Feeling hopeless

[Laurenzoe]

I have had social and general anxiety for about 5 years now.
When it started a dropped out of school and was home schooled through my exams and failed all but one of them.
When I finished school I went on a music course which I really liked but every morning I went in and before the lessons had even started i began to feel dizzy and sick and just wanted to go home.. Which I did most of the time... I had to drop out of the course even though it was only two days a week for a couple of months.
It's been a couple of years since then and I just feel useless. I can't get into a normal college because I don't have the grades and I can't get a job because i can't bring myself to go to another interview and get turned away again.

I literally sit around the house all day everyday watching tv on my laptop.. I only leave the house to walk my dogs and once a week I go into town with one of my parents.

I feel hopeless and useless and actually quite pathetic..

Anyone else feel like this or has anyone got out of this stupid cycle? I just don't know how to break it!

Thanks x

[verity]

Hi can you not take a home study course to gain qualifications? There are many good home study courses although they do have a fee but you can pay in instalments.
If you dont have the grades from school you can still study at that level at college and then move up to college level. Many colleges have courses designed for Adults who did not get the grades at school.
Another option if you dont feel studying is for you is to look for an apprentiship or training on the job. Ask your job centre about this.
Would you feel able to do voluntary work?
As for the social anxiety I think thearpy would really help and dont beat yourslef up as this will just make you feel more hopeless

[honeyp1e]

I have had social and general anxiety for about 5 years now.
When it started a dropped out of school and was home schooled through my exams and failed all but one of them.
When I finished school I went on a music course which I really liked but every morning I went in and before the lessons had even started i began to feel dizzy and sick and just wanted to go home.. Which I did most of the time... I had to drop out of the course even though it was only two days a week for a couple of months.
It's been a couple of years since then and I just feel useless. I can't get into a normal college because I don't have the grades and I can't get a job because i can't bring myself to go to another interview and get turned away again.

I literally sit around the house all day everyday watching tv on my laptop.. I only leave the house to walk my dogs and once a week I go into town with one of my parents.

I feel hopeless and useless and actually quite pathetic..

Anyone else feel like this or has anyone got out of this stupid cycle? I just don't know how to break it!

Thanks x

am the same i don't ever wanna go out but have to to take my kids to school and the shopping etc,,,, but i do most of the shopping and things online if i didnt have my children i dont think i would no what fresh air is like my anxiety is just so bad now am stuck in a big rut i just cant get out and being newly dignosed with INS life just getting worse am in so much pain which causes my anxiety to go wrse its all one big circle for me and i just dont no what to do with myself anymore

[PUGLETMUM]

hi laurenzoe, how old are you? has anyone suggested meds? what has your gp said about all of this - i have recently been prescribed citalopram for depression and anxiety, and social anx was a part of my probs - my gp said they are known to be very helpful for social anx - i have still felt certsin things while ive been on them - but socially ive been fine, no worries at all -so they can work - i know how horrible it is to be isolated - im at college 2 days a week and its when im at my happiest - i hate being alone now coz im not worrying all the time about what im saying or doing and thinking constantly about whether ppl like me or if im good enough - so recovery can be frustrating too coz i want things to happen quicker than they can!

[markkevin123]

I don't want to die because, tommorrow might be the day I get hired on by someone.
So you need the will to continue on. Do not give in to all these social pressures. There are social pressures at work in this day and time that are enough to make a lot of people want to put thier head into a hole and die. Think long and hard about what I just wrote. It's true. I believe there is always a solution. No matter how dim things look, no matter how down in the hole you are, there's a way out for you.
Did I always believe this? Actually, no. There were times when I was younger when I would allow myself to sink into feelings of hopelessness, thinking there was no way to find a positive solution.

[Laurenzoe]

Thank you all for your support,

My doctor has talked to me about medication but my mum won't let me take them... She works in mental and says the side effects for younger people taking them are a lot worse then if I was older :/ does anyone know if this is true? She says they are addictive, could make my depression worse and they make you emotionless? I would love for there to be a pill to make everything better but she has kind of scared me :/

Has anyone been on the medication at 17 or younger? Did they work?

Thanks again x

[PUGLETMUM]

hi well as much as i respect your mum's opinion - just because she works in mental health does not mean she knows how it feels or that she has all of the answers? yes she is correct that younger ppl do appear to suffer some worse side effects, and doctors are reluctant to give them to youngsters anyway - you are very young, but you do have family, you arent alone alone are you? so maybe with your mum's help look into other ways to feel better about yourself and look into cbt therapy? - you can get all sorts of self help books you dont have to wait for cbt through the nhs - you can do lots yourself,ive just re-read your initial post and i can see from that, that you would be fed-up - you dont get out much and watching tv can get a bit boring after a while - you could do with finding out what you like and what you dont like and then you can start to have interests around that? depression, and feeling hopeless is best tackled by trying to acheive something small and manageable each day - set yourself little goals and give yourself lots of praise for what you do, without beating yourself up if you dont meet your goals, just keep plugging away - hope this helps, emma

[Laurenzoe]

I have tried cbt, but the lady they sent me to was far from understanding.. I had to wait months in-between sessions and I really dreaded going. Perhaps I should talk to my mum about seeing someone privatly..

Thank you for your suggestion about the goals, I will try it and hopefully build my confidence up

Thanks again
Lauren x