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View Full Version : One small step for man, one giant...........



RSH71
19-06-11, 17:16
Hello everyone,

Well where do I start, I am not only new to this site, but I have never been in a chat room/forum before.

I was told by my then GP (at the age of 22), that I started showing symptoms of depression and anxiety as young as 7yrs old. I am now 39 (40 next month) and I am still hanging by a thread (no pun intended) and have never experienced a depression/anxiety free day in my life.

Brief history (no violins required) - My father started physically/emotionally/ psychologically abusing me when I was a few weeks old. I was used as a football and rugby ball, kicked and thrown around my home. My mother has paranoid schizophrenia and since I was born had a voice in her head that she could not ignore, which told her that if she showed me any love or kindness I would die. So she neglected me out of "love".

This was the norm for me throughout my childhood, my father getting increasingly violent against myself and my mother and my mother (when she was not sectioned) treated me as if I was of no importance to her whatsoever. I have only a few memories of childhood, most have been blocked by my brain going into self-preservation mode, all of them painful beyond measure.

Somehow I have managed to get to the age of 39, but it has been a life of utter torment. I have been sectioned once myself, there have been many suicide attempts (not for many years now). I have been on every psych medication and combinations of, known to man and womankind, but with no success. I have had Psychotherapy and schema focused CBT, which was of some help. But that strange thing I believe is called happiness continues to allude me. I have looked everywhere for it, I even tried ebay and amazon!

I suppose it is quite tragic really, that coming up to 40 and I have never had an enjoyable, happy, exciting day in my life. Actually that really is tragic, I had never really thought about it that much until I just typed it.

Obviously this has been a very very very shortened, clipped and brief account of my life, or lack there of. Something has happened recently, a sort of tipping point, but I am not sure what it is. Maybe it is the 40 thing and the hellish prospect of possibly another 40 to go. Or maybe because I have run out of treatment options, apart from one.

By reading this you will not have got an accurate impression of me. I fight to live every day of my life, I fight like a man possessed. And I manage to do it most of the time with a smile on my face and putting a smile on other's to. But it is a mask, just one I give an Oscar winning performance of wearing.

Oh, the one last treatment is electro convulsive therapy (ECT). Tomorrow is treatment four out of six. If that does not help then, well I really do not know where I go from here. I am running out of fight and my mask is slipping......

nomorepanic
19-06-11, 17:19
Hi RSH71

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

Rain
19-06-11, 17:47
Hello RHS,

I am sorry to read how the early part of your life was for you. Those are horrible circumstances and it must have been a very big struggle to keep going as a youngster. I’m sorry also to hear you are still struggling with issues of sadness, depression and other problems.

However, your spirit is still there. Its shines through in your post. I notice you have even picked a cheerful cartoon character as your avatar.

I saw a quote the other day and it really made me sit up and think. It said:

THE WAKE OF A BOAT DOESN’T DETERMINE ITS DIRECTION

When you sit and think about it this is so true. The past is gone forever. No matter how consistently bad it has been, you are like that boat and you could be just on the verge of altering your course in life. That elusive happiness could be right in front of you, waiting for you. Never give up because the best could be yet to come and your dreams could be just about to begin to come true.

Companionship in all its forms makes life so much better. Also very important to happiness is friendship. The chat room here at No More Panic is full of interesting and friendly people and we would love for you to join us for a chat some time. I have found being a member here very life-enriching and I hope it is the same for you.

The ocean of life is ahead of you. You are at the wheel, and may be about to steer into the most wonderful clear warm waters. Anything is possible. You just have to keep believing.

Vanilla Sky
19-06-11, 22:33
Hi RHS and welcome to NMP :welcome:

When you feel up to it come into the chatroom

Paige x

scrog80
20-06-11, 17:16
I fight to live every day of my life..... welcome to my world i hope you find some peace i hope all sufferers do ...

RSH71
21-06-11, 11:39
Hi Rain, thank you for your words of hope and encouragement. They brought a tear to my eye. The wake of the boat thing is so so true, it may be hard to change direction, but it is possible. I would not have got as far as I have in life without being able to.

Tyke
22-06-11, 23:43
There is always hope. As time goes on, this illness is understood better and new ways are developed for treating it. It is very common throughout the world, so you a certainly not alone. ECT is one of the older treatments, but it is very effective for some people. Do you feel you are benefitting from it at all, or does it just seem to make no difference?

Tyke

RSH71
23-06-11, 16:42
Hi Tyke, it was fry time No5 today. It's a good job I shave my head, otherwise I would look like a very strange white guy with an Afro by now! There were going to be 6 treatments, but it looks like they're going for the max 12 allowed. I can't say I feel any better yet, in fact today I feel at rock bottom. I think they are hoping that it will stimulate the release of mood stabilizing/enhancing chemicals, serotonin and the like.
As children our minds are like a blank hard drive on a computer and those who have most influence over us are the programmers creating the software. The hard part is rewriting it and trying to undo the damage. It's possible, I'm sure of that. But it is oh so hard, as I'm sure yourself and others at NMP understand only too well. Maybe I should just plug myself into the mains?(only joking!)

RSH71
25-06-11, 12:38
Hello to anyone who reads this. I had a phone call from my Psych yesterday. After 5 ECT treatments, they are calling it a day. He said it was not fair on me, to have all the side-effects and none of the benefits. I have a meeting with the Senior Psych on the 29th.
I am still signed off work (I don't know if I mentioned I worked as a support worker to the Nurses, Physio and Occupational Therapists in our team), for another 4 weeks yet.
I am currently taking Venlafaxine 375mg, Mirtazapine 45mg and Clonazepam 3mg. I have a feeling they are going to want to drug me up to the eyeballs with Lithium, when we meet. I don't know what to do, I almost took myself off to my local AEU, this morning. I had just about given up on life and I thought that I was in danger of checking out. But you see I can't do that, I'm an atheist and this life is the only one I am ever going to get; there is no afterlife for me!
:unsure:So I will carry on fighting, taking life one day at a time. One day I will spontaneously combust with happiness, I know I will; there is so much life in me fighting to get out! Maybe I need a change of scenery; as beautiful as Devon is, I do miss home which is Cheshire for me.:unsure:

Johno
25-06-11, 13:32
Hi RSH,

You sound so positive about everything and being that way will help to pull you through. This is a great site to get support and ideas about what to do. Never give give up. The chat room is good once you been on the site 5 days. Good luck to you.

RSH71
25-06-11, 13:50
Thank you Johno, I try and stay positive. I don't mean it to sound flippant and a bit cliched to say the least, but as they say, if you don't laugh you cry and boy I've done enough crying to last me a lifetime. I'm sure I will stumble into the chat room sometime soon.:wacko: