Blue

[Merlinssister]

Feeling quite low today. Know a lot of it's down to a lack of sleep this week and hormones, but am finding it hard to deal with. It's one of those days when you know in your mind it's a blip and that it will get easier again, but it doesn't stop the feelings of worthlessness - why have I let this happen again.

I probably should have gone to my exercise class but have had some really bad dizzy spells and am very tired. Didn't feel like pushing it, but am not sure if I did the right thing as i still feel crap. Just can't seem to shake it today.

[twister]

Oh we all have those days don't worry. Just sit the rest of it out and then tomorrow should be better!

Why don't you treat yourself tonight - a good film (eternal sunshine is out - brilliant!) or a nice dinner.

Hope you feel better soon!

Emily

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit
Understanding is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad

[tara]

Hi, lack of sleep will deffo make you feel low amd crap. Get some rest and chill out i'm sure you'll feel better soon Tara x

[nomorepanic]

I always feel worse after a bad night's sleep!

Try to chill out tonight and just accept that today was "one of those days" and tomorrow will be better and you will feel fine.

Like Em says, don't push yourself tonight just get a film on TV, chill out and get an early night.

Hope you feel better tomorrow.

Nicola

[Karen]

Hi MS

Sorry you've had a bad day. Lack of sleep often makes me feel worse too, although I don't sleep well at all at the moment.

Like everyone else has suggested, try to find something enjoyable and relaxing to do for yourself tonight.

Briary

[minny]

Be nice to yourself. Lack of sleep is enough to drive anyone to distraction. We all have bad days and in an odd way, the bad days make us appreciate the good days all the more!! You will have a lot more good days to come! :)

Take good care

Love Minny...xxxxx

[Meg]

MS - sleep and hormones playing up is hard to deal with.

I hope you're feeling better today .

The trick is to tell yourself that is the cause and then look after yourself positively so you're not just dwelling on how bad you feel and getting into a cycle .



Meg

It is impossible to get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that it took to get into it.
- Albert Einstein.

[Merlinssister]

Thanks guys. All your comments really help. Still feeling a bit low this morning, but better than yesterday. Am planning to go off to the gym a little later and do a gentle workout to get me up and going again. Didn't sleep that well again last night. Loads of dreams about being rejected, which I think might be my mind dealing subconsciously with stuff I talked about on Friday with my counsellor. It all has to come out in some way.

Anyway, thanks for all your kind thoughts. It does make a difference. Going to have another day of being kind to myself and trying not to think about it.

[tara]

Hi merlinssister, sorry your still feeling low today, it's horrible! Perhaps the gym with get those feel good hormone folwing for you ! Tara xx

[Sue]

I find sleep makes a huge difference to the way I feel.

Hope you are feeling better after your visit to the gym and that you have a great nights sleep tonight.

Take Care,

Sue

[Merlinssister]

Thanks tara and Sue. Have had an up and down day. Did feel better after going to the gym, but that seems to have worn off now. I know hormones is a lot to do with this as I was this low this time last month, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Am trying to stay positive and think about what I can do to help myself. Have been reading about taking extra magnesium, which fits into some of my other symptoms, and talking to my homeopath about it. I don't want to go back to the docs at the moment because it seems so linked to PMT, and I'm not sure what they can do about it. Life just feels like an endless road at the moment and I can't see the stop off points. I think I need another holiday!

[twister]

MS - have you tried St John's Wort for feeling low and depression? You musn't take it with Anti-deps though.

Emily

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit
Understanding is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad

[Merlinssister]

Thanks Emily. I did try it a couple of years ago, but it made me quite twitchy. Have it in mind as a back up though.

[Merlinssister]

Still can't shake the blues this week, and my anxiety levels have gone up a notch, possibly as a result. I'm not down all the time, but when I am down, it's much lower than it's been for a while. Just feel really raw emotionally, and not sure how to handle it. Feel better if I manage to distract myself, but not always able to.

Oh well. Just needed to tell people who would understand. Counselling session tomorrow. Perhaps that will help.

[tara]

Hi MS, it's horrible when you can't shake the blues, i always think, well hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for me!! Keep it strong now and take care of yourself. tara xx

[Merlinssister]

Thanks tara. Still not feeling brilliant but at least I didn't wake up dreading the day. Progress is progress I suppose. :)

MS

[Karen]

Hi MS

Sorry to hear you are still feeling low. I've had one of those weeks myself, although I am feeling a little better today.

Hope you feel better soon.



Briary



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[jo-jo]

Hiya MS

Yes, all progress is good even if it doesn't seem to come as fast as we want :D. Sometimes we do seem to go through rough patches but it doesn't mean that you won't come out the other side soon enough hun.

Best wishes, Jo x

[Merlinssister]

Thanks briary and jo-jo.

Am feeling a little better today. A more positive attitude to feeling down, if that makes sense. Sort of, got to go through this to get to the other side.

[Karen]

Hi MS

Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better today.

"A more positive attitude to feeling down" - that makes sense to me. I know what you mean. I had been looking at the really bad week I've had as proof that I had slipped right back to where I started again. But, I know it isn't really. It is just a bad patch, and to have bad patches I suppose we've had to have had a good patch first, so it is all progress.



