Anxiety and/or depression discussion.

carzony

i took an online test and answered 18 questions truthfully

this was the result

Moderate/severe depression

Based upon your responses to this depression quiz, you appear to be suffering from a moderate to severe depression. People who have answered similarly to you qualify for a diagnosis of major depression and have sought professional treatment for this disorder.



I defo do feel like doing nothing a lot of the time and when I do somthing it's a major effort. I always thought I was lazy but this has made me think.. God I love this thread.........

greenfrogs

I used to think I was so lazy as well. In fact I remember saying that I was lazy to one counselor and she laughed and agreed. She did apologise after saying she shouldn't of said that. But what a cow. Anyway you should bring it to your doctors or counselor's attention.

carzony

how have you found councelling overall?

heyday30

carzony wrote: »

how have you found councelling overall?

I like my councellor now. It took me a while to find one I felt comfortable with but she's brilliant.

greenfrogs

It's really good. At the start I found it difficult to get out of bed and do basic tasks. I just wanted to stay at home and not socialise. Slowly I have improved. Most days are ok for me. I have improved on the areas that needed attention and work. There is still a long way to go but I think counselling has given me my future back.

I find it takes a lot of work. My advise is to listen to your GP and counselor. I was advised to stay out of relationships/friendships with guys as I had issues in that area. Usually these friendships end badly for me. I continued to hang out with one guy friend and it ended badly. It really affected my recovery. I feel I have made a lot of progress since he has been out of my life. It's because my attention is completely focused on getting better. I know I still have to work on that area but there are more urgent issues I need to work on.

heyday30

Sorry greenfrogs that question was meant for you...

sam34

S.R. wrote: »

Why do you want to bring this up with therapist? You know how to fix a problem: stop googling and go to exercise.

S.R. wrote: »

Lack of will and laziness - two powerful factors that are hard to beat. My experience. I don't think there is something else. Sometimes I am lazy and make excuses not to do what I have to. And I know deep inside that there is no excuse, I am just being lazy.

SR, this is a thread for those who have depression and/or anxiety to support each other. It's not a thread for people to have their support systems questioned or to be told that they 'just need to go do' something. If you think 'lack of will and laziness' are factors in depression then you have a lot to learn. (If you don't think they're relevant factors in depression then your post is off-topic for this thread)

Don't post here in that manner again. If you do, you will be banned.

Gremlinertia

Thanks Sam, because of the very illnesses this thread is here for i can be unsure if a post is unsuitable or not.

Anyway, in other news, i have an assessment tomorrow for a new DBT course that's being set up.. I hope so hard that i get a shot at this, i'm ready i think, i will put in the work, it could be life changing..

Euphoria Intensifies

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Thanks Sam, because of the very illnesses this thread is here for i can be unsure if a post is unsuitable or not.

Anyway, in other news, i have an assessment tomorrow for a new DBT course that's being set up.. I hope so hard that i get a shot at this, i'm ready i think, i will put in the work, it could be life changing..

Oh wow Gremlinertia, that's great. Best of luck. DBT is meant to be amazing, I really hope you get on to the course. I'm on a waiting list for DBT, but it'll be next year before there's a space for me (I'm in therapy already and just have BPD traits now as opposed to meeting the full criteria so I'm down the list).

Gremlinertia

After six years in the system and ten more suffering i'm hoping too. I seem to match all the criteria very well.. I brought in a list of stuff to the psychologist a while back and she thinks it's worth me doing as i'm still able to get out and work.. She reckons i'd be inpatient pretty quickly if unemployed, so fingers crossed.

scrimshanker

Grem, delighted for you. I hope it goes well.

Gremlinertia

Thanks folks, just begging i get this now.

mg1982

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Thanks folks, just begging i get this now.

Hope it happens soon for you. Dont know much about DBT but hope it can be effective for you.

Drumpot

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Thanks Sam, because of the very illnesses this thread is here for i can be unsure if a post is unsuitable or not.

Anyway, in other news, i have an assessment tomorrow for a new DBT course that's being set up.. I hope so hard that i get a shot at this, i'm ready i think, i will put in the work, it could be life changing..

Good for you Gremlinertia.

I was speaking with somebody close to me that's just started back with a councillor. I was just talking through how they have been feeling and then when they asked how I was I said that I had been feeling really down for just over a week but feel like that has passed now.

I have worked really hard through counselling, CBT, support groups and working on (professionally advised) behavioural techniques for decades at this stage (Ive posted many times about my rehabilitation on this and other threads on boards).

The most progress I have made has been when I committed to prioritising my mental health. I don't just goto a therapist or doctor etc and think "well that's me done for the week". I try to practise some of the suggested techniques like meditation, simple phrases (one day at a time), exercise (that relaxes), isolate (from my life) people who suck the life out of me when I am around them and some other tools I use to try and get balanced when I am feeling down.

