyciatrist, he told me point blank i was not schizophrenic, because i didn't have voices telling me to kill people or halluciating but I have read you do not have to have those symtoms nessisaily. He said I was suffering from social phobia and major depression. He precribed me Olanzipine. When I got home and read up on this medication I freaked out. Not just becaUse of the fact it is prescribed for schizophrenia but all the side affects terrified me. I refused to take it. With the help my partner and family i some how got out of the depression. I have no recolection how I did it. Me and my partner and now over and I am alone. I have afew friends but i have pushed most away due to my anxious state, I do not know why anyone would want to be around me. I know I am going to end up with no one but when I am around people i can't bare it. I can't keep up with anything they say, i give one word answers and I can tell they just can't wait to get away from me. I am also negative, a trait i know I have always had but only recently have i began to notice it very badly. When I see people chatting away to each other i wonder where they learnt to do it. I used to be able to chat, i am not confortable with many people and myself and my ex partner used to spend every waking minute together, she understood me so i never had reason to think much was wrong. Now she is gone I feel lost, i don't know where the thoughtful, up beat, confident person i used to be has gone. What makes this worse is I ended the relationship, now I must reap what i have sowed. I am at the end of my tether with the way my brain is feeling. I know I must sound like I am completely mad. I am a reasonably attractive girl with a good job and I don't know what I am going to do. I am so scared. Please can someone give me some advise.

SarahH
23-03-14, 16:40
WOW....... well for someone who says she can't express herself I think you have done very well:)

With your history of depression I would say that you probably know what is happening to you at the moment.... you are going through the breakdown of a relationship, which means it is totally understandable why you are feeling the way you are.

Please, print what you have written and go to your GP and explain how you are feeling, let him/her read what you have written.... he/she will I am sure be able to help you.

Sarah

HoneyLove
23-03-14, 16:43
Hello bea, welcome to the forum.

I'm so sorry that you're feeling like this, it sounds like you are incredibly stressed and anxious at the moment. You really need some help, could you talk to a doctor about how you've been doing? You came to the right place for support here, you'll find many people willing to offer helpful words if they can.

Counselling would be really good for you, it sounds like you have a lot of troubles and need the support. I know you say that you're not sure how to tell someone how you are feeling, but that's OK - they'll help you through it. You could even try writing it down for them, that's a perfectly acceptable way to approach it when you are unable to get the words out properly. I think it would be a good place for you to start, just gently talking it out and unravelling how you feel.

I too recently separated from a partner of 8 years, it was just devastating. Even though, like you, I wanted the separation, it was still difficult to deal with and I'm still working through it. Don't be so hard on yourself, it takes time to deal with these big life changes. The counselling would help you with this too.

If you think you would be able to, go somewhere quiet and listen to this youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyy0ra2WcQQ

It works best with headphones. It's a deep relaxation and will help bring you down out of that extremely stressed state. Do it once a day and you will find it helps even the tiniest bit. But also I'd really urge you to talk to a doctor and look for a good counsellor, you sound like you could really do with some good support in your life right now x

Tanner40
23-03-14, 16:52
Bea, welcome to the forum. I believe that you will find so many folks on here that understand exactly what you're going through.
Articulating well is dupifficult when you are so anxious and depressed, but you did a great job of making me understand how you are feeling. Seeing a counselor could be extremely helpful at this time. As Honey Love said, they will help you get the words out.

It is perfectly normal to feel anxious and depressed upon ending a relationship. I've been with my current partner for a long time, but I still remember how down I was when I ended things with my ex. What you're going through is a normal way to feel in this situation, for someone who is already prone to anxiety and depression.

Good luck and keep getting your words out. There is a lot of help to be had here.

Lisa.w1979
23-03-14, 17:03
Hey bea. I agree with what the others have said....you articulated how you're feeling really well!! and as tanner said, there will be loads of people who understand how you feel.

I split with my ex nearly 2.5 years ago and i felt awful. I think i had a bit of a breakdown....just spent a fortnight crying and sleeping. I couldn't eat or talk about how i felt, i just kept crying.

In time, it will get easier and talking to people definitely helped. You're not alone here, so please don't think you are.