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Franz
19-05-10, 21:38
As I mentioned in a recent post, I'm back on NMP after a period of feeling I was just repeating myself.

I was unemployed for 9 months, which was an insecure time, but also a period of respite from my social phobia which had been causing me lots of problems in an open plan office.

I took a job in Ireland, mainly because the office had cubicles and so I had the privacy I needed.

Unfortunately my employer was a real slavedriver, I was overworked and hated the job, and had another nervous breakdown. On Monday I handed in my notice.

Right now I am stuck in Ireland, preparing to head back to the UK. I am staying here because I need to pick up a pair of specs on Saturday, but I am coping very badly. I don't have a job to go to in the UK (I am still paying a mortgage on a flat there), and I am driven to despair by the isolation and having no one to talk to. The only reason I'm capable of writing this is that I took some diazepam earlier.

I'm smoking up to 20 cigs a day, partly to curb the stress and partly out of boredom. I can't concentrate on anything (e.g. reading, which I normally enjoy), and when I'm not on diazepam I am a gibbering wreck, spending much of the day shuddering with fear.

I intend to go back to my parents', but they are in their 60s and can do without my constant state of panic. They get cross with me, which I completely understand, because they're so frustrated that I don't respond to any of their suggestions for "how to get better".

The fact is that when you're in the grip of panic, you are incapable of anything constructive. It's all I can do to walk to the shops, and even that feels like a huge nervous strain.

I get obsessed by "omens", like single magpies.

As I said, I am coping right now thanks to diazepam; without it, my mind is just a tangle of uncontrollable anxiety.

I'm not asking for help, but it's useful sometimes to get my angst out of my system, so thanks for reading.

Franz

Baggs
19-05-10, 22:39
I feel for you. Baggs.

Going home
19-05-10, 23:00
I think you need to just get yourself back to familiar surroundings and with no job on the horizon for a while i'm sure your parents won't mind you staying with them until you get yourself sorted out mentally despite what you say about them being fed up with you (I get fed up with my son sometimes too but I wouldn't turn him away if he needed help) then you could go on letting your flat...assuming that you do let it, to pay the mortgage?

Pick up those specs and catch the ferry home :)

Anna xx

Veronica H
19-05-10, 23:36
:bighug1:not long until you can go home Franz. I agree that your parents would want you to go home even though they may not always understand this illness. Hang in there buddy.

Veronicax

Franz
20-05-10, 22:27
Thank you for the replies. I have actually decided to head back to the UK tomorrow, rather than wait for my glasses (I have one pair so I am safe to drive!).

Bluebelle
20-05-10, 22:43
Hi Franz
I am wishing a safe and speedy journey back to the UK.
I hope you find some peace !

cwoz82
13-06-10, 18:46
Stay strong Franz
x

barbn
14-06-10, 14:07
Oh Franz - I could have written most of your post myself! You are so not alone - right now I am in the midst of the "omen" obsession.....I hope you have a safe journey home and let us know when you get there!

Angelai
14-06-10, 14:14
Same here. Stupid STUPID magpies.

Safe journey home Franz, get some rest and don't beat yourself up.

:hugs:

Mudskipper
16-06-10, 13:15
Must admit I get the magpie thing too, but I keep telling myself that the female is probably on the nest at this time of year, while the male fetches food or vice versa. Consequently you're more likely to see a single one around at the moment. It's only when breeding finishes and they've nothing better to do that they start banding together in groups and making trouble. Just a thought but it helps a bit...:huh:

Franz
08-08-10, 16:36
I've just revisited this thread and want to say thanks for the replies posted after my last message here.

Things are better than they were. I am still staying at my parents'. For a couple of months I attended an Acute Community Service (ACS) in Leeds for people with mental health problems, and I must say it was a huge help - great staff, and it was good to meet other people with similar (or even not so similar) problems.

I'm rather missing the ACS now I've been discharged, but I know I need to move on. I've started applying for jobs, although given my recent past I know I have a lot of explaining to do to a prospective employer. My anxiety has definitely got worse since I left the ACS, but they say that's normal, and I know I need to find some kind of activity to fill my days, like voluntary work or something.

I still have financial worries and am starting to think about my options regarding my flat - maybe selling it, not sure.