Please god this new therapy will help you on a path to a new life. What I have found is that its a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes I feel like I am back at the starting line in my rehabilitation, but its just how I feel, its not necessarily a fair reflection of the improvements that have been made in my life. I get going and back on a balanced lifestyle quite quickly. It used to be the case that I was always feeling down, now it happens from time to time and I can manage it.

Taking a productive step to try and feel better can be a huge booster for me when I am feeling down. If you can, try to take comfort from the fact that, irrespective of whether or not this therapy works for you, you are taking action to improve your life...

Gremlinertia

Thank you Drumpot. I've come to the realisation in the last few years that this will be a long tough road, i had very much the same attitude as you used to do for instance "that's my hour done this week lets go ignore myself until the next one" I think i might be able to do it this time, course sounds ideal if i get it..

greenfrogs

Drumpot I really enjoy your posts. They make so much sense and are really easy to read. Maybe one day you'll have your own book on this subject :cool:

Hugo Stiglitz

I wish I had your commitment and focus DrumPot!

carzony

Got an official letter from the councellor.. I'm on the waiting list

Drumpot

greenfrogs wrote: »

Drumpot I really enjoy your posts. They make so much sense and are really easy to read. Maybe one day you'll have your own book on this subject :cool:

Thanks for those kind words greenfrogs...

Hugo Stiglitz wrote: »

I wish I had your commitment and focus DrumPot!

To be frankly honest guys, even when I re-read my own posts, I sometimes ask myself "is my life really as easy as it reads?!" . . I try to promote positive ideas on this forum and I try to speak positively about my own story but the truth is that its not always as straight forward as my posts may come across.

I have support tools (CBT, doctor, acupuncture, physio) that give me the physical and mental support on things I just cant do myself. I come here more to share the things that worked for me in the hope that somebody might even take one thing from a post that might make their lives that little bit easier.

I have read some of my posts before and thought they might of come across a little preachy, but that was not my intention. .I read so many posts here from people who were stuck exactly where I was and it saddens me that there are people in that horrible grey lonely world, but it also reminds me of my own progress.

4 days ago, I was having a conversation with my wife saying "I am just fed up right now. I feel very low and I am worried about my health". I was a bit worried about some blood tests I had on Monday that might of been something to do with it. I am also under a lot of stress in certain aspects of my life.

I was supposed to go to one of my support groups on Monday, but that was off so I decided to try something that I had wanted to check out for ages. I went to Drogheda Postmasters meeting. I am trying out different things now, things I wouldn't of been able to even consider before I made progress in my rehabilitation (that's what I call it anyways!). I want to try and explore hobbies of interest (astronomy, music, acting). Its part of my feeling better and expanding my life beyond "just getting by".

As bad as I felt at the weekend, I am glad to say that I feel great today. I feel focused, I feel motivated, I feel loved, I don't feel lonely and I am looking forward to going out with some new friends I made since I started my new life.

I genuinely believe that you too can find a happiness that you might not feel right now. I think sharing your feelings is a great start. Taking steps to get professional support is vital because its extremely difficult to try and pick myself up when I am feeling low and my friends/family (they have the desire to help) just don't have the knowledge to help me get back up!

heyday30

carzony wrote: »

Got an official letter from the councellor.. I'm on the waiting list

Great carzony hopefully won't be too long

heyday30

I think a lot of us do not actually realise how strong we are. I mean going out seeking help trying to be proactive in getting to a better place takes an awful lot of guts and courage.

It's a very brave thing to do.

Gremlinertia

That's a +1000 Heyday, surviving this stuff is pretty amazing to start. There's plenty here that will second that I think.

Gremlinertia

Right lads, on my way out to this thing. Beyond terrified.

scrimshanker

Good luck!

norwegianwood

Every day I think I can't feel worse and I do, what is the point of even going on. Feel so guilty, my uncle has cancer and he's going to die in the next week or so, he'd give anything for more time and all I want is for my time to be up.

Mental Mickey

norwegianwood wrote: »

Every day I think I can't feel worse and I do, what is the point of even going on. Feel so guilty, my uncle has cancer and he's going to die in the next week or so, he'd give anything for more time and all I want is for my time to be up.

Well, use that as a spur to carry on.

scrimshanker

Had my first counseling appointment. Can't believe how different it is when you click with the councillor. Really, really, really tough going but worth it. Very helpful. Feeling quite hopeful that this will really be good. Felt like he really got it.

Hugo Stiglitz

scrimshanker wrote: »

Had my first counseling appointment. Can't believe how different it is when you click with the councillor. Really, really, really tough going but worth it. Very helpful. Feeling quite hopeful that this will really be good. Felt like he really got it.

Am delighted to hear that Scrim!

mg1982

I forgot to ask callmejimmy. What happened with the lifeguard training course. Did you go in the end?

Call Me Jimmy

I did not. Step too far I'm afraid but glad I even considered it (and went to the preliminary session in the pool).