Briary



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[Merlinssister]

Yep. Progress is definitely progress, even if it is the minutest step in understanding.

[Meg]

Well done all . You have to have got better in order to have a blip .
Practice makes progress.



Meg

It is impossible to get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that it took to get into it.
- Albert Einstein.

[Merlinssister]

Hi guys. Had a couple of decent weeks. I think hormones were a major factor this time round, though that only makes me anxious about how I'll be the next time in my cycle. Saying that though my counsellor says she feels I'm about to hit my plateau and it should all get easier from there. I'm not holding my breath though...

Anyhow, also wanted to say sorry I haven't been keeping in touch. Despite feeling up, I have been incredibly tired, so not been spending too much time on line. Hope you're all doing okay. :D

MS

[Meg]

Hi MS,

Glad it was hormones.

Once you know and understand something it does make it much easier to deal with . I spent many times counting weeks in my diary trying to explain hormonally why I was feeling anxious......



Meg

It is impossible to get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that it took to get into it.
- Albert Einstein.

[jo-jo]

Hi MS

Great to hear you're feeling so much better :D:D

Love Jo xx

[Merlinssister]

Thanks guys. Keeping my fingers crossed this month is easier. Also aware of how other things are affecting me, like lack of sleep, which helps me to keep it all in perspective. :)

[seh1980]

Hello MS,

Are you still feeling on the up? I hope so!! :D

[Merlinssister]

Was a bit rough at the beginning of the week, but feeling stronger now. Seeing some sunshine has definitely helped!

[jill]

Hi MS

:(Sad to hear you where feeling a bit rough at the beging of the week, but:Dhappy you feel stronger now.
I know what you mean about the weather I dont like the winter
it makes me feel:(sad.
Sunshine definitely makes me feel better to:D

Whishing you lots of sunshine in your life.

LOVE JILLXXX



"Every thought you think changes your biochemistry.
Your hormones are effected by your thoughts.
Pay attention to stuff that bring joy.
Look for things that bring you a smile!":D

[vernon]

So good u r starting to feel better again, it was the posative thinking you have when u said you knew it was just a blip. take care Vernon

[Karen]

Hi MS

I'm glad you're feeling a bit better and stronger at the moment.

I know what you mean about the weather. I don't like winter either, and the dull, grey and wet weather doesn't help my mood either.



Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[seh1980]

Glad to hear that you are doing a little better!! The sun definetly helps. :)

[Merlinssister]

Thanks y'all... I think I may be channelling a country singer there. :)

Still up and down, but I feel more in touch with it all, if that makes any sense. I don't tend to panic about is as much because I can remind myself why I've got these particular symptoms.

And the sunshine is definitely helping. I don't mind it cold, just bright is good. Definitely need a trip to Sweden. The light out there is amazing. Always come back feeling so much better.

[Merlinssister]

Well, it's a week until my period is due and am feeling a little anxious because it's been this time in the last two months that my mood has just crashed.

If I come in here panicking in the next few days, could someone gently remind me of that? And to go with the flow?:) Thanks

[Mell1988]

Hi MS,

I can totally identify with you - I am having the same problem myself.

I've always had PMT but the kind you just recognise as being there for the few days before my period and just made me feel a little more "delicate" than normal.

However, the last few months I've really felt my anxiety return with a vengeance at this time every month.

I am in this situation now (same as you so perhaps we can remind each other !) and I'm not saying the anxiety is not there for the rest of the month, but it's more in control. Whereas at the moment, all my previous anxieties and worries come back to haunt me with a vengeance and I find it very difficult to get things back in perspective.

I, like you, am just trying to tell myself it will pass and to bear with it, but it's been difficult not to get too down about it as I feel almost like I go back to square one every month for about a week. Then by the time I've got over it it starts again next month!!

Any ideas for reducing PMT would be welcomed! I am on sertraline at the moment so not sure whether I could take anything else with that.

ARGH!!

Who'd be a woman eh :-) !!!

[oshun]

hello ms again,

was reading about yr mood.hormone related swings.

well i think what you eat at this time can make a difference , cos i think when your hormone levels change it effects blood sugar etc etc, so it may be something you could look into, like eating less but more often or somethng like that, ( i dunno, best find out) could help stabilise mood swings a little. sunlight helps. what about using a daylight box? esp as there is lsss natural light as it gets more wintry??

ok well hope you are feeling good today as it is nice n sunny,

x osh

[Merlinssister]

Hey mell,

I know exactly what you mean. Too many hormones definitely seem to send all good sense out of the window. And like you I feel like I only just recover and then it starts all over again. I've started to take the vit supplement Magnesium Ok, which is aimed at PMTing women. It's mostly magnesium and B6. Have also been hitting the nuts and seeds. Seems to be helping a little (touch wood!).

And oshun, I do try to eat little and often. I've looked at light boxes before, but always dismissed them because I haven't got SAD. But maybe worth a look again. Today's drive home was much easier because i had some sunshine to cheer me up. :)